“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
This is the way Psalm 103 begins—David was goading himself and stirring himself up to bless the Lord. Having been a shepherd David may just have known how to prod and goad sheep. This career may have given him the idea that he needed to stir himself up and begin to speak and say good things about the Lord in a spirit of admiration, gratitude and splendor. He spoke boldly to his own soul; telling his inward man to remember God’s benefits, speak of his wonders, tell of his greatness.
David continues by listing many of the benefits of God and then sending out sparks of interest to others. “Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the Lord all his hosts, his ministers that do his will! Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul!”
What are some ways you goad and prod your soul with every fiber of your being to bless The Lord by naming His benefits?
thedailylily.com 
I just had to list a few of His benefits as David gave us in Psalm 103 verses 3-5.
“who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
“What are some ways you goad and prod your soul with every fiber of your being to bless The Lord by naming His benefits?”
Whoa, writing this blog before going to bed …after reading this psalm, …sharing my thoughts with Gary over half of a naval orange ( my favorite) caused me to awaken this am with a spring bubbling from within to bless The Lord. Sure has given joy to my day!
“What are some ways you goad and prod your soul with every fiber of your being to bless The Lord by naming His benefits?”
Picking up my guitar and getting my fingers and voice going to praise Him is one way.
“Praise Him with the lute and harp.” Ps 150:3
“What are some ways you goad and prod your soul with every fiber of your being to bless The Lord by naming His benefits?”
I verbally thank Him, for His blessings.
“…so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” This statement might put a dance in the feet!
Some ways I prod my soul with every fiber of my being is to intentionally note the little miracles along my day-path [and eve-path] daily…. and vocalize, often in song, my thanks and amazement at His compassion, skill, beauty, timeliness…all the things that show that His presence is with me; Oh, things like all green lights [mostly] on the 34 mile commute to school in the morning and my special parking spot open when I get there. It seems that It’s one of His ways of saying, “See, I am looking out for you.” Then there’s the gorgeous scenery that He paints for me as I travel along the roadside….. Autumn, Winter and Springtime…always changing the backdrop and never getting bored…..well, except maybe a little bit in Winter 😦
And the cherubic voices of tiny children as they sing in our school choruses; placing their little right hands on their hearts [and sometimes left 🙂 ] and belting out the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America. It sure brings a tear to the eye and a whisper of “thank You God for these children that You have made and placed before me to bring joy to my heart and for me to teach to bring joy to Yours. Thank You Lord.
To intentionally praise God for every little thing brings forth bigger things and bigger praises.
And to look more carefully for those things that He has fore-ordained for me to praise Him about.
I’m going to goad myself to “bless The Lord O my soul” by egg hunting good in my day? When I receive a hug, a smile, a word of encouragement and a big one a prayer prayed. A kindness shown, a gift given, devotion from my doggies and the enjoyment of shared meals. And, lots more!
Never hard to praise and bless God when another sees your spiritual gift and opens a door for you to walk through. Or, when I have the opportunity to swing the door the opposite way! Great communication in prayer and with others connects Father to children. Father God loves relationship, friendship and fellowship. Bless The Lord springs from my inward but ignites the sky for me to see. Like the moon and stars on a bright night. I have some spiritual friends that send me notes with the often quoted words, “I love you to the moon and back again.” Oh, yeah, my Mother always loved the moons of the seasons and wrote much poetry on their light. From her connections to the love of moon it has connected me to many moon spirituals opening doors for me to Have RFF. Whoa! Lots of love!
As I was ‘goading’ myself into thanksgiving in personal prayer this morning and thinking about the future, distinctly, this verse of calm came up in my being. “For I know the thoughts and plans I have for you for your HOPE, PEACE and Welfare for good and not for evil” Welfare defined: health, healing, happiness [love] prosperity.__online dict. The verse is in Jeremiah 29:11 and goes on to say that I will then call upon the Lord and seek Him and He would hear and answer from above. Wow! What encouragement! What grace! I DO bless You Lord with all that’s within me. I bless Your Holy, Holy, Holy, majestic, gracious Name.
ps. I also see the connection between this verse in Jeremiah and thedailylily.com Theme.
HOPE, PEACE, JOY!!