Psalm 34:1
I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

It’s hard not to think of Job and his words just after experiencing probably the worst individual tragedy in the history of mankind: “the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”  He truly desired to bless the Lord at all times—in good times and bad, in tragedy and triumph, when he felt like it and when he didn’t.  God is the constant in our lives, and He is good no matter what.  He is good even when what is happening is not, and so we can always find something to praise Him for.  He is not necessarily the source of these great catastrophes that come upon us, but praising Him will be our help in them.

So do we truly bless the Lord at all times?  Are His praises continually on our lips?  What would it mean to our lives if we really put this into practice?  With praise to the Lord continually in our mouths, we will be focused on Him—not how we feel, not what it is happening to us, not those things that make us anxious or fearful.  We won’t be able to complain or say wrong things to or about other people.  We will constantly live with a spirit of thankfulness.  We will remember the qualities that our great God possesses and be assured that He is with us and will help us.  And we will honor Him in our lives and others will see Him in us.

So no matter what we are dealing with just now, whether good or bad, positive or negative, let us always take time to praise the Lord.  It is about our recognition of Him in our lives, not what is happening.  It is giving Him glory because of who He is, not how we are feeling.  It is about lifting high His name because He is so wonderful.  It is exalting the King of kings to His rightful place of honor.  It is about expressing to Him how we feel about Him, how much we love Him, how grateful we are for who He is to us.

It may not always be easy, but let us strive to constantly be praising God in our lives.  May words of praise be ever on our lips as we look toward our Lord and Master and acknowledge Him day by day.  Even in the worst times of our lives, let us remember that God is good and He is with us.  Let us remember how merciful and gracious He is to us in those most desperate moments and continue to sing His praises even in the dark.  And when joy floods our souls and His blessings rain down upon us, may we never forget to thank Him for all that He has given and all He has done in our hearts and lives.