Monday 10 Apr 2023

April 10: Psalm 16:5-8

Key Verse: Psalm 16:2
I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’

Devotion:
When was the last time you had one of those days where everything seemed to go well and you found yourself enjoying every moment of it? I hope it has not been a long time for you! As we move into the new Christian year, we put behind us all the thoughts about what Christ had to go through on the cross and we start to look for new life, maybe new beginnings and generally start to enjoy things like spring (at least in the Northern hemisphere we move into spring!)

For the eagle eyed of you, you will have noticed the key verse is not in the list of verses to read… The first few verses of this psalm remind us David always took refuge in God: in the bad times, the good times and everything in between. Yes he did go astray sometimes, but he always knew in his heart that God was there and looking after him. When things were rough, he knew he could count on God!

But what happens when everything goes according to plan? What happens when everything seems to fall into place? Do you still look to God? Or do you take a breather and rest in your comfort? The middle part of this Psalm talks about the security David found in God, not just when things were bad but when everything was good too. It is those times when everything is good when the evil one will try to trip us up because that is when we are actually most vulnerable.

When the world seem good to live in, we tend to gravitate towards the things of the world. We tend to live in the world instead of living in God’s arms as we do when it is not so good. Christ died for everyone, for the good times and the bad times, but we do need to know that and remember that!

Points to Ponder:
Do you live in the world?

Will you try stand a bit closer to God today?