October in the Psalms: A Song to Sing
In Psalm 59:16, David sits surrounded by men who seek to kill him. He’s a hunted and trapped man. Can you imagine the hopelessness and the fear? David tells God all about it, but then he writes, “But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.” […]
October in the Psalms: God Restores
Psalm 51:10-12 echoes the cry of anyone ready to return to God’s love after a time of living their own independent way. I will forever love this beautiful prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your […]
October in the Psalms: Be Still
As a high energy (and sometimes frenzied) person, I love the command in Psalm 46 to “be still.” The singers writing this psalm declare that God says, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” When I read this, I remember […]
October in the Psalms: God Inclines
Psalm 40 feels like balm to the soul on hard days. If you read it (and consider memorizing it), you’ll find some marvelous things about God. The very first verse positions David waiting patiently on God. And then? We hear “[God] inclined to me and heard my cry.” God inclines; it’s a verb inviting us […]
October in the Psalms: God Delights in Our Well-Being
I loved the day I discovered Psalm 35:27a: “Great is the Lord, who delights in the well-being of his servant.” As I studied this verse in different translations, I could hardly believe it: God delights in keeping us at peace, content, and prosperous. It pleases Him. He wants to make us whole and right. Had […]
October in the Psalms: Surrounded
I love reading about God’s surrounding love. The verb surrounded makes you feel encircled, protected, embraced, and covered. In Psalm 32:10, David writes, “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.” Picture it. Think about it. Walk about your life today in the surrounding love […]
October in the Psalms: God Instructs You Which Way to Go
In Psalm 25: 12-13, we read one of the most comforting passages about God’s work in our lives. We’re told this about the person who follows God: “Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being.” During times of confusion and uncertainty, I tell myself, God will instruct […]
October in the Psalms: The Glorious Verbs of Psalm 20
I find too many wonderful verbs to choose just one. In Psalm 20, we read a blessing we can pray right now: May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember […]
October in the Psalms: Always Before Me
In Psalm 16:8, we read, “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” What could it mean to set the Lord before us and to keep Him at our right hand? I think of the daily habits of prayer (talking to God and […]
October in the Psalms: Mindful
Consider this about God: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? In Psalm 8:4, we read that little word mindful. In translation as a verb, the word means […]