A Devo From Scot - Psalm 141
Dear Church,
Right now is always the best time to call upon the LORD. That’s simple enough, isn’t it? But why do you and I both regularly jump to our own reasoning devices or strategies first, only later to think about “calling upon” Jesus and humbly offering our burdens, quandaries and decisions into His hands for relief and direction? Or maybe that’s only me.
Today, I invite you to read Psalm 141, another incredible psalm of David. You’ll notice in his opening line that he calls upon God and asks for God’s attention. Simple and bold. Later in the psalm you’ll notice that, yet again, David seems to have a specific tension or problem in mind as he writes and sings (he calls it wickedness). Living just a little while in this world would be enough to relate to the near-constant pinch of stressors, anxiety, anticipation or discouragement.
But Psalm 141 has something that, although is not rare in David, is here especially brilliant and poignant: a series of simple, touching, risky prayers for his own speech ("set a guard over my mouth"), heart ("do not incline my heart to any evil thing"), humility ("let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me"), attention ("for my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord") and safety ("keep me from the jaws of the trap set for me").
My pastoral appeal to you today is that you translate these bold and personal prayers into your own language and for your own life - speech, heart, humility, attention and safety. Five large spheres that cover almost all of the battleground in which we live. I pray that you walk by faith today - faith in the goodness and power of a gracious God who is intensely focused on you because of His love for you.
And I love you too, church.
Scot
Right now is always the best time to call upon the LORD. That’s simple enough, isn’t it? But why do you and I both regularly jump to our own reasoning devices or strategies first, only later to think about “calling upon” Jesus and humbly offering our burdens, quandaries and decisions into His hands for relief and direction? Or maybe that’s only me.
Today, I invite you to read Psalm 141, another incredible psalm of David. You’ll notice in his opening line that he calls upon God and asks for God’s attention. Simple and bold. Later in the psalm you’ll notice that, yet again, David seems to have a specific tension or problem in mind as he writes and sings (he calls it wickedness). Living just a little while in this world would be enough to relate to the near-constant pinch of stressors, anxiety, anticipation or discouragement.
But Psalm 141 has something that, although is not rare in David, is here especially brilliant and poignant: a series of simple, touching, risky prayers for his own speech ("set a guard over my mouth"), heart ("do not incline my heart to any evil thing"), humility ("let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me"), attention ("for my eyes are toward You, O GOD, the Lord") and safety ("keep me from the jaws of the trap set for me").
My pastoral appeal to you today is that you translate these bold and personal prayers into your own language and for your own life - speech, heart, humility, attention and safety. Five large spheres that cover almost all of the battleground in which we live. I pray that you walk by faith today - faith in the goodness and power of a gracious God who is intensely focused on you because of His love for you.
And I love you too, church.
Scot