The psalms continue to bring renewed perspective …

Psalm 41

“Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.” (verse 1, NKJV)

I returned to Psalm 40 to read verse 17 again:

“But I am poor and needy.” (NKJV)

It is as we remember that we, too, were poor and needy; we, too, needed help at one time; that we will then help those who are poor and needy.

What does it mean to be “poor and needy”?

These are people who are in miserable situations. They are helpless to get themselves out of their situations. We help them in the ways we are able. It also means we don’t judge or blame them for their situations. We are kind to them, encourage them, and give them hope because we were once them.

Verse 1 also tells us that in turn, we are blessed when we consider the poor. The study asks: How is God’s definition of “blessed” different than the world’s definition of “blessed.”

It’s good to think on this because the world would surely define blessing as having money, possessions, and position..

As I stopped to think on what it means to be blessed, I realized the depth to which the Lord has blessed me. To have the love of family around me, to have laughter in each day, to have peace in my home – these are all blessings from God’s hand.

We are blessed even when we are in the middle of trying situations. We are blessed with His Presence with us – right in the middle of it all!

“It is the dark nights that push us to His side and let His glory shine even brighter before us.”

(from Wait, by The Daily Grace Co.)

Where are you seeing Him in your life at this time?

*~*~*

Psalm 43

“We can have confidence in who He is. Our faith is more than wishful thinking; it is confident expectation.”

(from Wait by The Daily Grace Co.)

In this life our expectations are not always met. We go into a salon expecting our hair to look a particular way after a cut and color. We go into a job only to find it isn’t all it was made out to be. We want friendships and relationships to long lasting and loyal.

But this life can let us down. So what are we to do? A statement from the study brings the answer:

“So we come to Him in prayer, and we pray for Him to help us to see from His perspective, and most of all, to help us trust Him even when our finite minds do not understand.”

(from Wait by The Daily Grace Co.)

This made me question: Do I see things through my expectations or from His perspective?

It isn’t easy to see things from His perspective because we want our expectations to be met.

It truly requires us to surrender our expectations and pray as Christ did: “Not my will but Yours.”

“It is not our trust that keeps us, but the God in Whom we trust that keeps us.” (Oswald Chambers)

May we trust God as the world around us continues to shift and change on a daily basis. As we trust Him, seeing life through the filter of His Word (from His perspective), we will experience joy in the midst of difficulties.

The study asks: How can we fellowship with God and commune with Him right in the midst of whatever we are facing in this life?

What do you do to make this possible?

~*~*~

Psalm 45

It was the first few words that had my attention:

“My heart overflows …” (NASB).

The psalmist then moves into the most amazing description of our Lord.

When we are overwhelmed by Jesus, our hearts will overflow with praise and gratitude.

The quote by Charles Spurgeon shared in the study is a powerful one:

“Jesus reveals himself when we are pouring forth our affections towards him.”

That one statement left me sitting and asking myself, “Am I pouring out my affections towards Him?”

Is it my affections, or my requests, that I am pouring out to Him each day?

The study asks: What can we learn about Jesus from this psalm?

May we remind ourselves anew – Jesus is The King, the Mighty One, who in His majesty ride son victoriously (verse 3, NASB).

~*~*~

Even on the darkest of days we can know God is present,
as we filter circumstances through His perspective,
and remember He is our victorious King.

 

Image 1: by Lukas Baumert from Pixabay
Photo 2: by Austin Curtis on Unsplash

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