Month: June 2021

Psalm 125:1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

I struggle with verses like today’s verse 1. I *do* trust in the LORD; however, I feel like I am often shaken. I know that the issue is within me. I know that fear and doubt are the roots of the shaking. It frustrates me no end that at this point in my life I haven’t learned to fully get out of my own way, stop trying to depend on myself, and trust in God without any doubts at all.

Psalm 125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people both now and forevermore.

I think, though, what I am struggling with is a faith in ME problem instead of a faith in GOD problem. Perhaps my fear and doubt are because I don’t think *I* can do all things. I can’t. Ever. God can. If I put my trust in myself, I will be shaken every time. Jesus, Help me.

Psalm 125:4 LORD, do good to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the things You have laid on my heart this morning. I don’t want to put my faith and trust in myself, Lord. Help me, always, to put my total faith and trust in You alone. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 125:5 But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 124:1 If the LORD had not been on our side—let Israel say….

There is great comfort in having people who love and care for us, whom we can turn to to share our burdens, but I have found as I get older that instead of venting to others, which I’m still guilty of doing, I try to take things to God.

Psalm 124:2 …If the LORD had not been on our side when people attacked us….

When I vent, I often get more wound up, angrier. It is only when I take it to God that I can begin to work through it, begin the process of laying it at His feet, of trying to put it there and leave it there—something I still struggle with—because I know that giving it to Him is the only way that I can find peace.

Psalm 124:6 Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for Your love and protection, for Your desire for me to bring all my burdens to You and leave them there. Help me never to forget that help and peace reside solely in You. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 124:8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 123:1 I lift up my eyes to You, to You who sit enthroned in heaven. (NIV)

We have a wonderful park where I live that used to be a quarry. One of the paths goes over lots of rocky terrain, meaning there are few trees to impede the view. It is always a breathtaking lesson in perspective when I take this hike. I start in the woods, where all I can see are rocks and trees, but as I climb, I pretty quickly get above the tree line so that each time I turn to focus on the view, it is wider and more substantial.

Psalm 123:1 To You I have raised my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! (NASB 1995)

Life can be a lot like that, at least for me. The day-to-day is like the beginning of the hike—all you can see is what’s right in front of you, and those things loom large. But when we raise our eyes to heaven, when we focus on God, every time we look, the view gets a little more expansive, it is a little easier to put our troubles into better overall perspective. 

Psalm 123:1 LORD, I look up to You, up to heaven, where You rule. (GNT)

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You that You, Creator of the universe, care so deeply about each one of us. Help us, especially in times of trouble, to focus our eyes on You instead of on the problems in our path. Draw us closer. Amen.

Psalm 123:1 I look up to You, to the one who sits enthroned in heaven. (GWT)

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 122:1 I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

Over the course of the pandemic, my definition of “the house of the LORD” has broadened and deepened. At the beginning of the pandemic, our church worshiped digitally with another local church of a different denomination because they did not have the technology to broadcast online at that point. I found that experience, which lasted about a year, to be incredibly enriching to my faith life.

Psalm 122:2 Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem.

Also during the pandemic, I started meeting via Zoom with a weekly book study group made up of folks from my church and others. That group changes a little with each book we study, but it has become a rich community of faith for me as well. I’m thankful that my definition of “the house of the LORD” has become more expansive over the past year and a half. 

Psalm 122:4 That is where the tribes go up—the tribes of the LORD—to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the growth and enrichment of my faith and my faith community over the course of the pandemic. Help me always seek to grow closer to You through my life of faith. Amen.

Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love You be secure.”

Have a blessed day. I love you.

Psalm 121:3 He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will not slumber….

I don’t sleep well. I often wake in the middle of the night and have trouble going back to sleep. The best use of my middle-of-the-night time is prayer. If I can remember to fill that time with prayers for those in need, I will typically end up drifting back to sleep peacefully. When I don’t remember to go to God in prayer, I usually end up tossing and turning and fretting about my inability to sleep.

Psalm 121:4 …indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

I have decided, though, that it is a gift to be able to lift people in prayer in the middle of the night. When I am sick, struggling, or in pain, it is usually worse in the middle of the night. So as I find myself awake in the middle of night, I try to lift up to God, who never slumbers, those who are struggling and feel alone, afraid, abandoned. 

Psalm 121:7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life….

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that You are always with us, that You never slumber. When I struggle with sleep, help me to turn to You and lift those who are struggling, too. Draw us closer. Grant us Your peace. Amen.

Psalm 121:8 …the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 120:1 I call on the LORD in my distress, and He answers me.

The truth of verse one takes my breath away. Whenever I call on the Lord, He hears me, He answers me, He is there for me. He does this, not because I am somehow worthy (I’m not), but because I am His beloved child.

Psalm 120:2 Save me, LORD, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.

He doesn’t come in waiving a magic wand that makes everything better. He draws me closer and reminds me that His strength is perfected in my weakness, that I am His deeply, fiercely loved child, that He has already won the war, regardless of the current raging battle, that all I need is to cling to Him. Thank You, Jesus.

Psalm 120:3 What will He do to you, and what more besides, you deceitful tongue?

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that You are my core, my center, my refuge and strength. Thank You for hearing me when I cry to You for help and for answering me with Your unending love. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 120:7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

I slept in this morning. Truly, I don’t know when the last time is I have slept so late. Unfortunately, it’s also the only day this week I have an obligation necessitating leaving the house at a specific time. No worries. I’ll tear through my reading, prayer, and reflection time. What’s today’s chapter? Psalm 119. The longest chapter in the Bible. Literally. God definitely has a sense of humor. 

Psalm 119:147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in Your word.

But God’s humor is never to laugh at me. He drove home an important point this morning. As I read (and read and read) chapter 119, fretting about the time, the length, and my obligations, God kept asking me what my purpose here is. This morning that purpose felt more like checking a box. Bible read? Check. That’s not what I want from my morning time with Jesus. I want to be still in His presence. I want to listen and hear. I want to know Him more.

Psalm 119:175 Let me live that I may praise You, and may Your laws sustain me.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that my morning time with You is a gift, not a chore, not an item on a checklist. Help me, always, to be still in Your presence, to listen to Your words, to hear Your voice. Draw me closer. Always. Amen.

Psalm 119:176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commands.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 117:1 Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples.

This psalm is only two verses, but there is a lot packed into them. For me, this psalm is another reminder that my focus, my perspective, matters. No where does it say that I am to praise the Lord for all He has given me or for the smooth, easy path on which He has placed me. That’s probably because those are NOT primary reasons for praise.

Psalm 117:2 For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.

I am reminded to praise the Lord because of His great love for me, a love that I do not deserve and can never earn. It is His gift of grace to me. I am reminded to praise Him because of His enduring faithfulness. Even when I am unfaithful–grumpy, selfish in thoughts, words, and deeds, He is still faithful to me, a gift that I do not deserve and can never earn. It is His gift of grace to me. Thank You, Jesus.

Psalm 117:1 Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for Your great love and enduring faithfulness, for the gift of Your undeserved grace. Help me to praise You, always. Even when my circumstances are not what I wish them to be, You are still with me, Your grace if sufficient. Thank You for Your fierce love. Amen.

Psalm 117:2 For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.

Have a blessed day.