Wednesday Words of Encouragement

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Psalm 146 ~

Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD, my soul.

I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.

When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD their God.

He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.

He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,

The LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.

The LORD watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.

Happy day before Thanksgiving!

I love this time of the year and everything that goes with it. However, I can get so busy and so caught up in the preparations that I forget to stop and give thanks to the Lord, who is my ultimate reason for having a thankful heart.

Have you stopped today and just spent some time praising Him and thanking Him for all He has done for you? Have you thanked Him for giving you one more day to open your eyes and breathe? Have you thanked Him that you have a roof over your heads and food in your stomach? Have you thanked Him for the clothing that you are wearing? Have you given Him praise for the vehicle that gets you where you need to be?

So often we focus on the negative. We focus on what we don't have or on what is going wrong in our lives. We forget to focus on the many blessings we *do* have.

I love this Psalm and you could read so many more that offer up praise and thanksgiving. I especially love verse 5 and 6. Our HOPE is in the God of the universe; the maker of heaven and earth. Even when things seem bleak and there seems no way out of a situation, remember the one we follow. Those who do not know the Lord truly do not have hope. Yet, we can say that our God is able to do anything!

So praise Him for his blessings. Praise Him for the good things. Praise Him for the lean times. Praise Him for the bountiful times. Praise Him for the trials. Praise Him for the things that go right. Praise Him for the things that go wrong.

Praise Him for everything! I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving.

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