Daily Reflections

from the Book of Psalms

September 22, Acting Out Envy

Envy is a sneaky disease, for you can look at someone’s success, goods, relationships. reputation, money, job, ministry or looks, and secretly want what they have. In fact, you can get downright angry and agitated that you don’t have what they have. That can lead to 1) bitterness; 2) an effort to get things similar to...

September 21, The Light

First, notice how beautifully these verses are written. They create a vivid picture of a powerful God who uses nature, which of course is His creation, as part of His transportation system. For humans, nature can be an awesome experience, but for God, it is His playground. Second, the psalmist mentions light, and...

September 20, A New Song

The psalmists listed many appropriate responses to God’s mercy and salvation, and in today’s passage the act of singing was not just mentioned but commanded. Everyone is commanded to sing a new song to the Lord, and that can take place either in a corporate church setting or as a private act of worship. Yet one should not take priority over the other...

September 19, Your Fruit

Age is not necessarily a factor in your ability to serve the Lord. In today’s passage, the psalmist declared that those who love and follow God will still bear fruit in old age. This indicates they were bearing fruit while they were younger, so they will still bear fruit in their latter years. What is your fruit?

September 18, Behind the Scenes

Sometimes you may think God did not answer your prayer, but you must consider the possibility that things would have been worse or different than they are if you had not prayed. There are times it may appear God is not acting on your behalf, but you can never say that with...

September 17, Times of Testing

What is your concept of a test? If you are like most people, you think of a piece of paper in front of you as an examination to determine how much you know or retained of a school subject. Yet when the Bible mentions a test, it is talking about something totally different.

September 16, Leaders and Followers

In today’s verse, the psalmist indicated that God was leading His people, all the while using Moses and Aaron to do so. God works through leaders, and since all leaders are imperfect people, we can conclude that a perfect God uses imperfect people to get His work done.

September 15, His Story

Yesterday you saw how important it is to recite your story of how God has worked on your behalf. You do that to remind yourself of His power and love when you most need it. Today, you see the psalmist going beyond his story to draw on God’s story of creation as a source of teaching and inspiration. God’s power is displayed in more ways than...

September 14, Your Story

The psalmists were constantly rehearsing and restating their history, both as individuals and as members of the people of God. They did this to help themselves in their current crisis, reminding themselves that God had been faithful in the past and He would be again. They needed that reassurance because they were...

September 13, Breaking Down Barriers

Almost all cultures tend to place those who have much above those who have not. The rich receive privileges, special laws and honor, while the poor receive whatever benefits their governments decide to give them. Yet wealth is a meaningless differentiation among human beings, for the wealth seems to be...

September 12, Your Source of Help

Ultimately, even if human help is involved in your deliverance, it is God who instigated or empowered the human help to be effective. You should be grateful to those who assist you, but your best and most profuse thanks should be to God. This is especially true of the company who pays you, for while God is using them...

September 11, Constant Battles

Both Psalms and Revelation inform the believer that warfare is the constant companion of those who put their faith in God. In Psalms, the battle is physical, for David was always under attack from his enemies, which were sometimes from his own family! In Revelation, the battle is spiritual, and the forces that align themselves against God attack God’s people with ruthless regularity.

September 10, Fulfill Your Vows

David outlined a series of blessings not for those who fast and pray, or who do great exploits for God, or who preach great sermons. David saw how God blessed those who helped the weak around them, who were mindful and empathetic of other people’s situations and helped them. Paying attention to others, even when your needs are...

September 9, Help the Weak

Your Life Matters

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For centuries, people have turned to the Book of Psalms to help make sense and to find comfort in times of trouble. They have also gone there to find words to express the praise in their hearts for the magnificence and glory of God. In Your Life Matters: Daily Reflections from the Book of Psalms, John Stanko adds his own insight into the Psalms and how they relate to your life matters such as suffering, prayer, the poor, mercy, grace and leadership. For every day of the year, John assigns a reading from Psalms, picks a verse or passage, makes some devotional comments, asks some pointed questions and adds a cross reference to another portion of the Bible. Your Life Matters is practical, inspirational, and helpful, and is certain to become your daily favorite to help you reflect on your life and God’s role in it.