Moods – that temporary state of mind or feeling which determines so much of our day – are notoriously fickle. They come and go. Some days we’re in a good mood, feeling on top of the world, smiling radiantly and exuding optimism. Other days we’re morose and grumpy, irritated and easily antagonised. In between, we feel bored, anxious, fed-up, miserable, jealous, angry, stressed and even-tempered.

Moods very often determine our actions, whereas David in the Bible looks at life the other way round and decides that his actions will direct his moods – or at the very least his actions will not be influenced by them or by his circumstances. Psalm 34 was written at a difficult time when he had to pretend to be insane before Abimelek in order to save his own life. Yet David’s determination was to bless the Lord at all times and to speak out His praise. (Ps 34:1)

Praise and worship are not chance. We choose to bless God at all times. Praise does not always spontaneously happen; we don’t have to be in the right mood in order to praise God. Sometimes – more often than not, in my experience – praise is the result of a steadfast choice, not an ebullient mood.

We choose what we say and need to choose to speak objective truth and not be led by subjective feelings. Truth is truth whether we feel good or not. (‘What’s true in the light is still true in the dark,’ as Rend Collective sing in their achingly honest song, ‘Weep With Me’, a lyric which is pretty much my life motto.) It’s not hypocritical to speak truth when our hearts are breaking and our experience is presently dull and tarnished. It’s actually a sign that we are growing away from the influence of moods and are learning to bless God no matter what. It’s a sign that we’ve grown up enough to realise moods are not the barometer of our faith. Obedience is.