“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord ; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.” (Psalms 34:1-3) Reading the first three verses of Psalm 34 one is reminded of the importance of praising the Lord at all times. This seems impossible. When a person is going through life, there are plenty of situations that would arise that one would not think to praise the Lord in as life is full of challenges and times of tribulation. However, these circumstances cannot stand in the way of a person praising the Lord. The Lord is worthy of praise for who He is, not simply because things are going well in life. The Lord is sovereign, loving, and worthy of devotion. This is easier said than done. However, reading through these verses one can be reminded of the perspective of praise that should be sought to draw closer to the Lord. Moreover, the perspective of an individual that is humble and sees the Lord as worthy will have the desire to praise the Lord with a heart of gratitude.
As one continues to read the Psalm, they can notice the promises of the Lord to protect His people. A believer of Christ can run to the Lord and cry out when they are going through a difficult time in their life. “‘Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord , you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing’ (Psalms 34:8-10). These verses are filled with hope and give the reader such encouragement. A child of God can approach God as a good God. He offers blessings to those that put their trust in Him. These simple truths can serve as a reminder that the Lord is not willing to overlook the sufferings of His people. Rather, He is there for them during times of need and extends blessings upon them for continuing to place their trust in Him. Once again, this process is easier said than done. Human beings are so fickle. People are easily influenced by the circumstances around them. If things are not ideal, the instinct is to try and salvage the situation by ones own abilities. Yet, a Godly person should run to the Lord Jesus for help in times of trouble trusting that God will sustain them.
Further along in the Psalm it spells out that God will deliver His followers from troubles. “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.” (Psalms 34:17-22) These verses can stir up a heart of gratefulness as the Lord is willing to hear each of us when we cry out for His help. He is willing to deliver us from our troubles if we turn to Him. Humanly speaking, we each have our limits when it comes to hearing someone out. We can become exhausted or overwhelmed because of overload. This is not the case with the Lord- He is patient. This is a part of the character of the Lord, it is who He is and it displays our our need for Him. When each of us is broken hearted we can be delivered if we are humble and willing to turn to the Lord to find solace and deliverance. For the Lord is worth trusting. Even though each person has flaws, they are not condemned for their faults. As the Psalm mentions, a person that trusts in the Lord shall not be condemned. Sin that is committed can be forgiven. Lives can be transformed if each person is willing to surrender their lives fully to the Lord. Life is difficult there are bumpy roads and difficulties that each person may face. However, a person that places their faith in the Lord shall not soon be disappointed. Be encouraged.