Psalm 69:30b

What does it mean "to magnify"? According to my google search it means "to make bigger, larger than it is". A second definition said "to extol; glorify".

"I will....magnify him (God) with thanksgiving."

Upon reading this verse, this morning, I knew it held some Truths I wanted to expound upon, consider and share....

I love this! But there is a part of the first definition that creates a dilemma. God could never be "made bigger" than He is. His "bigness" encompasses all of eternity! There is no one bigger then our God! No one or thing could overshadow His greatness, His love, His virtue, His being, his "bigness".

But on the other hand, when it comes to where He is in our own lives and hearts, it is there that we need to grow Him, extol Him, magnify Him! So yes, we want to make God bigger and larger in our life then He already is. And in doing so, we will extol and glorify Him!

How much greater our lives will be, when we make Him greater! When we allow Him to overtake more of us, more of our thoughts, our words, our praise, our motivation!

As we allow Him to grow within us, we will realize amazing personal growth. We will find our peace becoming more peaceful, our love, more loving, our joy, more joyful! I think of the verse in John 3:30 that states that "He must increase but I must decrease". As we grow in sanctification, as we become more like our Savior, we will find our own selfish desires and needs for acclaim declining! It is a beautiful paradox! A God ordained multi-directional reality.

We will now usher in the second part of this verse, the instructional aspect to this directional challenge, this increase/decrease dynamic. HOW do we magnify Him? Extol Him? Praise Him?

Through our... thankfulness!

The more we thank Him, the more we heap praise upon Him who is praise-worthy, the more we acknowledge the giver of our gifts, the redeemer of our redemption, the sanctifier of our sanctification, the promoter of our eternal promotion, the all of our "all-in-all"...the bigGER He becomes!

Thankfulness! An ongoing state of grateful awareness! A day-in, day-out mindfulness of the goodness of our Good God! I want to grow in this. To have a more thankful mindset. To always be attuned to the gifts that surround us. To be less inclined to just take things for granted. To be in a state of continuous praise! To be always counting. Our blessings. Like life, breath, peace, joy, family, relationships, provisions, creation, sunshine, friends, children, opportunities, holidays, work, purpose, leisure, beauty, meaning, people, things, thoughts, thinkers, helpers, preachers, teachers, music, flowers....the list is endless.

As I re-read the list, I feel chagrined. What is missing? What did I obviously take for granted? Oh Lord, help me to thank you every day for salvation, for your goodness to me, a sinner. May I bask in the Truth that because of you, we have hope and joy. Because of you, we do not need to drink of the wrath of God for sin, for you partook it for us. On the cross. May this become more real, more precious. Every day. That you may become greater in my life and soul.

May our praise be endless. As His gifts are endless. May our thankfulness be ongoing. As His goodness is ongoing. For as we enlarge His presence in our lives with an ever enlarging presentation of thankfulness, He will be magnified!

THANK YOU LORD JESUS!! We magNIFY YOU!