Relinquish Control

A Reflection on the Psalm for May 19th, 2019:
​Fifth Sunday of Easter

Psalm 145

R. I will bless your name forever, my king and my God.

The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. 

R. I will bless your name forever, my king and my God.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power. 

R. I will bless your name forever, my king and my God.

To make known to human beings your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendour of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. 

R. I will bless your name forever, my king and my God.

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Some people call Psalm 145 the Psalm of Praise. The three sets of verses above sing the praise and glory of God and His kingdom. This psalm follows those that are full of prayers and petitions so this is in praise of our God who answers prayers.

We praise and thank God not because He is in need of gratitude and acknowledgment. It is because we feel the need to thank Him with our humble hearts which are bursting with gratitude for all that He has done for us. It is when our prayers are answered that we are humbled with the knowledge that God loves us! We are special to Him; we are His favoured ones!

Oftentimes, I pray to God for my dreams or for Him to help me through my trials and challenges. I do not forget to call on Him whenever I have a deadline, or a medical condition that worries me, or whenever a loved one is sick. My prayers of petition at these times are deep and fervent. However, I realized, that once the prayers are answered, I am so happy that I forget to say a prayer of thanksgiving. This psalm reminds us that our answered prayers are the reason for psalms like this. Our gratitude should know no bounds, we should bless His name forever.

"Our gratitude should know no bounds, we should bless His name forever."

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We sing our praises to God for His goodness and His love and mercy for us. Never mind that we are sinners, or that we have not been ‘good’ lately. God loves us anyway and wants us to eventually be with Him eternally. One of the ways that we can give praise to God is to share our stories with others. Our answered prayers, once shared, may be the instrument to bring someone closer to God. Our victories may encourage someone’s faith to get stronger, or may give hope to someone who is becoming frustrated or depressed over a challenging situation. We never know how it all works! That is entirely up to God. What we know is that we have lifted our petitions up to God and it is up to Him to do the rest.

How many of us get that feeling of immense relief after we have relinquished the control over our problems to God? Try it and see how God takes over. Then when the problem is resolved, let us share our stories and positively influence others to cultivate that relationship with Him, who will hold our hand through tough times.

Liz Venezuela

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