NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

July 12

Scripture focus: O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand
Today, if you would hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
"When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, though they had seen My work.
"For forty years I loathed that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
"Therefore I swore in My anger,
Truly they shall not enter into My rest." Psalm 95

One of the blessings I have discovered in the study of scripture is that there absolutely is a place for big emotions in the kingdom of God. I believe that one can only lament to the same extent to which he or she expresses a willingness to praise (just my personal opinion). One cannot simply complain about God’s lack of action for all of the negative aspects of life while taking all of the credit, or simply not acknowledging any credit, for the positive things that transpire. In the aftermath of my situation, it became abundantly clear that God saved me from a potentially lifelong mistake, he provided me with money which helped me in my housing crisis, car and computer situation, and he allowed my grandmother to pass quickly so as not to suffer. Because I spent so much time lamenting, it is vital that I offer praise and thanksgiving in the resolution of each of these situations. I found Psalms 95, 100, and 104 particularly useful in teaching me to offer forth this kind of prayer. They continually reminded me of God’s greatness even in trying circumstances. He is who he is regardless of what happens to me, and I am still a part of his people. swm


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