I was with my friend James one day when we spotted a bumper sticker that read: "America Bless God."

James looked at it for a moment and said, "Is that biblical? Isn't that getting it backward?"

It's a fair question. We are used to asking God to bless us — not the other way around. And it seems a little audacious, even absurd, to talk about blessing God when we are the ones in need of help.

But many of the psalms — including Psalm 115 — end exactly there. The congregation, in the middle of their own desperate situation, is called to bless God. To praise. To give thanks. Even now. Even here.

How do we bless God from a place of need?

Maybe it looks like giving to hurricane relief when what we can offer feels like a drop in the bucket. Maybe it looks like showing up to serve even when our own lives feel far from together. Maybe it looks like standing up for someone who is being treated unjustly, even when we feel we have nothing left to give.

The act of blessing God shifts something in us. It moves the focus from what we lack to what we have been given. It is, in itself, an act of trust — a declaration that even here, even now, even in this, God is worthy.

And maybe that act of trust brings its own blessing in return.

Prayer: Lord, we come to you today not only with our needs but with our praise. Even in the hard seasons — perhaps especially then — you are worthy of our blessing. Shift our focus from what we lack to what we have received. May our praise be its own act of trust. Amen.

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