Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
(Psalm 103:1 NIV)
The word “bless” gets thrown around a lot. We say “bless you” when someone sneezes. We tell someone to “have a blessed day” as a polite goodbye. We talk about being blessed when good things happen. But in Scripture, this word carries a deeper significance.
The Hebrew word for “bless” in this verse is barak (בָּרַךְ), pronounced bah-RAHK. At its root, it carries the idea of kneeling. To barak is to bless, but it also means to bow low. There’s humility in it. Surrender. A gratitude that bends the knee.
That’s important, because when we think of blessing, we usually think about receiving. We say, “I’ve been so blessed,” when we get good news, a raise, a good health report from the doctor, or safe travels. And we genuinely have been blessed. But Psalm 103 turns the direction around. Here, we’re the ones doing the blessing.
Notice that David isn’t talking to God at first. He’s talking to himself. “Bless the LORD, O my soul.” He’s coaching himself toward worship. “Come on, soul. You know who God is. You know what He’s done. Don’t sit there quiet. Bless Him. Speak well of Him.” There’s something here we all need to learn. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves to worship.
And when David says “all that is within me,” he’s not leaving any part out. Every thought. Every memory. Every bit of strength and breath. This isn’t surface-level, going-through-the-motions worship. This is full-body, whole-heart, nothing-held-back worship. David is saying, “God, You deserve all of me.”
As the psalm continues, David starts listing specific reasons to bless God. God forgives all your iniquity. He heals all your diseases. He redeems your life from the pit. He crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.
Barak grows out of remembering. That’s why David tells his soul, just a few verses later, “forget not all his benefits.” Forgetting is one of our biggest spiritual struggles. We stop noticing. Gratitude is the cure. The deliberate act of calling to mind what God has done for us.
Here’s the real challenge of barak: it shifts our focus from what we want from God to who God actually is. We come to Him with our wish lists, our problems, our desperate needs. And God invites us to bring those things. But before we ask for anything, barak calls us to kneel. To honor His holiness. To speak well of His name even if our circumstances haven’t changed.
Maybe today you need to do what David did. Speak to your anxious parts, your tired parts, your discouraged parts, and say, “Come on. We’re going to bless the Lord today. We’re going to kneel in gratitude. We’re going to remember who God is and what He has done.”
Then do it. “Bless the LORD, O my soul.”
Prayer: Lord, I choose to bless you today, not because everything is easy, but because you are good. Teach me the practice of barak, to kneel before you with a grateful heart and remember what you’ve done. May all that is within me rise up to honor your holy name. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alan Smith
Reprinted with permission from Alan Smith’s Thought For the Day