Daily Truth: “They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness.” Psalm 145:7 NKJV
How many times have you locked keys in your car, forget a dear friend’s birthday, or an appointment? We have lives that are fully scheduled. It is nearly impossible to remember everything on our plates if it were not for the alarms and calendar on our phone, computer, or sticky notes on mirrors and in cars. Our memories are on overload. To remember what is important to us takes planning and purpose.
If we want to remember God’s goodness it is going to take planning and purpose. How are we going to praise God if we do not remember what He has already done?
The Practice of Praise by Spurgeon shows us exactly in the title that praise takes practice. Practice is the “repeated performance or systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency.”
Spurgeon tells us that the first step to “mental philosophy of abounding praise” is to take “careful observation.” We must take note of things we want to remember. Do you take notes when you listen to a sermon, take pictures of your children at special events, or have Pinterest boards full of ideas that you want to remember?
If we want to remember something, we will need to have a way that helps us to remember what we have observed.
“The first thing, therefore towards the plentiful praising of God is a careful observation of His goodness.” Look for God in the moments of life. A child’s first step, freshly picked dandelions given to you by your child, a beautiful snowfall, waves rolling in by the sea are some of the moments we have committed to our memories. There are sad observable moments as well. In the words of Spurgeon, “Let rebellious spirits murmur as they may, goodness is enthroned in God’s kingdom, and evil and suffering are intruders there.”
“The greatness of the goodness is on some occasions made manifest by the evil from which it rescues us.” I think of the Olympian, Louis Zamperini, who was tortured relentlessly after being captured in World War II. No one knows the blessing of health better than those who have been through great physical, mental, and spiritual pain.
We need to practice careful observation of God’s goodness. Arrange photos and mementos in your home of wonderful family memories. This helps to provide an anchor so you can “abundantly utter the memory of [God’s] goodness.” By looking at good memories we can “link one idea with another” and thus associate God’s goodness with observable moments.
We know how a child can observe a tiny ant carrying a small piece of dirt that goes entirely unnoticed by us yet it is an amazing thing to a child. In this busy world, we too need to observe those things around us with child-like eyes of wonderment.
Dear Lord, help us to see things in this world with wonder and awe of you. Please give us this child-like wonder to observe with intention so we will fall more in love with you and the world you have created. Help us to purposely make memories that will remind us of your goodness. Help us to share your love and goodness through our praise of you with the children you have entrusted to our care.
Stay tuned as next week we will consider the second part of Psalm 145:7 in our study of praise.
Until the next “Truth” sharing moment,
Cathy Jo Johnson
