STAND UP AND SHOUT!

READ PSALM 65

WHAT CAUSES YOU TO BE EXCITED?

Psalm 65:9-13

            9 You visit the earth and water it;

                        you greatly enrich it;

                        the river of God is full of water;

                        you provide their grain,

                        for so you have prepared it.

            10 You water its furrows abundantly,

                        settling its ridges,

                        softening it with showers,

                        and blessing its growth.

            11 You crown the year with your bounty;

                        your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

            12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow,

                        the hills gird themselves with joy,

            13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,

                        the valleys deck themselves with grain,

                        they shout and sing together for joy.

God is our abundant provider and we should respond with grateful praise!

Living in Italy, you quickly realize that many live with an incredible dependence on “il calcio” - soccer. Thousands fill the stadiums every week-end, cheering on their favorite team and allowing the results of the matches to set their mood for the day - and for some, even for the whole week. Things in the USA are not that different. According to the season, college or professional sports attract the attention of many and for some it borders on devotion. The professional athletes involved become idols to be praised and followed. But David’s attention is on His God, who deserves all praise for His abundant provision for His creation.

The question for all of us is whether or not we allow things of this world, even those that are not necessarily wrong, to transport our attention and emotions, rather than focusing our awe and thankfulness upon God’s gracious provision and care.

Our God is our provider. All we have and all we are is from His generous hands. Nothing grows apart from His care. Everything we eat is a gift from God. At times we live our lives as if we depend on men, when our true dependence is only on our Father in heaven.

We do thank God before our meals, I hope, but even that can become a routine that we do without giving it much thought.

Take time to reread these verses and apply them to your life.

I love the words that the author uses: ‘Greatly enrich’, ‘full’, ‘abundantly’, ‘blessing’, ‘growth’, ‘overflow with abundance’, ‘overflow’, and ‘joy’.

God’s provision is so full, so wonderful, so caring, so appropriate, and so useful!

Matthew 6:26-31

            Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

These were the words of Jesus, as He spoke to those that followed Him. Our God certainly wants us to live in total awareness of our dependence on Him. Our Father does not want us to be anxious or fretful. He does want us to grow closer in trusting dependence upon Him each day. Why don’t we do it more? Because we have little faith!

What can increase our faith?

1 – Getting to know our God! His Word, the Bible, is our resource. We must not neglect our time of meditation and study. In it we will learn about the character of God, about His wisdom, His power, and His love for us.

2 – Availing ourselves of sound teaching! Our involvement in a local church should be faithful. And yes, we must make sure that the teaching is based on the Word of God and that the preaching never loses its centrality.

3 – Spending time with mature, faithful believers! There are times when we lose sight of God, when our difficulties seem to crush us, when trials are prolonged and difficult, when the end seems impossible. We need fellow believers who know how to point us to the truths of the Scriptures.

4 – Serving God faithfully! When we serve others for the sake of the Gospel, our attention will drawn away from ourselves to focus, instead, upon the needs of others. We will then be able to be part of God’s faithful provision in their lives.

5 – Reflecting on God’s past care for us! God has revealed Himself to us and has attracted us to His grace. All of us have experienced His grace and care through difficult times. In fact, we will also be able to realize how He has prepared us for the situations we are confronting at this time.

Dear friends, we should rise to our feet and praise our God! Our exaltation should be filled with sincere enthusiasm! Let’s make sure our excitement and our cheers are directed to the One who truly deserves them and provides for us with loving care!