Bless the Lord Oh My Soul!

We sang this song, by Matt Redman, in church a couple weeks ago and for some reason, I woke up with it stuck in my head this morning. I only knew one line so I found it on iTunes and downloaded it to my phone. I've listened to it about 10 times this afternoon. I want to memorize all the lyrics and engrave them on my brain so I don't forget them.

The title of the song is 10,000 Reasons and is based on Psalms 103, which talk about all the great things God has done for us. The whole song is great, but the first verse is standing out to me today.

"Bless the Lord oh my soul, oh my soul!

Worship his holy name.

Sing like never before, oh my soul!

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning, 

it's time to sing your song again.

Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, 

let me be singing when the evening comes."

I love that last part; no matter what happens during the day, may I still be singing your praises when the evening comes. It seems so easy to talk about God's mercies being new every morning but we often don't talk about the evening when your tired, when things didn't go the way you planned.

I so wish I had heard this song when we were in the midst of Matt searching for a job. The morning of an interview would come and we'd pray and pray that everything would work out and God would give him the job. I don't think that we ever prayed for our hearts to still be happy, to still be content when he came home without the job.

We've been studying the Psalms in bible study and I'm learning that it's ok to pour your heart out to God, to tell him the desires of your heart. You don't have to play some game with him, thinking that if you don't show all your cards, your wish might not come true. Does anyone else ever feel like that? 

David, poured his heart out to God and in several Psalms, he lamented. But at the end, he always ended with praise, trusting in God. 

I'm learning that it's OK to ask God for what I want, for what I long for; but I hope and I pray that when I don't get what I want, when the evening comes, that I will still be singing his praises, like never before.

"10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)"

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name