More and More

"As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more." 

- Psalm 71:14 

With a pencil in hand, I followed each word with the tip as I read Psalm 71. When I came to this verse, I stopped at the end of the line and read it again, retracing the same invisible path with my pencil lead. I finally decided to put the pencil to paper and make visible the trace of my pencil's tip as I underlined that one phrase that stood out above the rest. More and more. 

Most things in this life wax and wane. They increase and decrease. They go through seasons. Ups and downs. Our emotions and thoughts, our passions and ambitions, even our actions.  Sometimes it seems like a roller coaster, going up and down and all around and then stopping for a few moments to get a new crew on board before doing it all over again. It can seem like everything is just moving in a circular rotation, like what goes round comes around. Like nothing is new under the sun. Is there really anything that is always increasing? Endlessly accelerating? Constantly ascending? 

Yes, our praise. 

May our worship and adoration of Jesus be ever-increasing, always accelerating, rapidly ascending to the heavens and to the throne, deeper and deeper into his presence, closer and closer to his face. 

As we age and our health wanes, may our praise be ever-increasing. 

As we work and our strength diminishes, may our praise just keep growing stronger. 

As our circumstances change and things start falling apart, may our praise only reach deeper.

As the world tries to silence our faith and hope, may our praise only grow louder. 

As troubles, doubts, and fears try to pull us down, may our praise only ascend higher and higher. 

In a life that is filled with ups and downs, risings and fallings, lightings and fadings...

may there be one thing that steadies us by its constant increase. Our praise. More and more. 

When we fix our eyes on the One who receives this ever-increasing worship, it all begins to make sense. We see him there, seated on his throne on high; his name is above all other names. All powers in heaven and on earth bow at his command. There is nothing greater or higher than Him. No wonder our praise can only increase - He is limitless, his love is without borders, his power has no boundary. There is no frontier to his greatness.  

It's an endless ascent on the mountain of worship, our eyes fixed on the ever-approaching summit, climbing higher and higher as we go deeper and deeper into his presence. This ascent is not a tiresome one; it's not like always striving for a goal that can never be met. No, it's more like finding a great treasure that literally has no end. It's a joyful journey as we discover more and more of the greatness of our God and realize that our praise can only reach higher and higher. 

When all else fades, I will praise you more and more. More than yesterday, I will praise you. More than other things I might desire, I will praise you. More than the praise of people, I will praise you. More than anything else, I will praise you. I will praise you more and more.