I will exalt You, my God, the King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation will praise Your works to another, And will declare Your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Your majesty And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. People will speak of the power of Your awesome acts, And I will tell of Your greatness.
~Psalm 145:1-6
In my church, we have this thing we do whenever we gather in small groups, whether huddling before Sunday serving, at the start of disciple group gathering, or even when two or three are gathered for almost any reason. A simple request is made of one another: Let’s hear some wins. For context, a “win” is wherever you have seen the Lord work in your life. This could entail an invitation to church given to a shoe salesperson—and accepted. It could be the experience of unreasonable peace through a very challenging workday. Or it may be a step of obedience taken in following after Jesus.
It appears obvious that in thinking back over the past days or week, we’d all have 400 ways in which the Lord showed Himself awesome to us…so sharing a win seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? Yet, I’ve noticed that when the question is asked in these gatherings of the saints, crickets fill the air instead of glorious praises. All too often, I even rack my own brain in search of something to share. Where, I ask myself, did I see God show up?
Beloved, for every follower of Jesus, this should not be something to grasp for! Every breath is an awesome gift of God. The mounting glow of the morning sky at sunrise, the belly laughter of a child, the food satisfying our belly, the sincere eye-to-eye welcoming of another that says, “I see you and love you.” The joy of reading the very Words of God, praying with friends, sharing burdens with a brother or sister to shed light on a darkness of the soul. All these reflect the Lord’s hand in our life, glorifying His greatness. The key, sweet friend, is to be intentional—look for, acknowledge, be awed.
King David was particularly good at sharing wins—recognizing and declaring the awesomeness of God. So, his Psalms are a fantastic place to go when we’re struggling to see the Lord’s mighty hand in our life. (I realize this seems like an odd thing to say to believers…but, let’s be honest, some days we get up and go, go, go just to fall into bed at night with perhaps some faint prayer of thanks or a last-minute supplication for a family member or friend.) Psalm 145, for example, is a wonderful go-to for inspiring the exaltation of the Lord. As the great John MacArthur (who now glories in the very presence of Jesus) said of this poem of praise: “Here, the king of Israel extols and celebrates the King of Eternity for who His is, what He has done, and what He has promised.” There is a beautiful flow that starts and ends with a commitment to praise God. And in between, the Psalm moves from God’s awesome greatness to His great grace to His unfailing faithfulness to His unblemished righteousness.
So, let’s encourage one another, as long as it is called today, to intentionally look for God’s greatness, grace, faithfulness, and righteousness. In the big things and small details. Because it all is miraculous, and it’s meant to glorify the Lord—they’re all wins. Then, do tell.
Lord, may I never cease to be in awe of You—Your steadfast faithfulness, the gift of salvation through Jesus, my ability to know you through Your Word. May I daily look for—and tell of—every win.
encouraged by grace 