5 Days of Devotion
Day One – Monday
Psalm 73
1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. 2 But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. 3 For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. 4 They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. 5 They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.
God is good. This Psalm was expanded on by Ps David Sumrall at our church last Sunday. Ps David pastors a large church in the Philippines and reaches many people for Jesus on a weekly basis. Alongside hearing him speak on Sunday the pastors of Faith Life had the privilege of spending some time with him on the Saturday night. It was such an honour to sit and hear his heart for people, God and the Church. He is a true pastor, you can tell if you cut him open he will bleed people! He is passionate for them, to see them prosper and to grow in life. He desires so much to pour out his life into their world, completely.
Oh, Church is such a wonderful place! Church is a place to thrive, to develop and to grow! Church is a melting pot of many cultures, of styles and personalities. There are wealthy people, poor people, strong and weak people. People from many walks of life come to church, they are people who need to be in God’s presence! I am writing this blog post as a devotional based on Psalm 73:1-5. We have been asked by our pastor to read this Psalm every day this week so as a part of this challenge I will write a daily devotional to lift our spirits and challenge our hearts.
Day One – Monday
People are great but people also struggle, when they are up they are up…when they are down, they are down. One integral part of this faith life is to realise that no matter what we go through God is 100% good, all the time! He is 100% for you and He is 100% with you. God is good to you! We must remember this truth throughout our lives but can I ask what happens when we struggle? What happens when we start to see things in our life slipping? I like what Pastor David said about the parable of the sower. He used Jesus description of the different receiving hearts as different levels of a Believer. So when the Sower sows the Word of God into their hearts we find that there is three different responses in the negative. The first one is often the response of a baby Christian. The Word goes into their heart but the devil can immediately steal it. The second response is from a slightly more mature believer, they receive the Word but don’t have the root in them to last the distance. There is a third negative response.
This third response is the response of someone who should know better. Someone who has been around the block, who knows the goodness of God but has in some way slipped away from being sensitive to His presence. Someone who becomes deceived with what they see. They see what the world has and jealously and envy creep in. This Psalm is for the person who has allowed themselves to slip. The Psalmist stated, ‘as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone…’ (v2)
As we start this week of devotion and as we read Psalm 73 I believe God wants us to examine our hearts. You may have not allowed the Word to take root and is has been stolen from you. You may have not developed the Word to the depth that you need it to grow. If either of those positions is you please spend some time this week sowing the Word once again in your heart. Read these messages and ponder where you had God’s voice removed from your heart or maybe look once again to stand on the Word of God for yourself and to stand strong.
However, if you are someone who knows better, someone who knows how to hear God’s voice, to hold onto His Word but the deception of this world has crept in and taken a hold of your thoughts, I want to challenge you this week. I want us to go on a journey that eradicates all envy and jealously of what you see others doing. I want deception removed and clarity returned. This week I truly want us to allow ourselves to again be overwhelmed. I want us to be overtaken by the goodness of God as we see our lives transformed by the sowing of truth in our hearts. I want us to return to our first love, to have a strong footing and to become believers who help others rather than hinder our lives with deception.
If you notice the Psalmist said, ‘I almost lost my footing.’ We are ones who pick ourselves up. We never give up and we never quit. It is time to prosper. It is time to rise up and be the best. It is time to become the Christians that God has designed us to be!
