Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+035

 

Psalm 35 (ESV)

¹ Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!
² Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help!
³ Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers!
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation!”

⁴ Let them be put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life!
Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me!
⁵ Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
⁶ Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

⁷ For without cause they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug a pit for my life.
⁸ Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his destruction!

⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
exulting in his salvation.
¹⁰ All my bones shall say,
“O Lord, who is like you, delivering the poor
from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

 

REFLECTION:

1. When the psalmist feels hurt, the anger pours forth in an eloquent torrent. There is no sense of “I’m not supposed to feel this way.” Christian maturity is not about reducing the highs and lows of emotions to a level plane, but of feeling deeply in a godly way.
2. How do you respond when people treat you unfairly? In what situation do you wish the Lord would fight for you?
3. We may not feel gracious toward those who hurt us, but we choose to act that way, not from feelings but from obedience to Jesus Christ. Who do you feel hostility and anger toward?
4. Ask God to bless those who have hurt you.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Then My Soul Shall Rejoice – www.youtube.com/watch?v=khrTQZiXce4

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+034

 

Psalm 34 (ESV)

⁸ Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
⁹ Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
¹⁰ The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

¹¹ Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
¹⁶ The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
¹⁷ When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

 

REFLECTION:

1. It assaults our pride to acknowledge that there are things we don’t know or problems we can’t overcome. But when we stop trying to do it ourselves, we are in a position to receive the help God sends.
2. “Taste and see”, the psalmist invites us to experience God’s goodness for ourselves. Let us commit ourselves to doing what is right. We may act foolishly at times, but if we are dedicated to pleasing God, we can trust the Lord to deliver us.
3. Ask God to increase your ability to “taste and see” that He is with you and that He is good.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Taste and See – www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOzf0VrDNGU

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+033

 

Psalm 33 (ESV)

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

¹³ The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
¹⁴ from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵ he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶ The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷ The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹ that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
²¹ For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.

 

REFLECTION:

1. This psalm gives a big picture of God. Israel’s God has power over all creation. Because the Lord is the Creator, who by His power imposed His order on creation, no power or combination of powers can thwart His plan and purpose to save His people. Men cannot be saved apart from God.  And God watches over “those who fear him” (v18).
2. Imagine that God watched you conduct your day from beginning to end. What would He see about your actions? How do they express your priorities, values and commitments?
3. What hopes for success do you have that are misdirected? (Consider whether you put your trust in your skills, your background, your education, your intelligence, your money, your influence, your friends . . . or a thousand other things.)
4. After you have identified your false hopes, turn them over to God. Ask Him to take them from you.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Unfailing Love – www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbuqv1z3SZA

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+032

 

Psalm 32 (ESV)

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.

³ For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

⁵ I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
⁷ You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

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 the Lord.
¹¹ Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

 

REFLECTION:

1. Owning up when we do something wrong really hurts. There’s the shame, the embarrassment, the fear of punishment, and the sense of vulnerability.
2. Yet, David affirms that the forgiven man is blessed. Unconfessed sin distorts our relationship with the Lord.  But when we acknowledge our sin, He not only forgives us, He restores us to intimate fellowship with Him.  Once again, He leads us in His ways.  No wonder David, his restoration now complete, cried out in joy and gladness at this psalm’s end.
3. Consider whether there are sins in the past for which you are guilty but have never sought forgiveness. Name those things. Ask God’s forgiveness for what you have done wrong, and experience His grace. Pray for wisdom and courage to ask forgiveness from the person you’ve wronged.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Forgiven – www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRlrcY9tx3U

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+031

 

Psalm 31 (ESV)

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
¹⁶ Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your steadfast love!
¹⁷ O Lord, let me not be put to shame,
for I call upon you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go silently to Sheol.
¹⁸ Let the lying lips be mute,
which speak insolently against the righteous
in pride and contempt.

¹⁹ Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind!
²⁰ In the cover of your presence you hide them
from the plots of men;
you store them in your shelter
from the strife of tongues.

 

REFLECTION:

1. The first half of the psalm (vv1-13) described David being pursued by armies led by King Saul. At times, his situation seemed hopeless, and he was gripped by despair. Yet David found grace to say, “I trust in you” (v14) and “my times are in your hands” (v15).
2. This is perhaps the greatest challenge we face when hard-pressed. We want relief now. We don’t want to wait. Yet our times, as well as we ourselves, are in God’s hands.  Until God acts, we must find grace to wait, holding tight to God as our refuge.
3. God is good and we can be sure that He has goodness stored up for us who fear Him. For now, we are safe.  In the future, we will be doubly blessed.
4. How would you make this statement, “My times are in your hands” (v15), a reality in your life? What does it actually mean to you when faced with troubles and difficulties?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Make Your Face Shine Upon Your Servant – www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch-YMog_OyY

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+030

 

Psalm 30 (ESV)

¹ I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
² O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
³ O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

⁴ Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
⁵ For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

⁶ As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
⁷ By your favor, O Lord,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.

⁸ To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
⁹  “What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”

¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
¹² that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

 

REFLECTION:

1. David praised God here for a physical healing (v2). God also hears the cries of the penitent for mercy, and makes it possible for us to give God thanks forever (v12).  It gives us great comfort to know that God is one whose “anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime” (v5). Therefore, while “weeping may remain for a night,” we can be sure that “rejoicing comes in the morning” (v5).
2. David expresses some of the ups and downs of his life. Consider reflecting over the last six months to a year of your life and write down a list of your ups and downs. Picture the Lord with you through the ups and downs of your life. How does it help you to know God is with you?
3. Give thanks to God for the ways He has been a help to you in the hard places of your life.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Psalm 30 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g_rd0aE8iQ

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+029

 

Psalm 29 (ESV)

¹ Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

³ The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.

⁷ The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹ The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

¹⁰ The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
¹¹ May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!

 

REFLECTION:

1. Most of Psalm 29 describes the actions of God as a mighty and powerful rainstorm, inspiring not only awe, but even fear.
2. Sometimes God uses a storm to draw our attention to Him and causes us to fall before Him in awe and fear, but He also “blesses his people with peace” (v11).
3. What storm(s) blows through your life now or has blown through your life recently? Are you responding like David—giving glory to God for ruling over the storm? Or are you like nature—in uproar? Why?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

Psalm 29 – www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAIGcDYXHVI

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+028

 

Psalm 28 (ESV)

¹ To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
² Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help; when I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary.

³ Do not drag me off with the wicked,
with the workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors
while evil is in their hearts.
⁴ Give to them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
render them their due reward.
⁵ Because they do not regard the works of the Lord
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.

⁶ Blessed be the Lord!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
⁹ Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

 

REFLECTION:

1. There are times when our prayers seem futile, launched toward a dull and silent heaven. God seems indifferent, willing to let us be dragged away with the wicked. Even at times like these, we are to remember that “the Lord is”.
2. As David remembered who God is, he was able to trust in Him to receive help (vv7-8). The circumstances had not changed, but suddenly David found his heart leaping with unexplained joy.
3. When have you been as desperate as David (vv1-5)? As confident as David (vv6-7)? Read through this psalm a few times slowly. Pray as you read it, pause when a phrase catches your attention.  Listen to what God is trying to speak to you about your present situations.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

To You, I Will Cry, O Lord – www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbyTZUuLu8

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+027

 

Psalm 27 (ESV)

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

³ Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

⁴ One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

 

REFLECTION:

1. “One thing I ask from the Lord” (v4). How many things have you asked God for?  A hundred, a thousand things? We all have prayed and asked God for many things from the simple to the serious. Yet, the psalmist asked for only one thing.
2. Here is a person who has discovered the immensity, the attractiveness, and the accessibility of God. He desires one thing, but it’s expressed in three ways: to live in the house of the Lord, to gaze (contemplate) on the beauty of the Lord, and to seek (study) Him in His temple.
3. This single desire that absorbs all other desires is to be where God is, to see what He reveals, and to learn what He teaches. The troubles the psalmist faced didn’t drive him into trying every solution the world offers in hopes that something might turn up that worked.  His troubles drove him to one thing: to God.
4. Read this passage again slowly as your own prayer and plead to God. How does it feel to ask God for the one single request? What does that mean to you?

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

God is My Light – www.youtube.com/watch?v=LicMlPlGxPU

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Psalms+026

 

Psalm 26 (ESV)

¹ Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
² Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and my mind.
³ For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your faithfulness.

⁴ I do not sit with men of falsehood,
nor do I consort with hypocrites.
⁵ I hate the assembly of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.

⁶ I wash my hands in innocence
and go around your altar, O Lord,
⁷ proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
and telling all your wondrous deeds.

⁸ O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.
⁹ Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
¹⁰ in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.

¹¹ But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹² My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.

 

REFLECTION:

1. The “blameless” life is not life without sin. It was a deep inner dedication to God that found expression in a godly way of life.  It is rooted in the habits of faithfulness (vv3-5, 11; ref Ps. 1) rather than momentary piety. It is the life of a person who seriously seeks God. This life reflects the humble, yet confident, peace. This person despises evil and embraces godliness.  This person worships God and delights in a closer “walk” with the Lord. He/she delights in coming to God’s house for worship and praise.
2. This life is marked by unwavering trust in God (v1), and by constant love for Him (v3). It is expressed by daily obedience to God’s truth (v3), with rejection of the wicked as well as wickedness (vv4-5). This person loves coming to God’s house to worship and praise (vv6-8). How does your life compare?
3. Ask God to help you to live a “blameless” life.

 

PRAYER:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.

 

HYMN:

I Love the Place Where God Dwells – www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQcPUxSFwx8