Bless the Lord, my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. – Psalm 103:1

I’ve always loved this scripture, and the song too. Sometimes though, I get caught up in the sounds of the songs and just glaze over the lyrics. There’s even sometimes where I feel focused on the lyrics but still it’s not enough.

This morning, as I read that first half of this verse in Psalms, I realized it’s a command to my soul, my spirit, the innermost being of me that connects to God.

I think of it this way. Sometimes we just see words, or even sing words without truly understanding and appreciating what we are reading/saying. For example, when someone near us sneezes and we say, “God bless you.” or even just “Bless you.” It’s second nature and we don’t truly think about it. It’s an act of goodwill. In this verse though, we are reminding our innermost being, our eternal spirit that will live on without our physical bodies to honor God. I want that desire of my soul to be second nature, but I also want my mind to be very present and intentional in the thought and action of honoring God.