Psalm 103-104
Talk to yourself like David did. That technique works wonders in overcoming the doldrums.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy Name.” That’s a major “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps,” if you ask me. David is telling himself that he has no choice about it. His spirit man is in charge, and the rest of him has to do the right thing: praise the Lord.
Furthermore, David reminds himself that he is not to forget any of his benefits. His sins are forgiven and his body is healed. And God will continue to satisfy his life with good things so that his youth will be renewed like the eagle. There are tons of blessings which are afforded to those who trust God and follow in His ways, and David enumerates many of them.
There are times in every life when obstacles arise, and if we follow our flesh, we will whine, cry, and complain. It’s hard to do sometimes, but if we will follow David’s example, we won’t allow ourselves to wallow in pity. We will say, “Bless the Lord, O my soul…” And as we do that, we will see a tremendous blessing coming our way. When our minds get focused on our great God and His blessings, our hope will return and along with it, our faith and joy.
One more benefit which comes from proclaiming God’s goodness and His Word, is seen in verse 20. The angels, who are mighty in strength, are sent to perform God’s Word. They obey the “voice” of God’s Word. And where does that voice come from? It comes from His Word being spoken by His believers. You and I are the voice.
We speak (give voice to) God’s Word and the angels obey it. What a responsibility we have!
It makes me want to speak it more. What about you?
I Corinthians 2
Powerful teaching in this chapter! We need to get this down and not forget it.
There are two kinds of wisdom – “natural wisdom” and “spiritual wisdom.” Natural wisdom cannot possibly understand God or his ways. Natural wisdom is guided by the senses and by the mind of man – reasoning. This wisdom doesn’t approach the realm of God, who is above natural man. So this wisdom will never get someone to God or allow someone to understand God’s ways. In fact, because they don’t understand His realm, they think that it is all foolishness.
But they are wrong. They just aren’t capable of understanding Him.
If we are “spiritual,” we have God’s spirit living within us, and He teaches us all things. He allows us to understand the mysteries of God and to communicate with our Father. It is indeed miraculous, and outside the realm of reasoning.
“He who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man.” (V. 15). He has the “mind of Christ.” (V. 16).
It’s an awesome privilege to have the Spirit of God residing within us and to walk with Him on a daily basis. He is guiding us into the truth which we can walk in every day. The truth which will establish us and make our lives successful. The truth which will bless our families and bring us the abundant life promised by Jesus. The truth which will help us to lead others to our Lord.
Don’t ever allow yourself to feel belittled by unbelievers who mock your faith. They are the ones who don’t know what you know. Forgive them and pray for them, but don’t allow their attitude to make you feel small. The natural man “cannot understand the things of God.” (V. 14)
Hold your head up high and walk proudly with your God. Let your light shine, and others will see the truth.
