The song is more than 10 years old at this point, but I’ve always loved and been intrigued by the chorus of “10,000 Reasons.” The lyrics go like this:

Bless the Lord, O my soul. O my soul, worship His holy name.
Sing like never before, O my soul. I worship Your holy name.

It’s interesting to think about who is being addressed here, and by whom. Only one of those sentences is me speaking to God. The first three are me speaking to…well, me.

I have plenty of days where worship is hard. I’m not feeling it. I’m tired or distracted or sad, and just can’t dial it in. Like my heart is somewhere between AM stations and that irritating static sound is the only worship I really have to offer.

I wonder if this is the tone of Psalm 42:5:

Why are you in despair, O my soul,
And why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I will again praise Him
For the help of His countenance.

It’s kind of a funny thought, isn’t it? That I might be able to talk some sense (scriptural, spiritual, truth sense!) to myself even when my heart is hurting, lonely, or distracted.

That’s what I think about when we sing “10,000 Reasons.” I love using it in our time of worship as a church family. Together, we all get to encourage and remind ourselves, no matter our situation, to turn to God.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ~ Colossians 3:16

Grace to you,
chris