King David.
One of the most well known Bible characters is David. Shepherd boy turned king. Goliath slayer. Mighty warrior. Musician. Poet. Sinner. David is known for doing a lot of good things. He is also known for doing some bad stuff too. Although David made some pretty big mistakes, he was considered to be a good king in Scripture. Why was this? It was because even in the midst of his sin, he sought God and wholeheartedly desired to praise His King.
Wholehearted Praise.
In Psalm 9, David declares that he will praise God with his whole heart. In Hebrew, the term wholehearted carries the meaning of continuous dedication with one's mind, body, countenance, desires, determination, will, character, habits, and emotions. That seems like a lot. That even seems difficult. Here's the thing, the more you know God, the more you will praise Him, for you cannot help but wholeheartedly praise someone so good.
What does that look like?
In Psalm 9, David goes on to describe what wholehearted praise actually looks like. According to David wholehearted praise will manifest in three ways.
1. Declaring the works of God
2. Joy
3. Using your gifts for God
Works in progress.
Was David perfect? No. Were all his actions in praise of God? No. Wholehearted praise does not mean you are perfect, it means that, although you may not always live up to it, you have an overwhelm desire to please God. It means that when you do mess up, you get back up and try to please Him moving forward. It means that you want your whole heart to praise God, even though it does not always turn out that way. God is gracious, He understands our weaknesses, Jesus took our penalty on the cross, and as we ponder those truths, we respond with gratitude by seeking to praise Him.
What next?
We should desire to praise Him wholeheartedly. It not only benefits us, but also those around us. If we are not practicing the three qualifiers of wholehearted praise according to David above, its okay. It is not something we can force, however, we do have a responsibility to grow in wholehearted praise. Our job is simply to know Him more, and from that knowledge, wholehearted praise will just happen. Get to know Him more through prayer, Scripture, time with fellow believers, and solitude with Christ. I believe that each of us want to praise God wholeheartedly, and because of that, He is so pleased with us! Let's get to know Him more this week, and from that, we will greater wholeheartedly praise our King.
One of the most well known Bible characters is David. Shepherd boy turned king. Goliath slayer. Mighty warrior. Musician. Poet. Sinner. David is known for doing a lot of good things. He is also known for doing some bad stuff too. Although David made some pretty big mistakes, he was considered to be a good king in Scripture. Why was this? It was because even in the midst of his sin, he sought God and wholeheartedly desired to praise His King.
Wholehearted Praise.
In Psalm 9, David declares that he will praise God with his whole heart. In Hebrew, the term wholehearted carries the meaning of continuous dedication with one's mind, body, countenance, desires, determination, will, character, habits, and emotions. That seems like a lot. That even seems difficult. Here's the thing, the more you know God, the more you will praise Him, for you cannot help but wholeheartedly praise someone so good.
What does that look like?
In Psalm 9, David goes on to describe what wholehearted praise actually looks like. According to David wholehearted praise will manifest in three ways.
1. Declaring the works of God
- The more we know God, the more we can't help but proclaim how good He is!
2. Joy
- The more we know God, the more joyful we will be, for we have purpose, hope, forgiveness, and an everlasting destiny in Him.
3. Using your gifts for God
- The more we know God, the more we will employ our gifts, talents, resources, and time toward making Him known.
Works in progress.
Was David perfect? No. Were all his actions in praise of God? No. Wholehearted praise does not mean you are perfect, it means that, although you may not always live up to it, you have an overwhelm desire to please God. It means that when you do mess up, you get back up and try to please Him moving forward. It means that you want your whole heart to praise God, even though it does not always turn out that way. God is gracious, He understands our weaknesses, Jesus took our penalty on the cross, and as we ponder those truths, we respond with gratitude by seeking to praise Him.
What next?
We should desire to praise Him wholeheartedly. It not only benefits us, but also those around us. If we are not practicing the three qualifiers of wholehearted praise according to David above, its okay. It is not something we can force, however, we do have a responsibility to grow in wholehearted praise. Our job is simply to know Him more, and from that knowledge, wholehearted praise will just happen. Get to know Him more through prayer, Scripture, time with fellow believers, and solitude with Christ. I believe that each of us want to praise God wholeheartedly, and because of that, He is so pleased with us! Let's get to know Him more this week, and from that, we will greater wholeheartedly praise our King.