cycle of praise

I was reading in Psalm 67 today…

¹ May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us,

² that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.

³ May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.

⁴ May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth.

⁵ May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you.

⁶ Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us.

⁷ God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

I saw the simple cycle of praise and blessing. In the first two verses, we see that God showers us with grace and makes His presence known in our lives so that we will know Him personally.  He wants our reaction to be joy (v. 4-5). When we praise Him for the things He is doing and for the ways He is making Himself known to us, then He is inspired to do more (v. 6-7).

How often the Lord blesses me… and I don’t show my appreciation! Today this psalm reminded me to thank Him for all that He has poured into my life. It reminded me to look for the evidence that His blessings flow on a daily basis.