Category Archives: Psalms

Posted on

Secret Of Success

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Here is the key to success in life—to fruitfulness and fulfillment in all you do. Not just to make things happen for yourself, but to actually have God working on your behalf to give you what you have set your heart to do.

Enduring Truth // Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

I love this verse. It’s one of my favorites. Here is the key to success in life—to fruitfulness and fulfillment in all you do. Not just to make things happen for yourself, but to actually have God working on your behalf to give you what you have set your heart to do.

But this is no automatic formula to riches, power and fame that David is talking about. In this verse itself is essential context that we must grasp and apply if we are to enter into the blessed life the psalmist goes on to describe. Furthermore, the entire chapter of Psalm 37 provided valuable insight that further explains verse 4. You and I would do well to read and absorb this whole psalm in context.

So let me give you a heads up on some of David’s caveats to the success he promises:

First, you’ve got to put God first and make him foremost in your life. Another way of putting it is that God must be both the center and circumference of your existence. I think that’s what David had in mind when he said, “Delight yourself in the Lord.”

God will not grant you willi nilli any old desire—that would be irresponsible of God and dangerous for you. But when you delight in God above all else, that in itself will shape the desires that arise in your heart and guard you from foolish, selfish, sinful and harmful wishes.

Second, you’ve got to delay gratification and practice patience. You will find in the rest of this psalm that over and over again David speaks of not getting in a rush to see the plan of God unfold in your life, and not getting caught up in the false success of those who are far from God. In due time, God will bring about his promised blessings. Here is how David sees it in verse 7:

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

And third, you must refuse to cut corners and commit to a consistent walk of uprightness before God. If your life is characterized by incongruent living—saying one thing but doing another—don’t expect God’s deep and abiding favor. Though much of Psalm 37 is dedicated to this truth, notice in particular how David puts it in verses 18, 34 and 37:

The days of the blameless are known to the LORD,
and their inheritance will endure forever…
Wait for the LORD and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it….
Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.

God wants to grant you success. And success as he defines it is far greater, longer lasting, and more satisfying that what the world offers. So delight yourself in the Lord, and you will find that the Lord delights himself in you!

Thrive: At some point, defining “the win” is a critical part to where we’re headed in life—and how we’re going to get there. Why not compose that definition right now? As you perceive it, define success; put your thoughts down on paper. Once you have done that, do it again, but this time, write out how you see the Bible defining success. Include Scripture. Now, throw you definition away and begin to use God’s. How can you possibly go wrong doing that?

Posted on

Storms Happen!

But So Does God

As surely as the storm reminds you of how small, insignificant and powerless you are, I want to remind you with an even greater surety that your God is bigger than your storm, and he is going to see you through it. Storms happen—but so does God!

Enduring Truth // Psalm 104:7,32

But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight… he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

There is nothing quite as unnerving as the fury of nature. I’ve never been in a massive earthquake, but the minor ones I’ve been in have been enough to make me shake in my boots. I’ve never been in a hurricane, but I’ve been on the outskirts of a small tornado, and its devastation blew me away. I’ve never seen hailstones the size of a softball, but I got caught in a storm that pinged my car with golf ball sized hail, and it was enough to put a sizable dent in my repair bill.

There is nothing quite like the unleashed power of nature to remind you of how small, insignificant and truly powerless you are.

Then there are personal storms! You may be going through one right now. In many respects, the fury of nature is nothing compared to the devastating power of a personal storm. In any given week, a half-dozen people will describe to me their own personal storms—everything from unbelievably huge financial crises to untreatable physical ailments to unrelenting relational disasters to unyielding emotional trauma—truly big, hairy, audacious personal gale-force storms. And for the most part, from what I can tell at least, those storms are not the fault of the ones forced to endure them.

You see, storms happen!

I would rather face nature than to go through what many of those people are are going through. At least a tornado, or an earthquake or a hailstorm comes to an end—and then you can pick up the pieces and begin to rebuild. Most of the time, a personal storm has no end in sight. And when you are in one, you are constantly reminded of how small, insignificant and truly powerless you are.

But there is One who is bigger than the storm. And the psalmist reminds us that, “He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants.” (Psalm 104:3-4) If you are in a personal storm, I don’t know how long or how devastating it will be, but I do know that God will make your storm his servant—which means that since you belong to God, he will make your storm servant to you as well. God will work the storm for your good—his promise, not mine!

I don’t mean to minimize the sense of desperation your storm has brought you—I think I understand a little of what you are going through. But as surely as the storm reminds you of how small, insignificant and powerless you are, I want to remind you that your God is bigger than your storm, and he is going to see you through it.

Storms happen—but so does God!

Thrive: Are you going through a storm? Just remember: God is bigger than your storm. And he is over the storm, so call out to the One at whose rebuke the storm must flee.

Posted on

Taking Care Of God’s House

We live in a day when passion for the physical house of God is downplayed. For many, it is downright unimportant. Now there are some good reasons for focusing on the spiritual house of God over the physical, but still, if the literal house of God was important to King David, and the Son of David, King Jesus, should we have a little passion for the physical house of God, too—or a lot.

Enduring Truth // Psalm 132:3-5

I will not enter my house or go to my bed—I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.

David had a passion for the house of God. He couldn’t tolerate the thought that as king, he would be able to build himself an unbelievably opulent palace while God’s dwelling was just a simple tent, the tabernacle, that had been used since the days of the exodus.

Then there was the time David publicly danced with delight as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into Jerusalem to its resting place at the tabernacle. (II Samuel 6:14) The king’s public display of affection for that which represented the Divine Presence was so extreme that his watching wife despised David for it. But David didn’t care because he was passionate about the house of God.

David wanted desperately to build God a permanent structure—a temple. He knew God deserved the best. So he located property for the building, but rather than throwing his royal weight around to get a good deal for it, he insisted on paying full price. David wasn’t into immanent domain apparently, like too many politicians today. He said, “I won’t offer the Lord something that has cost me nothing.” (II Samuel 24:24) David had a passion for the house of God.

God had other plans, however, and told David that it would be his son, Solomon, who would build the temple. So what did David do? He set about to make all the preparations for construction in order for Solomon to have a good head start when he was inaugurated as Israel’s king. (I Chronicles 22:5) David was passionate for God’s house.

The Son of David, Jesus, was passionate about God’s house, too. Although he predicted that not one stone of it would be left upon another because of God’s judgment against the impure worship that took place there (Matthew 24:2), he did his best to bring purity to it. He drove the moneychangers from the temple—and not with gentle persuasion either. He made whips—and used them. He overturned the tables they had used to carry out their shady commerce. With an illustrated sermon that no one would ever forget, Jesus cleansed the temple. (John 2:13-16) Jesus was passionate about the house of God!

Of both David (Psalm 69:9) and Jesus (John 2:17), the Word of God says, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

In the house of God there is never ending festival; the angel choir makes eternal holiday; the presence of God’s face gives joy that never fails. (Saint Augustine)

We live in a day when passion for the physical house of God is downplayed. For many, it is downright unimportant. Now there are some good reasons for focusing on the spiritual house of God over the physical, but still, if the literal house of God was important to King David, and the Son of David, King Jesus, should we have a little passion for the physical house of God, too—or a lot.

So how about you? I’m not suggesting you take a whip to worship with you next weekend, but what I do hope for is that the same zeal for God’s house that consumed David and the Son of David will consume you. Me, too!

Thrive: Take some time this weekend while you are at your church to acknowledge before God that it is his house. Then thank him for it, because many believers around the world don’t have what your spiritual family has—a physical place to worship. And many believers don’t have the freedom to show up for worship without the threat of persecution, or even death, for simply worshipping Jesus. Finally, ask God to give you zeal for his house.

Posted on

Two-Faced People

Keep Me From Them—Keep Me From Being Them

Hypocrisy is not a crime, rarely is there any kind of sanction for duplicity and for certain, two-facedness carries no real social stigma. Yet here is One who doesn’t keep quiet about their nasty ways. God’s righteous gaze cuts through the syrupy surface of their lives with utter moral clarity and labels the wickedness of their hypocritical hearts, calling them what they truly are: Workers of iniquity. The Bible’s advice about two-faced people: avoid them…and don’t be them!

Enduring Truth // Psalm 28:3

Do not drag me away with the wicked—with those who do evil—those who speak friendly words to their neighbors while planning evil in their hearts.

There is a category of people whose behavior for some reason we seem to excuse—but God doesn’t. He doesn’t find them acceptable; they and the unseen attitudes of their hearts he finds deplorable. Who are they? They are the kind of people who will say one thing to your face, then another behind your back. Even worse to God than what they say about you is what they think about you in their hearts. The psalmist says they speak peace when they are in front of you, but even before you are gone, their minds are flooded with ill will toward you.

We call them two-faced; the Bible calls them hypocrites. And while two-faced people are unpleasant, our culture pretty much excuses their behavior and accepts their ways. Hypocrisy is not a crime, rarely is there any kind of sanction for duplicity and for certain, two-facedness carries no real social stigma. Yet here is One who doesn’t keep quiet about their nasty ways. God’s righteous gaze cuts through the syrupy surface of their lives with utter moral clarity and labels the wickedness of their hypocritical hearts, calling them what they truly are: Workers of iniquity.

Now I realize that at this point in your reading you might be thinking this is anything but an encouraging little devotional thought for the day. And truthfully, it is not. Rather, this is an exhortation. And the exhortation I have for you is twofold:

One, it is most likely that you will rub shoulders today with the kinds of people David describes in this psalm. Be cautious around them. Discern their hypocritical hearts and don’t be tainted by their iniquitous ways. If you allow them into your inner circle, watch out: they will ensnare you. So be careful, be very careful!

Being two-faced is not a crime in our culture; there’s not even any real sanction for relational duplicity or social stigma for being hypocritical. But in God’s eyes, people who say one thing to your face and another behind your back “talk a good line of peace then moonlight for the Devil.” (The Message)

Be careful around two-faced folk, and most importantly, don’t be one!

And two, don’t be one of them. It is so easy to fall into this kind of two-faced living. Ask God to keep you from hypocrisy. Don’t fall into the trap of saying one thing but thinking another in your heart. Ask God for integrity of word and thought.

That’s what David prayed: Keep me from them, and keep me from being one of them. I hope you will pray that too!

Thrive: Try praying another prayer of David found in Psalm 139:23-24 with the specific motive of cleansing your life of hypocrisy: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Posted on

Tears In A Bottle

Spilled Tears Are God's Reminder That He Cares

What is it that is making you cry today? A heart broken 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 continues to haunt you? What is it that is making you feel such deep sadness? Entrust those tears to God. And let the very next tear that fills your eyes and spills down your cheek be a reminder that your tears never really just dry up and fade into a painful memory, they go right into the bottle of that One who truly cares!

Enduring Truth // Psalm 56:8

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book

Aren’t tears a mysterious part of what it means to be human? It is strange that we have the capacity to cry—to expel water from our eyes when we are sad. It seems to serve no real purpose—although science can explain the physiological “why” and mental health experts can explain the psychological “why”.

That still leaves the question of “why” tears—why were we created with that capacity?

Perhaps this psalm provides a clue. Maybe they are to remind us that God cares about the things that make us sad enough to shed tears. So much does he bear our sorrow that he collects our tears in a bottle, as the New Living Translation says, or as other versions put it, “he records them in his ledger.” In other words, God takes note—implying that he is not only aware of our sadness, but he will not forget it.

What is it that is making you cry today? A heart broken 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 continues to haunt you? What is it that you feel such deep sadness over?

It is likely that no one truly knows the depth of what you are feeling right now. Maybe no one will ever see those tears that have rolled down your cheek—and the intense hurt that caused them. Even if they do see your tears, how sad it is that long before your pain is healed, people will forget and move on.

But there is One who sees…and One who cares…and One who never forgets…and One who will never move on! And He wants you to know that, my friend. And that One, your Heavenly Father, simply asks you to take comfort in His compassion for you:

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13)

And that compassionate, loving Heavenly Father likewise asks you to place your trust in him. In fact, so strongly does he desire your trust, that he extends the invitation twice in Psalm 56 just to make sure you really know his heart for you:

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can man do to me? (Psalm 56:4,10-11)

I hope you will do that. Entrust those tears to God. And let the very next tear that fills your eyes and spills down your cheek be a reminder that your tears never really just dry up and fade into a painful memory, they go right into the bottle of that One who truly cares!

Thrive: What is it that is making you cry today? A heart broken 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 continues to haunt you? What is it that you feel such deep sadness over? Why no other human being may know how deeply you feel, or if they do know, they may not care all that much, just remember, there is One who is collecting those tears as you lift your brokenness to him.

Posted on

God, Help!

52 Simple Prayers for 2018

Our capabilities and resources are not the deciding factor in the outcome of that for which we pray. Rather, God is the best solution to our every challenge, even our people problems. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “In all times of danger from men our wisest course is to fly to the Lord our Helper. He has ways and means for delivering us which we know not of. He can either turn our enemies into friends or else so check all their efforts that they shall do us no real injury.” If you are facing a challenge, perhaps even a people problem, the easiest yet most powerful prayer is simply to pray, “God, help!” And why not, for the Bible says, “The Lord is our help and our shield.” (Psalm 33:20)

A Simple Prayer for God’s Help:

God, help! I ask you to fight for me. I’m overwhelmed and powerless in myself, but you have promised to be with me, to be for me, and to make me more than a conqueror. So I boldly ask for a supernatural supply of victorious power to meet the challenges of this day. For your glory alone, I pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.

Posted on

God Will Perfect That Which Concerns Me

There's No stopping God!

“God will perfect everything that concerns me.” How comforting and empowering to know that if we are passionately pursuing God’s purposes, God has passionately committed himself to fulfilling his purposes in us. No matter what things may look like, God will never abandon the work that he has lovingly and painstakingly invested in us, and he will ultimately bring that work to perfect completion. No way—you can’t stop God from doing what God does!

Enduring Truth // Psalm 138:8

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands.

“God will perfect everything that concerns you.” (Psalm 138:8, NKJV) I have heard my wife use King David’s phrase many times in her public prayers. I like that thought, don’t you? Nothing will stop God from fulfilling his purpose for my life—nothing!

That was the essence of David’s thinking in this psalm. Nothing could get in the way of what God had in mind, that is, God’s perfect will for David’s life—not even his own fleshly desires. That’s the caveat to this truth: the perfecting is of that which is according to God’s will, which of course, is what ought to concern us more than anything else in this life.

The New Testament writer Jude capture the essence of this truth in his benedictory prayer when he wrote, “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 1:24-25) Likewise, the Apostle Paul wrote similar words in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

How comforting and empowering to know that if we are passionately pursuing God’s purposes, God has passionately committed himself to fulfilling his purposes in us. No matter what things may look like—horrible circumstances and hateful people notwithstanding (Psalm 138:7)—God will never abandon the work that he has lovingly and painstakingly invested in us, and he will ultimately bring that work to perfect completion.

What David had discovered was that when we are for God, and when God is for us, we cannot lose! 2 Chronicles 16:9 reminds us this profound truth,

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

Wow! God so desires to fulfill his purposes in this world that he is actually scouring the earth looking for fully devoted people in order to release his enabling power in their lives. Is your heart fully committed to him? If it is, then God will find you, and sooner or later you will come into the greatest joy that anyone can ever experience in this life: God fulfilling his purposes for you and through you.

Yes, God will perfect that which concerns you! In other words, There’s no stopping God!

Thrive: What are the obstacles standing in your path to pursing God? According to Psalm 138:8, God will repurpose those stumbling blocks into building blocks. Try praying a thanksgiving prayer for everything that seems to impeding your progress. Then ask God to empower you to work with him to use those very things to perfect you. Pray this risky prayer: “God use this to shape me.”