Nougat 2

What makes our hearts confident? Is it love of family? Is it friends? Status and privileges? Authority in high places? Money? Praise or Recognition of our worth? Today’s Holy Nougat invites our reflection on same.

“My heart is confident, O God. I want to sing and make music even with my soul.” Psalms‬ ‭108:1‬ ‭GW‬‬

Now that’s a good option – being happy or confident because of God’s role in our lives. Of course, that requires us being willing to give God carte blanche over all aspects of our lives. And, having enough faith to believe that God loves us far more than we can ever love ourselves and so ALWAYS desires God’s best for us. Even to the extent of exonerating our sins.

What a God!

As we inventory the many gifts and blessings we have received from God we will probably see that we have neglected to give thanks for a few things recently. It is understandable that we forget to be thankful for some things as long as we don’t get to the point where it isn’t about forgetfulness; but about our feeling that God doesn’t deserve our praise. For it is too easy to assume credit for the ‘good’ in our lives or to presume we don’t always need to be giving thanks for our blessings.

We might find however that walking alongside God consistently results in an increased attitude of gratitude. And in turn, our hearts are flooded with joy that is indescribable to those who have not experienced it. Guard that joy. For there are always efforts to steal or distort it. It may be a little annoyance, news that is overwhelming on its own, natural physical ailments that remind us of our humanity or even a delay or denial of a prayer sent Heavenwards in our past.

When those little detractors come, we must counter with praise, dance, timbrel, and song. We can’t yield to the temptation to mope for too long. That (praising God) is one of the best ways to sustain our youth and even to keep healthy. And, for the record, we are each fitted with the capacity for happiness, as there are happy hormones , ‘endorphins’ situated in our bodies to assist us with that process.

Can you imagine, that is another thing for which we can thank God – our being designed for happiness. So we testify to ourselves, or as the psalmist says we allow our souls to bless the Lord and never forget our blessings (see Psalm 103). A more contemporary psalmist suggests that ‘Every praise is due our God’. We praise God for the little things and the big things; for the visible and tangible blessings, and for invisible intangible. We praise God for the gift of endorphins and for the grace and strength to endure and overcome. Never losing sight of our Source and being open to falling a little more in love with Jesus every day.

Let’s get our hearts confident by getting our praise on!

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May all we seek be found in Christ