Category Archives: Psalms

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I Don’t Feel Like Going To Church Today

Big Deal—Do It Anyway

Biblically speaking, going to church is a decree, not an option for when we feel like it. As Eugene Peterson says, “Feelings are important in many areas, but completely unreliable in matters of faith.” The surest way to “feel like it” is by doing the very thing you don’t feel like doing—in this case, going to church to give thanks. When we get up and get going to church to give thanks, by faith and in obedience, the result will be that we will develop the best feelings of all: feelings for God!

Enduring Truth // Focus: Psalm 122:1

When they said, “Let’s go to the house of God,” my heart leaped for joy.

The psalmist was talking about going to church, and unlike an increasing number of “Christians” in America, he was excited. Among other things, he was looking forward to gathering with God’s people to “give thanks to the name of God,” according to Psalm 122:5 (MSG). That’s just one of the things, albeit a very important thing, that believers are meant to do.

That is a decree, by the way, not an option for when we feel like it. As Eugene Peterson says, “Feelings are important in many areas, but completely unreliable in matters of faith.” The surest way to “feel like it” is by doing the very thing you don’t feel like doing—in this case, going to church to give thanks. When we get up and get going to church to give thanks, by faith and in obedience, the result will be that we will develop the best feelings of all: feelings for God!

I am told that the average church-goer in the United States now attends their place of worship just a tick under two times per month. Somehow I don’t think that would cut it with the psalmist, who centered his life around the house of God, and I know it doesn’t cut it with God.

God loves it when his family stops by for dinner, and he has so ordered it that we should do that on a regular basis. (Hebrews 10:24-25) One could argue that nowhere does the Bible say that has to be every Sunday, but I would counter that with, first of all, the practice of the church from the beginning, which was gathering for praise, thanks, instruction and encouragement, minimally, every week on the first day. And second of all, those who make that argument have missed the point: Gladness in going to God’s house. If you are finding reasons not to go, and justifying those reasons, it is highly likely that your reservoir of gladness is empty.

If that is the case, I would suggest you go to God and ask him to fill your tank. He is pretty good about doing that. And if you just don’t feel like going to God, or to church, grab your feelings if you have to and drag them with you. When you do, at some point you will make one of the great discoveries in life, a discovery that great people of faith have known for some time: You can act your way into feeling much more quickly than you can feel your way into acting.

Thrive: Put a permanent appointment on your weekly calendar: going to church. And keep that appointment for the rest of your life.

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When You Are On God’s Side

Want A Guaranteed Win? Get On The Right Side!

Your victory, whatever that may mean to you, is guaranteed when you are on God’s side. Are you? Take a moment to realign your thoughts, feelings and actions to the Word of God. Repent where you need to, adjust where you are off, then watch and wait for the hand of God in your situation. If you are on God’s side, you cannot fail. If you are on God’s side then God will be on your side, and your victory has been secured.

Enduring Truth // Focus: Psalm 54:4

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.

You will often hear people talk about God being on their side. Politicians, religious leaders, even ordinary people like you and me toss that belief around like a pro athlete guaranteeing a victory in the big game. But just saying it doesn’t make it so!

President Abraham Lincoln was once asked during the Civil War if he believed that God was on his side. His response was one that we would all do well to think about, since it represents the only true guarantee of Divine help and victory. Lincoln said, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side, my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”

Here’s the deal: If we’re on God’s side, we cannot fail. If we’re on God’s side then God will be on our side, and our victory is guaranteed. David, the future king of Israel, discovered that—the story can be found in I Samuel 23:7-29—which is the basis for this psalm. He was on the run from the current monarch, King Saul, because the king was bent on having David killed. The young shepherd had just landed in the next of what had been too many hideouts, Ziph, when the people of that village turned him in to Saul. Saul seemed to finally have David cornered—it looked like it was game, set and match this time.

But David was on God’s side—and God was on David’s side. Suddenly, just as Saul was ready to pounce, the king got some bad news that enemies on another front, the Philistines, were attacking, so he left pursing the cornered David to tend to that pressing business. And David was once again delivered when there seemed no way possible to escape. (I Samuel 23:27-29)

Was it a coincidence that Saul was distracted in that moment when he had David dead to rights? Not at all! You see, God was at work here, bringing about his purposes in David’s life. David was destined to be king, but through this life and death struggle, God was teaching him how to be a good king. And good kings need to know that God can be counted on for help and sustenance when the king is on God’s side.

God wants you to know that too. Even when there seems to be no way out for you, God is close by; he is working out his plan; he is teaching you how to be a king; he is showing you that he can be counted on to help and sustain you. And there is only one way to really learn that, which like David, means that you will have to have your back against the wall so that the only way out is through a mighty and miraculous deliverance through the strong hand of God.

And when you are on God’s side, sooner or later, like David, that will be your story too!

Thrive: Your victory, whatever that may mean to you, is guaranteed when you are on God’s side. Are you? Take a moment to realign your thoughts, feelings and actions to the Word of God. Repent where you need to, adjust where you are off, then watch and wait for the hand of God in your situation.

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God, Where Are You?

He Will Never Leave You High and Dry

The best part of our walk with God is not what he does for us, as glorious as that may be, it is what he does in us! Faith, humility, trust, dependence—all the qualities of Christ-likeness—are best forged in the crucible of adversity. That is what God has done to and for all the greats—Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, Job, Daniel, Paul… Why should you be any different? Out of the fire of adversity comes the tempered treasures of righteousness.

Enduring Truth // Focus: Psalm 74:9

We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.

“God, it seems like you’ve left me high and dry!” That is the essence of this psalm. Have you ever talked to God like the writer of Psalm 74 did? I have! I am not talking about being disrespectful, but I am talking about being desperate.

There have been times of desperation in my life—when a loved one far too young to die was on her death-bed, when a conflict arose that seemed to have no resolution, when a financial need was staring me in the eyes and I had absolutely no answer for it, when an attack came from out of nowhere that just sucked the life out of me—and to be frank, I felt all alone. God was nowhere to be found from the human perspective, overrun with fear, anxiety and hopelessness, through which I was viewing all of life.

You have had those moments, too. And if we dared to be brutally honest with God, we said something to the effect, “God, where are you? You are really letting me down on this one!” Or worse!

Well, if you are having second thoughts about your unfiltered prayer to God, don’t fret. Jesus had a moment like that, too: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

Perhaps your desperate cry to God has been more general—like the one in this particular verse. Your holy discontent has led you to prayerfully complain to God that he never seems to show up in his power and glory, with signs, wonders and miracles, like he did in days of old—and there seems to be no indication that he will anytime soon. You are desperate for God, but he doesn’t seem desperate for you.

The writer of this psalm most likely penned this prayerful lament after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC. The Jews were deported to Babylon, the Holy Land had been overrun and defiled by pagans, and God’s people were in a bad way—with no end in sight. Worst of all, God was silent—he wasn’t acting (“no miracles”), he wasn’t talking (“no prophets”) and there was no game plan except for more of the same (“we don’t know how long this will be”).

So the psalmist poured out his complaint—which is always a good thing. And even though it wasn’t in this psalm, God did give his people some profound advice (I guess his advice is always profound since, after all, he is God) through a prophet that served around the same time as the palmist. His words are recorded in Jeremiah 29:1-23. I hope you will take the time to read them.

Of course, this passage contains the verse that everyone loves: Jeremiah 29:11—I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and give you a hope and a future. But read the context. God is, in essence, saying to them, “this difficult time is going to take a while—and yes, I will see you through it—but in the meantime, bloom where I’ve planted you. Even though you don’t hear me or see me, I am still at work. I’m doing my part, so you do your part by staying faithful and useful to me.”

Here’s the deal: The best part of our walk with God is not what he does for us, as glorious as that may be; it is what he does in us! Faith, humility, trust, dependence—all the qualities of Christ-likeness—are best forged in the crucible of adversity. That is what God has done to and for all the greats—Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, Job, Daniel, Paul… Why should you be any different? Out of the fire of adversity comes the tempered treasures of righteousness.

Thrive: Frustrating times may last for a long time, but faithful people will endure forever. Restate your unequivocal trust in God. Tell the Lord, that no matter what, you will be faithful to him.

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Room For Only One God

And It’s Not You!

There is room for only one God in your life, so let God be God. He has a great track record in that role, you know—and you don’t!

Enduring Truth // Focus: Psalm 131:1

My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.

There is only One who is God—and that’s not you! Basically, that is what the King David is saying of himself in this brief song of assent. The Message translates verse one this way:

God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.

Yet this business of godship is more prevalent than we care to admit. You see, when we fret and worry over matters we can’t control, when we meddle and manipulate to get our plans fulfilled, when we come to God after the fact for help, when we pray as a last rather than a first resort, when we cut corners in our financial stewardship because we can’t afford to give to the Lord’s work, and when we put our hope in government (or anything else) at the expense of our trust in God, in effect, we have removed God from his rightful throne.

There is room for only one God in your life, so let God be God. He has a great track record in that role, you know, and you don’t.

And by the way, when you allow God to be God, good things happen for you:

  • You become the recipient of greater grace. Recognizing God’s rightful role takes true humility (the opposite of pride and haughtiness), as David describes, “My heart is not proud, O LORD,my eyes are not haughty”—Psalm 131:1a. Of course, the Bible repeatedly tells us this is always the catalyst for greater grace. (Proverbs 3:34)
  • You become the recipient of greater security. You put things that are above your pay grade back into the hands of the only One wise enough to handle them—what David calls “great matters or things too wonderful for me” —Psalm 131:1b (See how Paul describes them in Romans 11:33-36)
  • You become the recipient of greater confidence. Someone else is running the universe, which means you don’t carry that great weight upon your shoulders. David says, “But I have stilled and quieted my soul” —Psalm 131:2a … which is possible only when you first walk with the Shepherd who leads you beside quiet waters and restores your soul.
  • You become the recipient of greater contentment. David describes it “like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content” —Psalm 131:2b (MSG) Paul says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” (I Timothy 6:6)
  • You become the recipient of greater hope. “O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore”—Psalm 131:3. It is by Biblical hope, as Paul teaches, “we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?” (Romans 8:24) “Hope” as Paul says in Romans 5:5, “does not disappoint us…”

Hmmm…grace, security, confidence, contentment, hope. I think I’ll let God be God!

Thrive: Have you told the Lord lately that you have no God but him? Maybe you should do it now!

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Depressed? Practice Hope!

The Sure Path to Emotional Balance

Depressed? Practice hope! How? Start by dwelling on the love and kindness that God has for you. Dwell on all the things he has done for you for which you are grateful. Dwell on all the promises he has made to you in Scripture. Dwell on the promise of heaven. Basically, just do some reverse worrying. What do you do when you are worried? You dwell on the negative. So just turn that around and dwell on the positive truth of God’s Word. Do that—practice hope—and watch it “rock your world.”

Enduring Truth // Psalm 42:1

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

I am not a mental health expert, so don’t go throwing away your meds if you are under the care of a medical professional. And please don’t take this as the final word on clinical depression. So with that caveat out of the way, let me just say that I think the authors of this psalm, the sons of Korah, David’s worship team, are on to something.

And since we believe this sacred book, the Bible, is God’s perfect revelation of himself and his will for mankind, then let’s lean it to it as our only rule of faith and practice, perfect in all it affirms. Let’s treat it as we should—as the first, highest and best authority by which we will live our lives!

So when it comes to the ups and downs that we commonly experience in our daily existence, this psalm reminds us that the sure path to emotional balance and inner joy is to practice hope. The psalmist says, “put your hope in God.” The Apostle Paul said it a bit differently—but he had the same thing in mind: Put on…hope.” (I Thessalonians 5:8)

Practice hope! How? Start by dwelling on the love and kindness that God has for you. Dwell on all the things he has done for you for which you are grateful. Dwell on all the promises he has made to you in Scripture. Dwell on the promise of heaven. Basically, just do some reverse worrying. What do you do when you are worried? You dwell on the negative. So just turn that around and dwell on the positive truth of God’s Word. Do that—practice hope—and watch it “rock your world.”

Don’t believe that will work? Well, let me give you just one example of how hope can change you. Suppose you were to receive a phone call later today from an old friend who enthusiastically says, “Friend, I have good news. You can take a 7-day trip to Hawaii with my company that won’t cost you a dime. We have room for two more…but here’s the catch: we leave tomorrow evening at 9:00 PM. The boss is taking us on his private jet, and we’ll be staying at his beachfront villa in Maui.” You tell him you’ll call him right back, and the minute you get off the phone, you and your spouse, who was listening in, start thinking and planning. Out comes the pen and paper, and you begin to prioritize what you need to do to make this happen. Then you call the friend back, and tell him you’re in.

If that were to happen, I guarantee that you would then begin to ruthlessly align your life over the next 24 hours to pull off that all expenses paid trip to paradise. You might say that the hope of Hawaii tomorrow changed the way you lived today.

There’s something even better and more permanent than Hawaii. It’s called heaven. So why don’t you live like you are going there tomorrow—everyday! Here’s the deal: You’ll be amazed at how hitching your hope to the promise of heaven (or the love of God, or the blessings of salvation, or any other truth of God’s Word) will change everything you experience today—even your emotions.

Practice hope!

Thrive: So why don’t you give it a try! As the psalm says, “Hope thou in God!”

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You Can Trust The Shepherd

God Alone Satisfies

Given the track record of the Shepherd’s goodness, why would we ever harden our hearts to the Good Shepherd’s voice? It doesn’t make sense, does it? And yet that is precisely what we do when we wander off on our own or want things that aren’t good for sheep or worry over stuff that the Shepherd has under his control (which is everything, by the way). I hate to admit it, but sometimes I am just a dumb sheep—and I have a feeling that you are, too.

Enduring Truth // Psalm 95:6-7

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…

Sheep. Not the brightest animal on the planet. In fact, some would call them downright dumb. They are defenseless, too. They have nothing within themselves to fight off their enemies. And not only are they dumb and defenseless, but precisely because they are dumb and defenseless, they are totally dependent on the goodness of the shepherd.

Sheep. That’s what we are. And from the description above, perhaps that is exactly why the writers of Scripture chose this particular animal from among all the animals on the planet to describe the people of God. Not bright enough, not strong enough, not sufficient enough to survive apart from the goodness of the Shepherd.

Yes, we are the flock under his care. And that is a good thing, because the care of our Good Shepherd has always been sufficient. There has never been a time when the Shepherd has not led us to green pastures or kept us on the safe path or stood guard over us through the night watch or preserved us from the attack of the enemy or brought us through the valley of the shadow of death. In fact, the Shepherd is so good that he even laid down his life to provide eternal life for dumb, defenseless and dependent sheep like us. There has never been a time when the Good Shepherd has not been more than sufficient for us, nor will there ever be.

So then, given the track record of the Shepherd’s goodness, why would we ever harden our hearts to the Good Shepherd’s voice? It doesn’t make sense, does it? And yet that is precisely what we do when we wander off on our own or want things that aren’t good for sheep or worry over stuff that the Shepherd has under his control (which is everything, by the way). I hate to admit it, but sometimes I am just a dumb sheep—and I have a feeling that you are, too.

But today is a new day, and you have a fresh reminder of the goodness and sufficiency of the Good Shepherd. So listen to his voice and follow his command, for he will lead you to that place where sheep do best.

Where is that? I don’t know—I am just a sheep, too. But the Shepherd knows, so just listen and follow.

Thrive: Tell the Shepherd everything that is worrying you or that you are wanting today. Then leave it with him and exercise trust!

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God, Collect My Tears In Your Bottle

52 Simple Prayers for 2018

What is it that is making you cry today? A heart shattered by a fractured relationship? A dashed hope or the death of a dream? A failed family? A personal sin? The consequences of a past mistake that continue to haunt you? What is it that causes you to feel such deep sadness? While no other human being may know how deeply you feel, or if they know, they may not have the capacity to enter into the depth of your pain, just remember, there is One who is collecting those tears as you lift your brokenness to him—and he cares!

A Simple Prayer for God’s Comfort:

God, I entrust my tears to you—my sorrow, my pain, my loss. While no one else may really know or truly understand my sadness, you do. Let the very next tear that fills my eyes and spills down my cheek remind me that you see, you understand, and you care. Father of compassion and God of all comfort, let my tears never really just dry up and fade into a painful memory. Rather, let them be the cleansing, healing agent of your restoring touch that brings beauty from my brokenness.