The Psalms have brought tremendous comfort and guidance to so many for so long. Join me in taking a fresh look at each Psalm. As you read through them, I urge you to reflect, pray, and apply these devotional bits of encouragement to your own life. Today, we study and reflect on Psalms 103, 104, and 105.
Reflection One
We need to remember—and review, restate, repeat, and recall—the good things of God. Remember His blessings, love, and provisions. Why? Because we are so good at forgetting, being distracted, and getting our eyes off the Lord and onto our problems, pleasures, or misguided priorities. We are all often guilty of this. One of the keys to a growing faith is “forget not all His benefits.” Remember. Repeat. Review. Restate. Reflect. Recall.
“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” — Psalms 103:1-5, 8, 11-12
Reflection Two
Read Psalm 104 and be reminded of the vastness of creation and the supreme power of our Creator. Someone once said, “The view from the moon changes one’s perspective.” I would think so. Certainly, the vastness of the universe speaks to the awesomeness of our God and the relative smallness of my problems in comparison. My issues are not insignificant. They are important to God, but they are not difficult for God. That should encourage your spirit and give you endless hope. God is great and God is good. His love for you is out of this world!
“He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.” — Psalms 104:5-6
Reflection Three
Psalm 105 is a recap of Israel’s history and God’s faithfulness. It is important to realize that we are a part of a long line of faithfulness. Many have come before us who have been faithful to God and who have experienced His faithfulness to them. Hebrews 11 chronicles a “who’s who” of God’s faithful servants. The key question for us is not whether God will be faithful to us. He has always been and He will be always. The question is, rather, whether we will be faithful to Him. When times are good and when times are hard, will we take the baton of faithfulness and serve Him fully?
“He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy; he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for— that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the Lord.” — Psalms 105:43-45