by Richelle Hecker.

Pointing to Your Creator

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link. 

Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
    stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars,
Psalm 148:7-9 New International Version

It is difficult to pick only a portion of this psalm for today’s blog. The whole psalm is commanding everything, and everyone, to praise the Lord. They are to praise the Lord because He commanded and they were created. That’s it! Some days it may feel nearly impossible to praise God because of your circumstances, but this Psalm reminds us that our praise need not be based on circumstances at all.

This Psalm calls for all things to praise God. I can see how creatures can praise, but what about the other things? In this psalm alone the ocean depths, lightning, hail, snow, clouds, and even wind are called to Praise the Lord. How do mountains, hills, fruit trees, cedars, and all those other things do it? They do the creators bidding. If even a stormy wind is commanded to live a life of praise, then I can also praise while standing in that stormy wind. 

My daughter took this picture of a struggling yucca seedling. Some might say it doesn’t have much reason for praise. It is young and struggling. If it were not for this photograph, most would not know of its existence. The yucca plant it came from certainly doesn’t remember it. If we water it wrong, give it the wrong amount of sunlight, or have placed it in unfriendly soil it won’t last long. Many other things could go badly for this little plant that are outside its’, and our, control. Still it is commanded to praise God, right now, just as it is. It is praising God because He created it.

Everything created has a purpose no matter how short, or long, lived. The main purpose for the existence of everyone, and everything, is to praise the Creator and point to Him.  If you are still breathing, do His bidding and live a life of praise!

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church.