My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long. —Psalm 35:28

When I look at this verse from Psalm 35, the word, “reflex” comes to mind. A tongue that tells of God’s righteousness all day long sounds to me a lot like lungs that inhale when they’re empty, eyelids that blink when they’re dry, and a stomach that starts digesting when it’s fed. It’s like flinching when we anticipate a threat. Without a whole lot of decision-making, these functions happen over and over, on and on. According to the psalmist, singing God’s praise is just what his tongue does in response to knowing God. A reflex.

And sometimes praising God feels like that, right? Sometimes we’re filled to overflowing with gratitude and awe, and we can’t help but express it in our attitudes, words, and actions. That’s the kind of praise reflex I think the psalmist is talking about.

Sometimes, however, my own praise reflex feels dulled. Sometimes I get bogged down by the mundane, I need to coax myself into expressing gratitude, I am too busy to experience awe. How about you?

Our bodily reflexes are good for us, and when they’re dulled, we suffer. So it is with our praise reflex. The truth is, I am created to praise God and my inclination to do so is important for my spiritual wellness.

This reflex is something I feel the need to sharpen in myself, especially right now when so many things feel dulled and fuzzy. In a conversation with my coach today, I figured out that I benefit from regular reminders of God’s presence. For me, revisiting Psalm 19:14 throughout my day is really important. When I do, my awareness of God’s presence becomes clearer. And with that clarity, praising God becomes more like blinking my eyes. More like a reflex. 

If you feel this need to sharpen your reflex for praise, consider these questions…

• When has praising God felt more like a reflex than a conscious decision? What was that like? 
• What would it look like for you to sharpen your praise reflex so that you might more readily and regularly praise God? 
• What reminders about God do you need to keep at the forefront? 
• What sins are blocking your natural inclination to praise the Lord? What would it look like to ask for God to help you repent of those?
• What attitudes, if shifted, would position you to stand in awe of your Creator? 
• Who can help you?

“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” —Psalm 5:3

For much of my life, I’ve had on-and-off problems falling asleep at night. I’m susceptible to a racing mind, and late at night is apparently as good a time as any to solve the world’s problems, re-litigate past disagreements, or thoroughly explore my many regrets. Add to this that I often stay up too late looking at screens and I have a recipe for a bad night’s sleep.

One of the knock-on effects of having trouble falling asleep is that early morning is often not my best time. When I haven’t gotten enough good sleep, I often sleep later than I intended or drag myself out of bed in a haze.

And this is a problem for several reasons, not least of which is that the morning is an important time for my relationship with God. In Psalm 5, David writes about speaking with God in the morning. Of course, conversation with God can happen at all times, but it seems like there’s something special about the morning.

I think it’s like a lot of other things: What happens first tends to establish the tone for what happens later. When we greet someone warmly, we set the tone for a positive interaction. When our tithes are the first thing we do with our income, we set a tone of gratitude and generosity. When we wake up in the morning and raise our voices to God, we establish an awareness that our lives are being lived with and for God.

In the Jewish calendar, a day really starts with sundown. Keeping that in mind, it seems even more important to start the day well with what I do in the evening as I prepare to sleep. Good rest and morning conversation are the start to a day lived joyfully with God. I’m going to try to take this seriously as a real part of following Jesus.

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. – Hebrews 6:10

Psalm 103:12 says that God takes our our sin and removes it from us “as far as the east is from the west.” In Isaiah 43:25 God says, “I will forget your sins.” I find verses like these so comforting because more often than not, I want God to forget what I’ve done.

This verse reminds me that God isn’t only paying attention to the stuff I mess up so God can forgive it, God is deeply invested in my life because God is rooting for me to succeed. When I am taking steps that allow me to better follow Jesus, I am taking steps toward being the version of myself that God created me to be.

As you go through your day today, may you feel the encouragement of God. Imagine God looking at you and delighting in you. And know that when you show love to others, you are showing your love to and for God.

Will not God grand justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? – Luke 18:7 Something I’d like to […]

“Mary…sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” —Luke 10:39

The story Luke tells about Martha and Mary is a sneakily challenging one. In this story, Martha distractedly goes about all the work that needs to be done as she hosts Jesus and his disciples. As Martha runs around, Mary just sits and listens to what Jesus has to say.

The moral of the story seems clear: Slowing down and listening to Jesus is better than running around taking care of tasks that need to be done. And that’s not wrong, but it’s also a little confusing if taken on its own. Because there are a lot of times when Jesus taught that we should, you know, actually do stuff for each other. We can’t read the story of Martha and Mary as an excuse to sit around and avoid work.

But life is all about priorities. Life is about choosing what to focus on, how long to focus on it for, and how intently to pay attention. For some of us, it’s easy to go through a day without ever really paying much attention at all.

This story about Martha and Mary isn’t an excuse to be lazy. But it is a reminder of what the source of life and energy is. It is a warning about a life that misses out on the voice of Jesus. Let’s make today a day in which we—whether for an hour or for a minute—focus intently on what Jesus has to say.