Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Audio Link: https://www.spreaker.com/user/reachmanyradio/thoughts-in-worship-07-17-2018

This is devotional thought number 10 in our devotional series titled, “Sing Unto the Lord a New Song: Meditations From the Book of Psalms.”

“I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth Round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: For there is no want to them that fear him.” (Psalm 34:1–9).

C’mon, be honest, are you a fair-weather friend? Are you happy and supportive of your friends when things are going well, and then disappear when things are less than ideal? When your friends are kind and behave the way you expect, and then something changes; they are still kind, but maybe you don’t get the same level of attention, what do you do? Or maybe their trials leak into your life a bit. Do you allow the occasional gloomy clouds that overshadow your relationships get you down?

As always, we are going to use king David as a case study today. He unequivocally chose to bless the Lord at all times, and not just during the good times. When he had difficulty with Abimelech and had to make serious life adjustments, he praised the Lord. When his own household seemed to rise up against him, God’s praise was continually in his mouth. Not only did he learn to praise the Lord, his Creator and Friend during the good and bad times, he also welcomed all willing participants to exalt and magnify His name with him. He testified that when he could have been overcome with doubts and burdens too hard to bear, he applied his heart to seek God’s face, and guess what, God delivered him from all his fears. What a mighty God we serve! When David cried out to God when He was at his weakest, He saved him from all his troubles. When evil men sought to do him harm, the angel of the Lord set a protective encampment and a living barrier around his dear soul. Are you getting the imagery here?

Instead of being upset with God when things are not going just right, or even as right as anyone should reasonably expect, let us all taste and see that the Lord is good. He’s good when we are healthy, and when we are not. He’s good when our children are picture perfect and well adjusted, and when they act like they have lost their minds. He’s good when we can pay all our bills, and He good when the lights get cut off. He’s good when people cannot get enough of us, and when we are despised for no good reason. Again, we have to experience the goodness of God for ourselves to believe it. We cannot live vicariously through others to know He’s good, although their testimonies are a great start. Blessed are men and women who invest the time to get to know our God in good times and bad times. When we honor and respect the King in all things, humbling ourselves before Him, He supplies all of our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. Do you believe it?

Sing unto the Lord a new song. Celebrate the experience of friendship with God, even when things are rough. Trouble does not last always.—L. David Harris (www.LDavidHarris.com)