It’s Wednesday! This week we are in Part 3 of the Psalms, which covers Psalms 73-89. I’m starting to reach that point where I wish we were doing one Psalm a week, because so much speaks to me in this mid-portion of the book. I love that God gave us David’s words, so full of ups and downs, triumphs and failures, sins and redemptions… One man’s life as a reflection of us all at one point or another. Awesome.
Psalm 86:13 (NAS)–For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
This really ought to be my life verse. Have you ever stopped to think that God doesn’t give you what you deserve? If he did, well, you wouldn’t be here. None of us would be here. What we deserve is so far past our worst nightmares that it is unthinkable. But what God gives us instead… In a lot of ways, it’s so far past our wildest imaginings that it’s also unthinkable, but in a whole different way. His lovingkindness toward us surpasses great. It is knock-your-hair-right-off-your-head amazing.
I know I’ve said it recently–and I can’t remember if it was here or somewhere else–but I identify with God more as Deliverer than as Savior. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I can look at my life and look at His law and see where I would be dead and gone without hope by now were it not for the incredible sacrifice of my Jesus. Thing is, He has always been such a part of my life that I don’t have that dramatic conversion story. What I do have is the awesome moment in which He delivered me from a lifetime of anxious fears, from the weight of sins that threatened to suffocate me, from a future that still makes me cringe when I imagine what I would have been had He not stepped in. Oh yes, His lovingkindness toward me is great. Believe me, not only has He delivered me from the depths of literal hell, He has delievered me from the earthly version of the grave as well. So when I read this verse, boy, do I feel it somewhere deep in the core of me. I am here because of His lovingkindness.
Okay, folks. Hop down to those comments and bring on your favorite verses from this section of the Psalms. Next week we look at part 4, which covers 90-106. I look forward to hearing from everyone!
-JB
Dawn Lucowitz says
Psalm 86:11 – Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
I have written in the last few weeks about my “mouth problem” and how I know that when things that are unpleasing come out of my mouth that it is because they are somewhere in my heart.
I have been working very hard to keep the things I see, and hear, and think pure and good. But naturally, I stumble like crazy. I have prayed many times, like many, that God will search my heart and help me to see the sin that lies there so I can work on it.
What I love most about this verse is the prayer to have and undivided heart. I often pray before reading my bible or at church or watching a podcast, or reading Jodie’s blog that God will teach me whatever it is I’m supposed to be learning.
What I love is that everyone isn’t supposed to learn the same thing from the same verse or message or teaching. This blog has proven just that. What is meaningful and strikes one reader is totally different than what strikes another.
How awesome is it for God to teach each one of us exactly what we need to learn. By having an undivided heart, we can focus and see better what we are suppose to. That undivided heart keeps our focus on God and not on the million other things that clutter our minds and days.
I can’t count how often I have sat down to do my devotion time and simply try to “get it over with” for the day so I can get about my business. How I have looked at my watch during church because of all the things I have to do when the service is over.
I pray that The Lord will not only teach me what I need to know, but that he will help me to have an undivided heart that will hold only Him. That my thoughts and my focus and my life be consumed by Him.
Jodie says
I like that one! An undivided heart. One that is focused on God and not on ourselves, our “passions,” our stuff. That is something I need to start doing more often, truly praying that God will teach me in the moment I am in, truly learning to sit still when I am with him, truly LISTENING. I like what you said about how God can use the same verse to teach different people different things. One of our preachers once said he wished church worked in a way that you came in, sat down, and when you got your word from God for the day, you got up and left and he’d just preach until the place was empty. He said some people would have their word in ten minutes and others might take hours, but he wished we approached church that way, coming to hear what God has to say to us instead of marking time. THAT would require an undivided heart for sure. Nice one, my friend!
Jen says
Wow- love what you said about God delivering you from the literal hell and the earthly version, too. I was just writing about that last night and can so relate to your looking at Him more as a Deliverer than a Savior.
My verse this week is one that reminded me of what an awesome responsibilty I have at work…
Psalm 78:4b- We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.
Not only am I responsible for my kids’ physical safety and their emotional well-being, but because it’s a church-based pre-school, I also play a role in their spiritual development. What an honor to get to tell these kids about Jesus!
Jodie says
And a huge responsibility that is. So glad God equips us for that…
Carol J. Garvin says
The psalms have so much that resonates with me. It’s hard to select the most meaningful, but I think if I had to pick just one it would be Psalm 75:3. In a world with so much turmoil it provides the reassurance I latch onto: “When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.”
I also love Psalm 73:23-26 —
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Happy New Year to you, Jodie.
Jodie says
Ooh, beautiful, Carol. Every verse that reminds me that God is always there is a favorite for me. And a Happy New Year to you, too!