The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Psalms 6, 9, 10, 14, 21
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 5: Kings and Prophets: God shapes a kingdom people
Background Information: Psalms 6, 9, 10, 14, 21
David begins in deep despair, then he describes how his pillow is drenched with his own tears. David is anointed as king, but his elevation to leadership has increased his pain. Moses, and everyone who is given great responsibility, can relate. The Psalm then ends in confident faith. What has happened? Nothing externally has changed in his circumstances, but as he takes his struggles to God, he regains inner confidence in God’s ultimate justice. By inner confidence I don’t just mean that he “feels better,” I mean he “thinks better.” As he turns to God, he remembers from personal experience (but largely from Scripture) that God’s justice may seem slow, but it is sure. David experiences God’s blessing and deliverance over and over in real ways in his life. However, he died, like all men do, without seeing justice reign supreme on the earth. That day was in the future for him as it is for us. “The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places” is a declaration that, in this life, God will often grant his people tangible blessings. Others may have more, but we have been given much. Just as justice is already but not yet, so too is final blessing. Ultimately for the believer, our greatest inheritance is not the “stuff of earth,” but it is the Lord himself. “And the Lord said to Aaron, ‘You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.” (Numbers 18:20) We must be grateful for the many ways God has blessed us, but our greatest gratitude must be focused on relationship with God. “But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:7,8)
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for Youth Horizons. Pray for a successful and safe race on Saturday at the Easter Sun Run. Ask God to use the race to build community awareness for Youth Horizons and help grow their ministry.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.