Psalm 43- God is the one who sends out light and truth, which we receive by reading His Word and listening to the Holy Spirit. Here’s how that impacts our devotion today:
From Psalm 43 we learn that God is the one who reaches out to us, by providing His light and truth. The purpose of both are to lead us to God, where we receive joy. So, reading the Bible doesn’t bring joy in itself….it leads us to the source of joy. By the same token, it leads us to the source of strength, wisdom, self esteem, etc. Yes, God’s Word is holy and spirit filled, and is a revelation in itself…but I suspect that it is not to be worshipped…it’s purpose is to lead us into relationship with the one who is worthy of worship. Because of that, let’s pause for a moment and ask the Lord to guide us closer to Him today with this reading of His Word.
“Father, I realize that the purpose of your Word is to bring me into a closer relationship with You, and today I ask that as I read these Psalms I would learn more about you, and find my way closer to you, Amen.”
Psalm 44 – I could understand how God would turn away from David, or Israel if they forgot Him, or disobeyed Him. But here David is saying that God has turned away, allowed the people to be killed off, be defeated in battle, and mocked by surrounding nations even though they have done nothing wrong. The thought of this terrifies me. God can do whatever He wants. I am not guaranteed an easy life. I am not guaranteed that I will prosper and thrive as long as I obey. The prophets were spirit-filled godly men, and many of them lived austere lives, and died a martyr’s death. There is no promise of victory and a life of peace…true, it often happens that way…God’s people are quite often blessed in physical ways, so often in fact that we assume blessings for obedience. I often say that God will not bless disobedience, and that He blesses obedience. Now, that blessing may be a reward in heaven and nothing on earth…and if I truly want to serve God and empty myself of all “self”, I need to accept that God is free to do whatever He wants. Having said this, I know that God does not abandon us, even when we think He has.
Psalm 45 – as I read this passage today I believe that it is referring to God as “the King”. After all, it says in verse 6 that God’s throne endures, and God has anointed this person…who is a king. We must be talking about Jesus here. Keeping that in mind, the beautiful princess that is directed to forget her past life, and celebrate her new identity must be referring to us. After all, we are the “Bride of Christ”. Maybe not every word of every verse pertains in this way, but as I read this today, that’s what comes to mind.
Skipping down to Psalm 84 (one of my “go to” Psalms)
vs 5: We will be filled with joy as we realize strength. We are happy because we realize that our strength is coming from the Lord, who is equipping us for our discipleship journey. We’ve set our minds on pilgrimage, and God is blessing our decision with strength.
vs 6: the “valley of weeping”, also known as the valley of Baca, or a “very dry, lonely and unforgiving place”. Contrast that to the presence of
“joy filled Christians” who must traverse this ground on their discipleship quest in order to arrive in heaven. Maybe that “dry ground” describes your extended family, or your workplace, or a group of your friends…it could even describe an area in your life ie: a situation that you have to “walk through”. Know that as you walk in the strength God gives you; you not only cross this dry place successfully…you water the land as you go. In fact, water springs up from the ground and falls from the sky because you walk there. Remember: when you walk through the desert, the desert becomes farmland. How’s that for God giving you strength?
“joy filled Christians” who must traverse this ground on their discipleship quest in order to arrive in heaven. Maybe that “dry ground” describes your extended family, or your workplace, or a group of your friends…it could even describe an area in your life ie: a situation that you have to “walk through”. Know that as you walk in the strength God gives you; you not only cross this dry place successfully…you water the land as you go. In fact, water springs up from the ground and falls from the sky because you walk there. Remember: when you walk through the desert, the desert becomes farmland. How’s that for God giving you strength?
Psalm 87: towards the end of the Psalm it speaks of “all nations having citizenship in Jerusalem”. This really warms my heart. This is Old Testament, and it’s speaking of a day when all nations, even those who are currently enemies of Israel, will be granted citizenship in the New World Order. Jesus Christ will be the criteria for citizenship, and all nations will live together in peace. I will stand side by side Christians from Iran and Iraq, Syria and Turkey and Saudia Arabia. We will sing songs of rejoicing with Christians from Jordan and Egypt, and laugh together with Russian, Chinese and North and South Koreans as we celebrate our freedom in Christ. National boundaries and politics will be a thing of the past, we will have risen above the mindless arguing and one upmanship for the final time.
The source of our life even today, springs from Jerusalem!
Faithfully,
PR