The Psalms are proving to be just what was needed as we continued on …

Psalm 21

“Though they intended evil against You and devised a plot, they will not succeed.” (Psalm 21:11, NASB)

It is a psalm of praise – praise to a God who is always faithful to His people.

Life is full of battles, we all know that, and have experienced them. Perhaps we are in one now. Let the words of this psalm assure us of God’s Presence with us no matter what we are facing.

Just as God has proven Himself faithful and victorious in Scripture, He will be faithful to us in the present as we rely on Him.

Verse 11 reminds us that plans to thwart God will not succeed. How does this give you encouragement in your everyday life? Do you trust in the Lord’s plans?

May the reading and Scriptures today remind us of this today:

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NASB)

~*~*~

Psalm 23

Psalm 23 – it’s probably the most loved and well known of all the psalms.

The study book makes several powerful statements:

• “He is my Shepherd because this relationship is intimate and personal.”
• “He is mine.”
• “I shall not want because with Jesus I have all that I need.”

Each of us can be possessive about Jesus.

There was one point from the study I want to hold onto. Maybe you will too:

“I have peace because He is with me … Our peace is dependent on God alone and is unchanged by the circumstances around us.”

(from Delight: A Walk Through the Psalms by The Daily Grace Co.)

Our peace is unchanged because Jesus is unchanging. He is the same – yesterday, today, and forever.

The study asks: Why is it important to understand Jesus as our shepherd? Why is it important to understand ourselves as His sheep?

For me, it comes down to this: He has been our Shepherd, He is our Shepherd, He will be our Shepherd.

It is Who He is!

When I finished the reading, I found myself humming, and the words came back to mind:

“Jesus is all the world to me,
My life, my joy, my all;
He is my strength from day to day,
Without him I would fall:
When I am sad, to him I go,
No other one can cheer me so;
When I am sad, he makes me glad,
He’s my friend.”

~*~*~

We closed the week with Psalm 25. I don’t think I have ever paid as much attention to the subtitles in my Bible as I have in going through the psalms at this time. It strikes me funny as they have always been there. It is teaching me that I can miss or overlook details in God’s Word that are right before my very eyes!

Like this heading – “A plea for defense, guidance, pardon.”

I love it as we so need all three of these at work in our lives. We need Him to guide us through each day. It is as we turn to Him in prayer and in His Word that He reveals His will and path to us.

Some portions of the psalm that stood out to me:

• “For You I wait all the day” (verse 5b, NASB). Do I wait or run ahead of Him when the answer is longer in coming?
• “He will instruct him in the way he should choose“ (verse 12b, NASB). Do I let Him instruct me and choose the way He has instructed?
• “My eyes are continually toward the Lord” (verse 15, NASB). Are my eyes continually toward the Lord or do I lose my focus at times?

The study asks: Do you find that you often will first run to the Lord when you are in distress? In what ways does this psalm instruct and encourage you to seek God in prayer?

I am so very grateful for this psalm and the instruction it has brought. When in distress, turning to the Lord in prayer is a process and we need to wait on God all day regarding everything, choose to walk in the way He guides, and continually keep our eyes on Him.

Then we will discover the truth which Spurgeon speaks of:

“There shall be mercy in every unsavory morsel, and faithfulness in every bitter drop.”

~*~*~

May we praise God for answered prayers,
knowing our Shepherd is ever with us,
and will guide us as we keep our eyes on Him.

 

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Today I may be joining … Tell His Story and InstaEncouragements .