Praise The Lord!

On June 26, 2023, I began a 40-day fast from social media. I intended the fast to help me focus on some spiritual areas where I sensed I was lacking.

First, I felt I was reading posts on social media more than I was reading pages of my Bible. Often, during the morning, I found myself catching up on the buzz and happenings of others, versus focusing on how God was a priority in my life. I did not feel guilty...I just felt empty. My heart was hungry for something more than “likes and comments” so I decided to start a season of fasting. Then, what happened?

A mentor of mine once said, “Tim, we need to be reminded more about what we already know versus learning something new.” 

I found myself opening the pages of two books of the Bible to re-read what I had already read time and time again. Turning to Psalms and Proverbs, I found myself on a renewed journey of discovery. What was God trying to remind me of?

During my time reading Scripture, for several days I just kept studying Psalm 146 and discovered what I was missing in my life. Praising the Lord was not my focus. Worse off...I think I was stuck on seeking praise from others. This was the clarity I believe God wanted to teach me and how seeking approval and acceptance can be a distraction from Whose approval matters most.

“Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.” (Psalms 146:1-2) It was like a lightbulb went off in my heart: “Praise the Lord!” The time I had spent on social media was praising others and I was missing out on praising the Lord. The engineering of social media is driven behind a single premise of the “fear of missing out.” FOMO is the acronym you may have heard floating around. You miss the likes, the photo tags, and you quickly log back on to see people’s comments or shares from your recent post. Fear of missing out causes you to check in—soon and often. During my social media fast, I discovered what I was missing the most was praising the Lord. 

Can social media be a distraction from God? Maybe. Or are we focusing on God first? My heart was thirsty for something more. I am thankful God showed me a renewed truth to the power of praising Him, because He alone deserves our praise. 

Today, I’m challenged by three questions. First, who am I praising? Am I spending more time praising the accomplishment of others versus praising the Lord? Second, why am I praising? Do we praise others because in essence we want praise too? It’s like a trade of praise. If I say something nice to you, will you say something nice to me? I need to wake up daily and praise the Lord because He alone deserves my praise. Third, when am I praising? Every day is a good day to praise the Lord...not just when I feel like it. Now, I’ve changed the first three words out of my mouth when I wake up to: “Praise the Lord!” ~Tim DeTellis