11-20-2017

Good Morning All,

                   Psalm 118:1; “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

       How do you start the day?  Most start with breakfast, some with exercise and some start with a prayer and devotion.  So how do you start your day?  Do you think the day through and try to plan the day or do you simply play it by ear?  Do you get up early and get going or do you need a couple cups of coffee to get going?  If you are one of those who start a little slow, how do you end the day?  Do you collapse and go to bed early?  Are you a night owl who is up until all hours of the night?  At the end of the day, do you think back on the day and see what went right and what went wrong?  Or do you simply put the day out of your mind and find a pillow with your name on it?

    Our verse gives us some direction.  In fact the whole psalm gives us direction for our daily life of faith.  It begins and ends with the same verse.  We should begin and end each day recognizing the love that God bestows upon us.  Yet the psalmist does this with a twist; he often looks at struggles or problems.  In verse 5, he speaks of being in distress.  In verses 10 and 11, he speaks of being surrounded by enemies.  In verse 13, he speaks of being pushed.  The psalmist seems to focus on the difficulties of the day and yet he is thankful.

    How can he be thankful?  Because he knows that God has seen him through his struggles and because of God’s mercy, he has prevailed.  The pain is given a voice, which makes room for gratitude. God hears our cry, and yet holds us together, which is enough to call for praise. As we wrap our days and life in thankfulness, we too will come to know the joy of the Lord.  We have His victory!   On the cross, Jesus accomplished what we could never do for ourselves. We were dead in sin, and now we live--the only response to such a gift is to live those lives in thanksgiving. This is the day that the Lord has accomplished. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!  

  It is easy for us to focus on the struggle; to focus on the battles with our spouses, our friends, our neighbors even with our own heart.  When we focus on the struggle we often lose sight of the fact that the victory is already won and that we are already victors.  Now we can start and end each day by focusing on the struggle or we can begin and end each day by focusing on the source of our victory.

    So how do we start each day? Will we focus on our circumstances, or on our God who reigns triumphantly over all areas of life?  To us Jesus says, ““I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Our troubles don’t disappear, but they are not eternal.  Our God and the victory that He gives us through Jesus is eternal.  Be thankful for God is a loving God who loves you completely.

Father, lead me to see your loving hand in all the circumstances of my life.  Even when I struggle, you keep me in your loving arms.  When I am hurting the most is when your grace is poured out greatly.  Heal me with your love and restore me with your Spirit.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret