December 1

Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion; to You our vows will be fulfilled. — Ps 65:1 BSB

What a sweet thing it is to bless and praise God! There's nothing on earth that compares. But how often do we find ourselves unable to pray or praise, when bitterness, stubbornness, and irritability take over? Instead of praising God, we can't even seek Him, and sometimes, we may even feel awful things stirring in our hearts against Him, revealing the deep-rooted hostility of our sinful nature. Those who struggle with these feelings know that it’s only God who enables us to praise and bless His name.

Don't we sometimes come to a place where we say, "Oh, if the Lord would only give me something to praise Him for, to lift me out of this trial, to break this trap, to remove this terrible temptation, to pull me out of this difficult situation, to refresh my soul, comfort my heart, and strengthen my spirit—if only He would show me a sweet sign of His covenant love!" We think, "Then I would bless and praise Him with all my breath."

But when the Lord doesn't give us the blessings we long for, we can only look at them from afar, wishing for them, longing to experience them. We think, "Until they come with power, until they arrive with sweetness, until they're deeply impressed on my heart, I can’t—no, I dare not—praise His holy name."

Oh, what a dependent creature a soul taught by heaven is! How it clings to the Spirit of God to work in it what is pleasing in His sight! How certain it is that it can't even feel its own sin or confess it, can't utter prayers or praises, unless the "God of all grace" produces these blessed fruits of the lips (Isaiah 57:19). Are you as helpless as this in your feelings? Are you entirely dependent on God's grace? Then you are spiritually taught by God, for it's His teaching in the soul that brings a person to truly understand their complete helplessness before Him.