Psalm 21

    1      The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD;
    And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
    2      You have given him his heart’s desire,
    And have not withheld the request of his lips.
Selah

    3      For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
    You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
    4      He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—
    Length of days forever and ever.
    5      His glory is great in Your salvation;
    Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.
    6      For You have made him most blessed forever;
    You have made him exceedingly glad with Your presence.
    7      For the king trusts in the LORD,
    And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.
    8      Your hand will find all Your enemies;
    Your right hand will find those who hate You.
    9      You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger;
    The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath,
    And the fire shall devour them.
    10      Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth,
    And their descendants from among the sons of men.
    11      For they intended evil against You;
    They devised a plot which they are not able to perform.
    12      Therefore You will make them turn their back;
    You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.

    13      Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength!
    We will sing and praise Your power.
-Psalm 21

Not too long ago I was struggling through a bit of anxiety. I was not sure where it was coming from or why it was there, but I knew I felt anxious. I had shared this with some fellow believers and we took it to the Lord in prayer. A few days go by and I am asked how things are going with my anxiety. To my own bafflement I had realized that I had not had any anxiety since that point. Somehow I had forgotten the request I brought before the Lord and therefore did not go in praise to the mighty work the Lord had accomplished.

Do you remember the victories of the Lord in your life? It never ceases to amaze me at how quick I can move past issues once they have been resolved and immediately forget they were ever a thing. This poses a great difficulty to me when it comes to praising the Lord for the victories He brings me through. I am convinced of this being a human condition kind of issue since it seemed Israel and many of the kings needed regular reminders set up to recognize what the Lord had done.

This Psalm is a recognition of victory in the Lord. David begins first by joyfully recognizing the strength of the Lord and His salvation as well. The entire rest of the psalm follows this same tone of rejoicing in the Lord's strength and His salvation. Apart from the praise and recognition of victory that the Lord brings, there really is no petition brought before the Lord. Let us take some time to practice remembering victory that the Lord has given as well as offering praise to Him for that. Set aside some time today just for rejoicing in the Lord and enjoying His presence. Train your mind to remember to bring praise before the Lord.