Psalm 103-10.27.22
SCRIPTURE
Psalm 103
OBSERVATION
David starts off this Psalm by saying that he wants to praise God with all that he is. With his whole heart he will praise God. He then continues to talk about how he never wants to forget the good things that God has done for him. Right after this statement, he lists off the many things God had done for him.
UNDERSTANDING
Lately I’ve been hit with how powerful it is to do what David is doing in this passage.
David is increasing his joy capacity.
I believe David understood the importance of joy in our lives.
In John 15, Jesus talks about how He is the vine and we are the branches, and that those who remain in Him and He in them will produce much fruit. Later in that passage Jesus says that if you remain in His love just as He remains in His father’s love, that we will be filled with joy that overflows.
God wants us to be overflowing with joy. I believe as we are overflowing with joy, we will impact our communities. I read a quote one time that said “People will forget what you say , but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
I believe David understood the importance of overflowing with God’s joy. Joy is the thing that will impact those around us. Joy is the thing that people are drawn to. Joy will also carry us through the tough times. When we go through hard times, we can still add the joy of the Lord to our situation, knowing He will never leave us or forsake us. We can grab hold of the joy that He will work all things for His good.
We see David doing exactly what we need to increase our joy. We see Him doing a couple things.
First, we see him showing his gratitude towards God by worshiping God and giving Him glory. Gratitude is the first step to building joy into our lives and it helps us experience a more consistent connection with God.
Second, we see David telling his story. He’s going over how good God is. There’s something that happens when we learn the practice of meditating on what God has done. You begin to realize how much God loves you; you start to remember what that felt like in that moment.
One of the greatest ways to increase joy is to put these two practices into our daily routine.
LIFE APPLICATION
I want to encourage you to start a journal and fill it with the stories of what God has done. If you already have one or are just starting, I want you to start to meditate on your stories every day.
It’s simple to do, but will increase your joy capacity.
Here’s how:
Take 5 minutes each day. You might need more than one story to fill the time.
Each memory should focus on two things.
1. Be aware of the sensation in your body as you relive it. (Maybe you felt butterflies, maybe it was heat, maybe excitement, etc… don’t just think of the words of how you felt, allow yourself to feel it again.)
2. What sort of connection did you feel with God in the memory? Maybe God was reminding you He loves you. He could have be letting you know you can trust him, etc…)
-Justin Eaves
Psalm 102-10.26.22
Scripture
Psalm 102: 1, 12:
1 Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you….12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations.
Observation-What does it say?
“The title of this psalm is A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the LORD. This afflicted one borrowed his tone and some of his phrasing from Job, who is the Old Testament’s greatest example of affliction. Many phrases also match others in the psalms. This psalm describes Jerusalem (Zion) in a state of ruin. If this is taken as literal ruin, the psalm may have been written by those in exile who mourned over both their personal and national affliction (David Guzik commentary on enduringword.com).”
I looked up the word lament and it means “to express deep regret, grief, or sorrow….Lamenting is a common theme in the Bible.” (gotquestions.org)
Understanding-What does it mean?
Even though the Psalmist laments, he doesn’t stay there the whole time.
In verses 1-11, the Psalmist laments, but in verse 12, changes his tone to worshipping God for Who He is.
Anakin Cerda did an amazing job with his sermon on Sunday and spoke about King David (the one who wrote most of the Psalms) and how he cries out (or laments) to God, but “slowly turns his tone into into praise and worship to God.” Anakin used Psalm 6 to illustrate this point. If you missed his sermon, please feel free to check it out on YouTube at this link:
Life Application
It’s okay to lament to God. Just don’t stay at the lamenting phase the whole time.
God wants us to be honest with Him. He wants to hear the good, bad and ugly. That’s the type of relationship He desires with us. He is not an insecure God who is unable to handle our human emotions. He already knows it all. However, in the midst of our complaining, pain, suffering, anger, confusion, affliction, weeping, lamenting, tiredness, etc., we must remember to always switch our tone back to praise and worship for Who He is, despite the circumstances and hardships around us.
Come join us tonight at 7p for Worship Wednesday. Let’s pray for each other’s afflictions and problems, but make sure not to keep our focus on that. Let’s focus on worshipping the One who is worthy ALL the time! It’s amazing what happens when we keep our eyes fixed on Him amidst it all.
Dear Lord, please forgive me for the times I’ve stayed in the lamenting phase too long and failed to switch to praising Your good and loving character. You are good all the time and as the Psalmist says, “But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” Amen.
-Michelle Gaddi
Nehemiah 8-10.25.22
Scripture
Nehemiah 8:9
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
Observation
When we encounter God’s word, we should be changed.
Understanding
In Nehemiah chapter 8, the people were gathered to hear the Book of the Law read and explained. Verse 3 says, “He (Ezra) read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.” And then in verse 9, “For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.”
The people sacrificed time (daybreak till noon) to hear the word of God. They wanted to hear from God. They listened attentively. They wept over their sin. And the word of God changed their hearts.
Sorrow over our sin is a necessary part of God working on our hearts. But after the sorrow, comes joy. Verse 10 says, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
“Our knowledge of our sin should never be bigger than our knowledge of Jesus as our Savior. We are great sinners, but He is a greater Savior. Therefore, the joy of the Lord is your strength – even when you are being convicted of sin. When we are convicted of sin we know that God is doing a work in us, so we can be glad and take joy.” (Enduring Word Bible Commentary)
Life Application
Lord, thank you for challenging me to allow my heart to be changed through encounters with your word. Thank you for correcting me – that I should not read the Word so I can check something off my to-do list, skimming quickly through and moving on. I need to open the Bible each day and search for a word from You, asking you to speak to me and change my heart. I am a great sinner but You are a greater Savior! The joy of the Lord is my strength!
-Debbie Dunn