A Devo From Scot - Psalm 107, Part Two
Dear Church,
“Who is wise? Let that person give heed to these things, and consider the lovingkindness of the LORD.”
When a psalm ends with this statement, I immediately want to go back and read it again. That is the case with Psalm 107. I invite you to read it again today. Click here to read Psalm 107, Part One.
The psalmist author of 107 does a masterful job of hiding the backstory and referenced circumstances in nondescript language, completely void of any keywords that link to specific events, so the merciful actions of God sit way out in front. The closest we get to recognizing a past season or saga is perhaps verse 4, “they wandered in the wilderness in a desert region.” While this is likely a reference to the wilderness wanderings after the exodus from Egypt, even then the Father’s gracious actions of deliverance, leadership, provision and satisfaction are at the forefront.
“Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men!”
This is the chorus of this ancient song, repeated several times throughout the psalm. In cooperation with the closing line, the emphasis is clearly on the mercies and graces of God, as seen in “common” and “everyday” instances of that time.
This begs the question, which is the obvious application from Psalm 107, have you taken the time this week to examine your recent timeline and hunt for evidence of the mercies of God? As in Part One of this devotional, I challenge you to mentally catalog moments of God’s blessing.
Our fallen nature and its tie to personality tends many of us to focus and even fascinate on the broken, the missed opportunity, the failure, the mess, the wrong. In some ways, this is important for good leadership, progress and growth. But how often do you stop there? How rarely do you simply revel in recognizing the magnificent list of God’s gifts and graces?
Recently, long-time friends of Liza and mine celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on the beach. They hadn’t taken a vacation alone for a very long time and they were excited to spend a few days just relaxing. But they did the most amazing thing each night for dinner. As they enjoyed an excellent meal on their first night, they spent a long time remembering all of God’s gifts during the first five years of their marriage. It brought up stories and memories and wonders. I’m sure there were lots of smiles and tears. The next night at dinner, they did the same thing for year 6 through 10 of their marriage. The next night, year 11-15 and so on. After a memorable trip to a beautiful spot, these conversations were their greatest memory and joy.
What if you did that today? Take a time in your past, a season, a time of suffering or a year of adventure. Explore it with a sanctified memory and bring to mind all of the gifts and mercies of God. Thank Him profusely.
“Give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness (one of the major Old Testament words for “grace”) and for His wonders to the sons of men…Who is wise? Let that person heed these things….”
I love you church,
Scot
“Who is wise? Let that person give heed to these things, and consider the lovingkindness of the LORD.”
When a psalm ends with this statement, I immediately want to go back and read it again. That is the case with Psalm 107. I invite you to read it again today. Click here to read Psalm 107, Part One.
The psalmist author of 107 does a masterful job of hiding the backstory and referenced circumstances in nondescript language, completely void of any keywords that link to specific events, so the merciful actions of God sit way out in front. The closest we get to recognizing a past season or saga is perhaps verse 4, “they wandered in the wilderness in a desert region.” While this is likely a reference to the wilderness wanderings after the exodus from Egypt, even then the Father’s gracious actions of deliverance, leadership, provision and satisfaction are at the forefront.
“Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men!”
This is the chorus of this ancient song, repeated several times throughout the psalm. In cooperation with the closing line, the emphasis is clearly on the mercies and graces of God, as seen in “common” and “everyday” instances of that time.
This begs the question, which is the obvious application from Psalm 107, have you taken the time this week to examine your recent timeline and hunt for evidence of the mercies of God? As in Part One of this devotional, I challenge you to mentally catalog moments of God’s blessing.
Our fallen nature and its tie to personality tends many of us to focus and even fascinate on the broken, the missed opportunity, the failure, the mess, the wrong. In some ways, this is important for good leadership, progress and growth. But how often do you stop there? How rarely do you simply revel in recognizing the magnificent list of God’s gifts and graces?
Recently, long-time friends of Liza and mine celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on the beach. They hadn’t taken a vacation alone for a very long time and they were excited to spend a few days just relaxing. But they did the most amazing thing each night for dinner. As they enjoyed an excellent meal on their first night, they spent a long time remembering all of God’s gifts during the first five years of their marriage. It brought up stories and memories and wonders. I’m sure there were lots of smiles and tears. The next night at dinner, they did the same thing for year 6 through 10 of their marriage. The next night, year 11-15 and so on. After a memorable trip to a beautiful spot, these conversations were their greatest memory and joy.
What if you did that today? Take a time in your past, a season, a time of suffering or a year of adventure. Explore it with a sanctified memory and bring to mind all of the gifts and mercies of God. Thank Him profusely.
“Give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness (one of the major Old Testament words for “grace”) and for His wonders to the sons of men…Who is wise? Let that person heed these things….”
I love you church,
Scot