I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. 2 Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. 4 one generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. 5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. 6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. 7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

What is the most deadly, yet the most basic weapon in the arsenal of the devil? Some of his deadly weapons include pride, greed, guilt, fear, apathy and selfishness. Yet, could we call any of these his most deadly? Could it be that deception is that most deadly weapon? When the devil can use something that is not all bad or even something that is all good in itself for his purpose and convince us that it is being used for God’s purpose, he has won his battle. His first deception of mankind was with Eve in the garden.

Consider for a moment the following. We see things that are not as they should be. It may be in society, politics, the schools, our community, our homes, the local church or even in our personal lives. These can be a motivation to drive us to make corrections and to draw us closer to God. Or, they can be used to focus our minds on the negative and all that is wrong and then discourage us, depress us, draw us into gossip and destroy any good that might come. It is with this attitude that we are deceived into thinking that there is no hope of improvement. We are doomed to fail or we decide to just quit trying. One of the bad side effects of this is the more we focus on what is wrong, the more wrong we see. No matter how good something is, we can find something wrong with it.

What we must do is focus on what is right, what is wholesome, what is honest. Since God is in our lives and we are seeking to serve him, we can begin with his goodness and all he has done for us. We then use his goodness to move us to serve him and live for him. While this may not solve all the problems in our world, we can face them with complete assurance that God is in control and will work things out for our good and his plan.

O God, creator of all things, I give you praise an honor. Help me to share your gospel with those in my life. Give me wisdom to not be deceived but to do your will by opening my heart to your control. Use me to encourage and to be a positive influence in the lives of others. Help me to not allow myself to become depressed but to trust you more. I pray in the name of Jesus.

May God bless each of us to know and do his will today.