I love this passage so much. It shows two things clearly: a right understanding of God’s law and a right heart-response to it.

In short: God’s law is infinitely good for us. It protects us, blesses us, makes us wise, and brings success. Therefore, the right response to God’s law (in light, too, of our inability to follow it on our own) is to simply say, “God please help.”

Father, I pray that you would burn a true understanding of your law on my heart and help me to seek righteousness out of love for you and faith in your goodness.

Delight in God’s goodness to you today.

Psalm 121 (NLT)

¹ I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
² My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
³ He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
⁴ Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵ The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
⁶ The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.

⁷ The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
⁸ The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NLT)

¹⁴ So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. ¹⁵ This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Briefly, I share these two passages because despite the fact I’ve been a Christian for 10+ years and despite growing up in the church there is still something astonishing to me about how close God is to each of us and how engaged He is in our lives. Look at verses 5, 7, and 8 in Psalm 121: “The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you [...] The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go[.]”

Then, also, in the Hebrews passage: “This High Priest of ours understands our weakness, for he faced all of the same testings we do[.]“* Wow. No other god stepped down from his position to connect with people and experience their plight–but our God did.  Our right response to such a compassionate and sympathetic God? “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we fill find grace to help us when we need it most.”* Amazing. Praise the Lord today!

*emphasis added, of course

Now, that’s the goal, but usually I only read 2-3 of them instead of all 5 or however many there are for that day. I alternate where I start so that, in theory, I read all of them regularly. The reality is that I often don’t get to the last 50 Psalms very often. So, when I do, there are always some gems that I have missed. Today was a day I found one!

Here’s the passage I read that got me:

Psalm 147:10-11 (NLT)

¹⁰ He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse
or in human might.
¹¹ No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Two truths here that I find so important for myself:

1.) God does not judge value the same way we humans do. In the first verse above it says God isn’t pleased with a strong horse–I think we could safely say that this includes other “strengths” humans tend to be impressed by: cars with a lot of horsepower, big guns, successful sports teams, high-paying jobs, fancy clothes, etc. God doesn’t delight in these things like we do.

It also says God takes no pleasure in human might. So, the strong man, the rich man, the powerful man, the smart man, the respected man–none of them have any more clout with God on account of their endowment than anyone else.

While we find our value in these things, God is unimpressed. He does not value us in the same way that we value ourselves.

2.) The second verse talks about what does please God: “The Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.” This is pretty amazing to me. I think a lot about “pleasing God” and not often do I think of the things it says here. I usually think of doing great things for God, instead. Here it says that to delight God I should fear him and hope in his unfailing love.

What does it mean to fear God? I don’t fully know, honestly, but I think it has to do with having a deep, humble respect for him and a subsequent submission to Him in everything. That means our beliefs about God are defined by what He says about Himself and not what we make up in our minds. It means that we place our lives under the authority of His word. It means that we recognize that He calls the shots, not us. This sort of orientation toward God does delight him.

This last part is the part that makes me most excited. It says that, “The Lord’s delight is in [...] those who put their hope in His unfailing love.” What does this mean? Well, I think this means that to delight God, we need to learn to get our excitement, hope, and joy from the simple fact that He loves us unconditionally. The implied truth of this passage is that GOD DOES LOVE US UNCONDITIONALLY! That’s really incredible. Not only does God love us better than any human ever could, he is pleased when we build our lives on this truth.

There’s much more I could maybe say about this, but I’ll leave it at that. Be blessed today; delight in the Lord and His unfailing love for you!

Here are some reflections:

Psalm 32:1-2

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

In verse 1, notice this isn’t a prescriptive statement (“things should be such”), but rather a descriptive statement (“this is how it is”). The reality is that anyone whose transgression has been forgiven, if they understand it, they can’t help but be blessed (literal translation could also be “happy”).

It’s good for me to read things like this regularly to remind myself that I have no excuse not to be happy. Regardless of my specific circumstances, if I have been forgiven my God, I ought to be happy. What else is so significant to detract from that? And, by the way, I’m not talking about joy, which some people say is an attitude you choose, I’m talking about pure, unadulterated happiness—like where you get giddy and goofy. We ought to be happy!

See, if we’ve been forgiven by God, we can face eternity with confidence because we know that it’s going to be good (we’ll be in heaven with God). If our eternity is secure, what temporary, earthly circumstance should bring us down? None should.

The second thought I had about this passage, is how in verse 2 it says, blessed are they “in whose spirit there is no deceit.” I was thinking about what this means. I think it refers to how we can now be totally honest with God. We don’t have to hide our sin, our crooked motivations, our wishy-washy hearts, etc from him. He already knows and he’s already forgiven us! What a beautiful reality! We don’t have to have any ingenuineness or any fakeness in our relationship with God. We can give him the real us and he wants the real us.

This is so different from our other relationships. I can’t even be totally real with my closest friends, at times. To know I can be totally real with God is a freeing truth and I love it.

The rest of the chapter is really good, too, but I’ll just share one more section. As I was reading, I was recognizing that this is God speaking to me. I’ve changed some wording to make it more personal in the end. I’ve noted it so you can tell where. I think this is beautiful when I recognize it is coming from my loving Father:

Psalm 32:8-11

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in [Me].
11 Be glad [Me], and rejoice, O righteous [my son],
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

God loves us so much. He wants the best for us. He is the best for us, his children! The more we yield to him, follow him, love him, rejoice in him, rest in him, and find our value and identity in him—well, the happier and more fulfilled we become. We were designed for him.

If you know Christ today, you are blessed! Experience it!

As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul is saying here that in the midst of evil and suffering, the power to conquer and overcome comes through Christ who loved us and in fact nothing–include the trials and pain–can ever separate of from God’s love. God’s love transcends all those things!

The part of this passage that has really been getting to me, though, is verse 37: It says we are conquerors (only) through Christ who loved us. I’ve been thinking at some length recently about my power to do good and specifically how my power to do good–that is: to love–only comes from my beholding the love of God toward me. it says in 1 John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us.”

We learn how to love, by first beholding God’s love. Without God’s love for me, I would not be able to love. Without God’s overwhelming blessing, I would not be able to give. Without God’s strength, I would always be weak. My only strength to impact this hurting world for good, is by coming face to face with the love of God and letting it transform me into a person who is able to, in turn, reflect that love brightly.

2 Corinthians 3:18

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

When you look at someone, do you see a human being who is made in the image of God or something less valuable? I’m challenged with this thought. May we Christians be people who see all people as being of great value and may we treat them accordingly.

John 15:1-5

¹I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ²Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

A few brief reflections:

• vv. 1-2: God is the vinedresser, not us. In a garden (or vinyard) the plant’s job is to just grow; the gardener is responsible to feed, water, and ensure the plants get light and nutrients. Plants have some ability to seek their own needs (put a plant by a window and watch it grow toward the light…), but ultimately they are at the mercy of the gardener. So it is with us. We have some ability to seek out good light, food, etc.—and we should be doing it—but ultimately God’s the one who will cause us to grow. We will grow most quickly if we just yield to Him, trust Him, and love Him. He is the True Gardener.
• vv. 4-5: This is sort of the same idea as before, but with a slight twist. If we want to accomplish anything as Christians, that too comes by God and yielding to Him. We don’t get saved by God’s grace and mercy then by our own strength and fortitude serve Him. No, we get saved by grace and by grace we live for God. To experience this we abide in God. To abide all we must do is believe God is near, trust Him, obey Him, think about Him, dwell on His word, and do our best to love Him. It seems (to me at times) to be sort of esoteric to abide, but it’s not really—you just do your best to be near God in your heart, mind, and actions.

That’s all for today.

Yesterday was a tough day for me. I am struggling to really hand my burdens over to the Lord. I have heavy things on my heart, but I am striving to trust that God is able to help people understand and see the love He has for them even when I am unable to communicate it. These verses comfort me that God is totally able to accomplish what He needs to because He is the True Gardener.

Walk in blessing and love today!

It’s so easy for me to take my human perceptions of authority and project them onto God. In doing so, I begin to expect selfishness and evil from God, but He is not like that; He’s not like man and doesn’t have any of the problems and sin man has. These verses are a good way for me to focus on God’s true nature.

Psalm 9:10

And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 145:18

The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.

Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Deuteronomy 4:31

For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

Psalm 5:3-4

O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning [I direct my prayer to you]* and watch.
For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil may not dwell with you.

*This is taken from the alternative translation from the ESV bible in the foot note.

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

(The album I was listening to was by Ascend the Hill and was a free download from Come & Live. Listen and download it if you’re interested.)

This passage was really comforting for me this morning.

Psalm 125:1-2 (ESV)

¹ Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
² As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.

Not much to comment on here, other than it blows my mind still that the Almighty God would care for me, yet He has and He does. Simultaneously the most humbling and confidence-building truth I know.