The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Psalms 3, 4, 13, 28, 55
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 5: Kings and Prophets: God shapes a kingdom people
Background Information: Psalms 3, 4, 13, 28, 55
Many are against him. They say God has abandoned him. What did he do… he lay down and slept. How did he do that? He turned his mind to God and not to his anxious thoughts. Easier said than done, isn’t it? Yes, but the point of the Psalm is that it can be done. Clearly this was not easy for David; it was a hard-fought peace. Paul quotes Psalm 4 in describing the hallmarks of the new life in Christ. One of those is that even in our anger, we do not give in to sin (Ephesians 4). How is it that we can be angry and not sin? This is possible only if we put our confident trust in God and not in ourselves. Again, David can lie down and sleep in peace as he gives his anger to God. There is a kind of anger that is not in itself, sin. But all anger, if we allow it to have its way, can rob us of peace and turn our hearts from God. Do not imagine that a father, whose beloved son had turned against him, could easily or quickly give his anger to God. How long? David asks four times. Waiting, wondering, not knowing what will happen, is excruciating. In the Psalms we hear the honest cries of suffering, rejoicing, and trusting hearts. The Psalmist is fighting hard to trust God and not his own feelings of fear and anger. He is fighting hard to look to God and not merely to his circumstances. He is fighting hard for the honor of God to be revealed in his life. Are you asking, “How long, how long, how long”? Faith alone can win this fight. Not faith in your ability to fight, but faith in Christ when you feel like you have no fight left in you. There is a tension here that must be kept. We must give full effort to trust Christ, and we must trust in Christ and not in our own efforts. We do this primarily by telling ourselves the revealed truth of God and by choosing to believe that truth rather than our own doubts and fears.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Ask God to reveal himself to refugees living in Wichita. Pray for ministries that serve refugees. Pray that the gospel message would spread to refugee homes through these ministries.
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.