Hearing God’s Voice from His Word
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Take a moment and turn your attention to God. Tell God that you desire to trust and obey Him. Ask God to speak to you from His word.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 38:1-4 1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin. 4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.
Read the entire Psalm
David literally feels the weight of his sin. Sin separates and sin harms our bodies. David calls on God for mercy. Give thanks to God for mercy. Acknowledge the reality of sin and praise God for the wonder of His mercy.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Psalm 62 – The Message
1-2 God, the one and only—
I’ll wait as long as he says.
Everything I need comes from him,
so why not?
He’s solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle:
I’m set for life.
3-4 How long will you gang up on me?
How long will you run with the bullies?
There’s nothing to you, any of you—
rotten floorboards, worm-eaten rafters,
Anthills plotting to bring down mountains,
far gone in make-believe.
You talk a good line,
but every “blessing” breathes a curse.
5-6 God, the one and only—
I’ll wait as long as he says.
Everything I hope for comes from him,
so why not?
He’s solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul,
An impregnable castle:
I’m set for life.
7-8 My help and glory are in God
—granite-strength and safe-harbor-God—
So trust him absolutely, people;
lay your lives on the line for him.
God is a safe place to be.
9 Man as such is smoke,
woman as such, a mirage.
Put them together, they’re nothing;
two times nothing is nothing.
10 And a windfall, if it comes—
don’t make too much of it.
11 God said this once and for all;
how many times
Have I heard it repeated?
“Strength comes
Straight from God.”
12 Love to you, Lord God!
You pay a fair wage for a good day’s work!
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Express thanksgiving to God.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to you.
- Confess your sin to Him and receive forgiveness.
(1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.”) - Bring your personal requests to God.
(Psalm 62:8 “Pour out your heart before God”) - Pray for someone in your small group.
- Join with others from River and pray for the college students from River serving overseas this Summer. Ask God to strengthen and unite their teams. Pray they would be faithful to sow gospel seeds.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
David turns his attention from talking to himself to talking to those around him. He is leaving us a good example in that even in his own trauma he turns his attention to those he is leading. It can be easier in difficulty to just turn inward. Some self-reflection is necessary but serving others is a way to move through our pain. His advice to those following him is to trust God at all times. David has demonstrated his own commitment to trust and now he is challenging others to do the same. Trust at all times with no qualifiers is definitely a challenge. God actually wants to enable our trust. Strength belongs to God so we can ask the God of strength to give us strength to keep trusting Him. We don’t need to worry if we will have enough strength to keep trusting Him down the road, we just need the strength to trust Him today. He wants us to trust Him. He will strengthen our trust. In difficulty the challenge is to trust that God is good. He has been good in the past and His word says that He works all things for good. Be confident today that you can trust that He is good and will work all things for good. Your current circumstances do not determine whether God is good. He will work all things for good.
Application: If trusting God is difficult for you, ask Him to give you the strength to trust Him. As challenging circumstances arise today, remind yourself that God is good and you can trust Him.