Psalm 31- Protected Under Siege

 ”Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his faithful love to me in a city under siege.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭31‬:‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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What an incredible reminder that God will show His love in every situation.  It is not only that we see Gods love when everything is going our way…when everything is rainbows and unicorns…but also in the middle of terrible life circumstances.  In fact this is the more critical time to experience His love, when the rest of the world seems to be falling apart.

Lord help me to look for your fingerprints in the storms of life…your love in the midst of trials.  Allow me to give you credit for the care you show when things are going badly!  And give me the wisdom to remember your love even when things are going well!!!

Psalm 30- Fleeting Sorrow

 ”Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you healed me. Sing to the Lord, you his faithful ones, and praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor, a lifetime. Weeping may stay overnight, but there is joy in the morning.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭30‬:‭2‬, ‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I love how this Psalm reminds us of the answers that we get from the Lord.  But even better is the comparison of the pain with joy and how one is fleeting and the other eternal.  That is the opposite of what we experience apart from Christ.  It seems like pain, sadness and sickness are the majority of our time, with brief moments where we can forget the rest of our miserable life.

Life with Jesus is exactly the opposite, brief moments of pain in the middle of joyous peace filled days.  Why would anyone want something else?  

God remind me to run to you quickly in the moments of pain so that I can experience your peace, comfort and joy!

Psalm 29- Peace in the Storm

 ”The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned, King forever. The Lord gives his people strength; the Lord blesses his people with peace.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭29‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This whole Psalm talks about the power of God and how He deserves our worship. The last couple verses stand out to me because of the picture it paints.  Floods are chaotic and bring destruction, they are terrible and uncontrollable…yet God reigns over them.

This is such a good metaphor for our lives!  So much of what we experience in life is out of our control.  We feel helpless to move in the right direction because even when we make plans, they often fall apart.  Yet this verse reminds me that God is firmly seated above all the chaos.  It doesn’t throw Him for a loop when things don’t go the way I expected, He already knew.  And if we are trusting Jesus, he gives us strength to endure the chaos and unexplainable peace.

Lord, you have walked right beside me through so much trial, suffering and chaos.  Never once were you worried about the result, even when I was anxiously wringing my hands, losing sleep and distracted by trying to control things.  You were always calmly confident, siting on your throne, patiently guiding me and attempting to draw my attention back to who You are…and how little I control.  Lord keep my mind focused on who You are and how You have consistently strengthened me and brought me through every chaotic moment!  You are beyond good!!!

Psalm 28- Despair to Delight

 ”Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleading. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭28‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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David begins this Psalm telling God that he needs help. He follows that with pleading that God will listen to him, answer him and powerfully work in his life.  David says the very things we feel while in the midst of suffering or trial: Are You listening?  Are You even there? Do You care about me? We are tempted to suspect the answer to all of those questions is “NO”!  We feel alone and hopeless…

Then you get to the last few verses and David sees help arrive and his feeling change in an instant.  He is transformed from despair to delight because God is at work.  In a flash, David goes from hopeless to happy and claims God as his strength and the only one who can save Him.

Lord give me eyes to see Your fingerprints around me.  Allow me to see Your help and give You the credit for it.  Help me to rejoice in the strength that You bring and bolster my confidence that You will continue to show up in the future, build my faith in You!

Psalm 27- Waiting Patiently

 ”I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple. 

I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭4‬, ‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I really needed this passage this morning…I was feeling down yesterday, discouraged and depressed.  I was surprised because I had such a sweet time with the Lord in the morning, but by dinner time, I was pretty low.  Partly this is the natural transition of work that I was proud of, excited to do and felt like I was making a difference.  New jobs always start off in a challenging way.  Sometimes there seems to be so much to learn and do that it will be impossible to get it all done.  This is the first time in my career that I literally have nothing to do.  That posses it’s own challenges for me, but it has been discouraging.

This Psalm though. reminded me that God has a plan and He has perfectly orchestrated this transition for me.  Maybe I was enjoying the hit of adrenaline that the stressful work setting provided, or I delighted in the feeling of being indispensable …all of which distracted me from being dependent on God. He is asking me to wait on Him…because He has His goodness to show me.

The other portion that was flashing in my face was David’s desire to be close to God.  I have this same goal, that is ultimately why I changed jobs to start with, to follow Him more closely.  To do what He was asking as soon as I understood what He wanted.  It hasn’t been easy, leaving a job that I loved 90% of and people I loved 100% of…but God asked me to do it, so I followed.

I am excited to see what He has in store, because I have the same confidence as David, “I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living”!  That means I won’t have to wait till I am in heaven to experience His blessing, but I will see it soon.  Lord, help me to wait patiently on You!

Psalm 26- Becoming Who?

 ”I do not sit with the worthless or associate with hypocrites. I hate a crowd of evildoers, and I do not sit with the wicked.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭26‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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I woke up this morning praying about my opportunity to tell my coworkers about Jesus.  Most of the people I work with don’t know Christ so I have to he potential to live out my faith in an attractive way before them.

This verse also popped off the page for me because David is talking about the exact same thing from the opposite perspective.  It is commonly said “show me the five people you spend the most time with and I will show you your future”.  The idea is that we are transformed into the average of the people we spend the most time with.  This is absolutely true.

That is why David is proclaiming so vehemently that he doesn’t spend time with evildoers, the wicked, worthless or hypocrites.  He knows that if he does, he will end up like them…and those characteristics are the exact opposite of what God has called him to.

Lord, help me to choose my friends based on what I desire to become…Lead me to friendships that hold You in high esteem and honor You in every way!  Open my eyes to recognize the people around me that pull me away from You.  God allow me to interact with those who need You but not be influenced by them.

Psalm 25- Unending Mercy

 ”Lord, for the sake of your name, forgive my iniquity, for it is immense.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭25‬:‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

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This line really jumped out to me, “for the sake of your name”.  I feel like forgiveness is primarily benefiting me (the sinner) and costing God, yet this verse the proclaims the opposite.  

Often times when scripture is talking about “the name” of God it is describing His reputation, or the understanding of who He is.  Accomplishing this action of forgiveness is building, in a positive way, our knowledge of God and His character.  According to this verse it is amplifying Gods reputation because David’s  sins are so big and impact so many people…which is in every other case terrible!

But many times God is the opposite of what we imagine.  In this case He is greater because of His ability to forgive more.  The depth of His riches are demonstrated to be even more vast.  And His compassion is immeasurably more than imagined and proven to be so by every act of forgiveness.

Lord, help me to meditate on the greatness of who you are!  Allow me to release you from the mental box I have placed you within so that I might see your majesty!  Give me a bigger view of You!!!