Let the music begin

DEVOTION

PSALMS

LET THE MUSIC BEGIN

Ps 81

81:1 For the director of music. According to gittith.  Of Asaph.

Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! 2 Begin the music, strike the tambourine, play the melodious harp and lyre. 3 Sound the ram's horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast; 4 this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5 He established it as a statute for Joseph when he went out against Egypt, where we heard a language we did not understand.   6 He says, "I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket. 7 In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah 

8 "Hear, O my people, and I will warn you — if you would but listen to me, O Israel! 9 You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. 10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. 11 "But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.

13 "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, 14 how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! 15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. 16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

NIV

Again we can see this strictly from a historical view of the condition of Israel and how they had the hand of God in their lives and he would fulfill their every need, if only they would not look to other gods. But we know they did, and he was not happy with them. He reminded them of their exodus at his hand, but they would not submit to him so he gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. What about us? Can we see anything in this song that resembles anything in our lives? Oh yes, we do sing for joy to God our strength. We do shout aloud to the God of Jacob. Well at least we sort of do that. Then again it might depend on which church we are in. Some might get a little more excited about worship with music then others. Then again how many of us are actually singing with joy or really shouting aloud? Although we were not Israel in Egypt, we were nevertheless under a burden placed upon us by the prince of this world. We were captives to sin, and we needed an exodus moment, a way out, we needed to hear a voice we had not heard or understand before. We needed the voice of God calling us out of the bondage of sin into a place he has prepared for us, a land flowing with milk and honey. This is the life of a believer, this is our life, if we would but follow our Lord where he leads us. This is our life if we do not bow down to other gods. We know all about those other gods, the world is full of gods we could bow to. But not doing that there is far more to gain. If we but open our mouth, he will fill it. That could imply supplying all our needs, or it could imply he will gives us the words to praise him. Within the context it has to mean that he will give us all we need, as because the Israelites would not submit to him, having stubborn hearts, he gave them over to their own devices. That is he stopped supplying their needs and they had to make their own living, struggle to make ends meet, work hard for their needs. Again if they would but listen to him, follow his ways, he would quickly subdue their enemies and he would feed them with the finest wheat; with honey from the rock he would satisfy them. This can be our story, we can be fed by God, and we can have that honey from the rock. That could imply Jesus. Nevertheless our lives could be so perfect, so well satisfied if we would just listen to God and not all those other voices; voices of those other gods screaming for our attention. How fulfilled we can live, just feeding from the words of his mouth, listening and following the way he has set before us. Being stubborn, wanting to do life our way, always wanting, always chasing after whatever it is we think we want, when all the time we only need Jesus; the honey from the rock. We are his people, we should live in the land flowing with milk and honey, blessed beyond measure, content within him, singing with joy in our hearts his praises. Making music with our whole life. Let the music begin.

Shining upon us

DEVOTION

PSALMS

SHINING UPON US

Ps 80

80:1 For the director of music. To [the tune of] "The Lilies of the Covenant." Of Asaph. A psalm.

Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock; you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us.

3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

4 O LORD God Almighty, how long will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people? 5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful. 6 You have made us a source of contention to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us.

7 Restore us, O God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. 11 It sent out its boughs to the Sea, its shoots as far as the River.   12 Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? 13 Boars from the forest ravage it and the creatures of the field feed on it. 14 Return to us, O God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine, 15 the root your right hand has planted, the son you have raised up for yourself. 16 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish. 17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. 18 Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name.

19 Restore us, O LORD God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

NIV

There are several truths that pop out at us right away, although all of this song is truth as it is the word of the Lord. The first is this song is a combination of lament and wisdom. Israel is in a bad place and this psalmist is prayer in song for God to restore them to their once before glory. They were in the land of milk and honey, the place God had planted them. But he also allow other nations to come along and pick them off the land, take them into captivity. The phrase or chorus of this song “Restore us, O God Almighty, make you face shine upon us, that we may be saved” Is repeated three times. This has to have great importance. However, first let us consider would we ever be in the position that Israel is in so we have to petition God to restore us? Certainly our life before salvation was a mess and we needed to be restored and saved. Even though we did not choose to serve the Lord, in fact were somewhat rebellious or refused to acknowledge him as God, we were still his creation in need of restoration and saving. But now, would we ever be trampled on by our enemy and taken captive away from the place God has placed us? Temptation or the tempter is in fact making every effort to ravage us, to break us down to crumble our walls, to destroy the temple of the Lord. At times we might get led down the wrong path, the wrong way of thinking about the world, and the things of the world. We might get entangled in wanting, or having envy or jealously toward those who have so much and care not about God. It is a scheme of the devil, he wants us to want what he has to offer, fame and fortune. We are always seeing the lifestyles of the rich and famous everywhere we turn. We cannot even sit in a doctor’s waiting room without watching “House hunter” or something like that with huge wonderful homes filled with the best of everything. He wants us to want. He wants us to lust after, he wants us to leave the land God has placed us in. But restore us, O LORD God Almighty, make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved. The enemy is after us, pursuing us, trying to grind down our defense. But we have the armor of God, we have the best defense in the land. No offensive play could beat the plan of our defensive coordinator. We stand firm, and not a single yard is gained, in fact with God we are able to run a great defense and sack their quarterback, Satan. Restore us O Lord God Almighty. Let not a single play go his way, but keep us in the palm of your hand, watch over us, restore us, save us from those temptations, those wants, those lusts, those desires, those moments our weakness sneaks in. Your face does shine upon us, we are lite up with your radiance, reflecting your glory to a sick and dying world. Thank you Lord for your salvation, thank you Lord for making your face shine upon us. Thank you Lord for planting us in your garden, your paradise. Thank you Lord for being a branch in your vine, Jesus.  He is the vine and we are the branches, apart from him we can do nothing. But in Christ, remaining in the vine, being established in or by the root, we will bear much fruit and will be able to share with all who are in need. Remaining in the vine, planted exactly where you have planted us, we will have all the fruit others will need. Thank you Lord, O God Almighty, for shining upon us. Where would we be if your face did not shine upon us? Thank you Lord for shining upon us.

Focus

DEVOTION

PSALMS

FOCUS

 Ps 79

O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble. 2 They have given the dead bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth. 3 They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. 4 We are objects of reproach to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us.

5 How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire? 6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you,on the kingdoms that do not call on your name; 7 for they have devoured Jacob and destroyed his homeland. 8 Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.

9 Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake. 10 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants. 11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you; by the strength of your arm preserve those condemned to die.

12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the reproach they have hurled at you, O Lord. 13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

NIV

This would most likely be considered a psalm of lament, seeking God to relieve Israel of the pain and suffering they are experiencing from who they think are enemy kings. But their suffering comes from the hand of the Lord, because they have left him for idols and other gods. Well, maybe not left him completely, but have added all the other gods to their list to worship. We know that is the reason for their situation. But yet they cry out to God to save them. They ask him how long he will allow this to go on. They arrived at the truth of the whole of all truth. Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name. Forgive our sins for your name’s sake. There it is. The reputation of God should be in the forefront of every petition. We ask for healing because we hurt. We ask for relief from the pain. We ask for things because we want things. We ask for protection because we are afraid of something, or what we are about to do that might be a little dangerous. We do not want to get hurt. But looking at this truth should turn our heads. All the purpose for any pray should be for His name’s sake, for His reputation. Whenever something good happens to us, do we always give a word of testimony, giving God all, not partial, but all the praise? It was not by our power, but by his. Sometimes we might get a little confused, especially when we quote that verse that says I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives my strength. We really need to get rid of the I. When we examine Philippians 4:13 it seems it is taken a bit out of context, plus in the Greek the word I is not used, it is implied, because this is a letter from Paul to the Saints in Philippi. But he is talking about having the power through the strength of the gospel to live in plenty or in need. The strength of the gospel. He gives the Lord Jesus Christ all the authority and praise for all things. This is the truth for our lives today. We forget to give him praise for all things which come into our life. We might even think some of the things that we have are a result of our efforts. We get a little proud of ourselves, even about how much we know about the bible, or how much knowledge we have. We could see a lot of things as a result of our ability. But, we need to know that it is God’s reputation which is at stake. We need to show the world no matter what happens in our life, God is our God and we will always give him all the honor and praise for everything that happens in our life. If we need some correction, some rebuking, some instruction, it is because we are in need so he can bring us to the place he needs us to be. So we can praise him, give him the honor for his direction in our life. When it gets down to it, can we really ask him how long we have to suffer through a situation? The psalmist did, but it was not about his suffering that was the issue, it was about God’s reputation among the other nations. Even having our sin forgiven is not so we can feel good about ourselves, not feeling guilt or shame, but it is about his name’s sake. Everything is about him. We need to get our eyes off of ourselves and get them focused on Jesus. Maybe we need an adjustment of our focus.

Humility

DEVOTION

PSALMS

HUMILITY

Ps 78:56-72

56 But they put God to the test and rebelled against the Most High; they did not keep his statutes. 57 Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow. 58 They angered him with their high places; they aroused his jealousy with their idols. 59 When God heard them, he was very angry; he rejected Israel completely. 60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among men. 61 He sent [the ark of] his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy. 62 He gave his people over to the sword; he was very angry with his inheritance. 63 Fire consumed their young men, and their maidens had no wedding songs; 64 their priests were put to the sword, and their widows could not weep.

65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a man wakes from the stupor of wine. 66 He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame. 67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim; 68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved. 69 He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever. 70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; 71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. 72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

NIV

First, let us consider the second to the last stanza( 56-64) in this psalm. Again we see and hope this is only a historic record of the happening in Israel. However, we can say our fathers may also have been unreliable, they may also may not have been loyal, but were disloyal and faithless. The high places are those high of places the other nations set up to honor or worship their gods. So instead of staying with the God Most High, the Lord God who brought them out of Egypt with mighty wonders, miracles, signs and provisions, water, manna and quail, they too set up high places to unworthy false gods. The question that begs to be asked; is have we in any way set up any kind of high place in our life and fallen to making idols of certain things. Those things could be of a spiritual, physical or material nature. We could idolize a widely popular preacher/author, seeing them as most godly, although we do not really know them as we do our local shepherd. We could idolize some of the popular singers/entertainers that travel the countryside charging for their performances. We could idolize the monetary system of our world, investing, partnering with them for personal gain. We could idolize many other material things, our homes, cars, boats, RV’s, or some other toys of ours. We may not think we made them an idol, but maybe God does. Then we also might get a little proud of ourselves because of all we have or do. Although it seems as though he abandon Israel, letting them be taken captive, letting his place he desecrated, everything he did, using foreign kings to overcome them, was for the purpose of bringing them to repentance, to return to him. That overused phrase, bad things happen to good people, may be nothing more for the same reason, to bring them to repentance, to return to God. We can see good people can go astray by observing the lives of the Israelites. We too might go astray and God wants us to return to him. From the last stanza of this psalm we see that as the reason. He makes everything right, but rather than choosing a leader from the line of Joseph, Ephraim, he chooses for them a king from the line of Judah, because we already know the Lion of Judah, the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ sits upon the throne of David forever and ever. It is not just David this psalm speaks of he says that he will shepherd them with integrity of heart, with skillful hands he led them. Whose heart can have more integrity then Jesus? Who can lead us with more skillful hands then Jesus? Let us put aside all other gods, idols, high places, and let us humbly walk with our Lord. Let us humble ourselves before him and worship him with gladness of heart.

James 4:7

"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."  

James 4:10

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

NIV

Milk and Honey

DEVOTION

PSALMS

MILK AND HONEY

Ps 78:40-55

40 How often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved him in the wasteland! 41 Again and again they put God to the test; they vexed the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember his power — the day he redeemed them from the oppressor, 43 the day he displayed his miraculous signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan. 44 He turned their rivers to blood; they could not drink from their streams. 45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them. 46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper, their produce to the locust. 47 He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-figs with sleet. 48 He gave over their cattle to the hail, their livestock to bolts of lightning. 49 He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility — a band of destroying angels. 50 He prepared a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death but gave them over to the plague. 51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham. 52 But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the desert. 53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies. 54 Thus he brought them to the border of his holy land, to the hill country his right hand had taken. 55 He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

NIV

We are still in that frame of mind in this song regarding the rebellion of Israel. This stanza is a recount of the Exodus, of his deliverance of them from the oppression of Egypt. He not only delivered them from their hardship, but he led them to a place flowing with milk and honey. This is indeed a story of our life. We were living under the oppression of an evil empire, the prince of this world had enslaved us. God delivered us from the hand of the oppressor with mighty acts. Although we cannot say that we saw locust, frogs, flies, hail, fire, grasshoppers, rivers of blood, or a darkened sun, we were living in a darkened life. There were many things which were needed to be destroyed in our life. Because of the Holy Spirit, we were given sight of the light. There was a beckon of hope, a shining light to guide us out of the darkness into the light. There were things in our life which needed to be overcome by his mighty power, which he did as swiftly as he moved against the oppressor of Egypt. The Holy Spirit threw Satan out, he gave him the boot, he put his foot in his neck and caused him to release us to follow Jesus through the desert to a land flowing with milk and honey. This land we could see in a twofold way. First, we could view it as the new city of Jerusalem where we will spend all of eternity with our Lord, This is certainly a divine land which the Lord is leading us to. Every day we get on step closer to it. In this view we would have to say we are, at the moment, traveling through the desert, that our life is certainly a temporary situation and we are totally dependent on the Lord to provide us the food of angels, water from the rock, the quail which comes to us. We would also have to admit we are lost in this place, but can only follow the pillar of fire at night and of smoke in the day. We move when he does and we stay when he does. Life might be a bit like that, at least in some ways. Second we could see this land of milk and honey as the place we are already in. That our life is flowing with milk and honey. We are in the land God has led us to. He has drove out all things in our path and he has brought us to a great land, a place of his choosing, designed especially for us. He has made this place his temple, he has taken up residence within us. He has planted us by the spring of living water that flows from the Rock, his Son Jesus, and causes us to send our roots into the stream and to bear much fruit. He ensures our leaves will not wither and whatsoever we do will prosper. (See psalm one) We are living in a great place filled with the presence of the Lord. What a joy to know that he has led us here.  But we must not be like the Israelites, We need to learn a lesson from their rebellious ways. The always complained, they were never satisfied, they always wanted more, and then they forgot about God. Here we are living in the land flowing with milk and honey, it is well with my soul. That is our song, the words of our mouth and the meditation of our mouth be pleasing in the sight, the ears of God. We are flowing with milk and honey.

Being real

DEVOTION

PSALM

BEING REAL

Ps 78:32-39

32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. 33 So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror. 34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. 35 They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. 36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; 37 their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant. 38 Yet he was merciful; he forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. 39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return.

NIV

A passing breeze that does not return, that is all we mere mortals are to the living God? Maybe that just refers to those who sit in the seat of mockers, as the first psalm talks about. We have investigated that word mocker and it is surely explained for us here in this psalm. The Hebrew word means to make lips at. In the sense of the use in the first psalm it would imply to make lips to God, or give him lip service and that is what is explained for us here. They flattered him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues, their hearts were not loyal to him. Unfaithful to his covenant. They gave him lip service, they mocked God. Everything he did for them, all that he did in providing them with everything, water, manna, quail, protection, guidance, his presence, they kept on sinning. Even with all the wonders he did, they did not believe. What a bunch of bums. Is it any wonder he ended their days in futility and terror. Are we anything like that. Do we give him any kind of lip service? When all is going well we are good and maybe we tend to ignore him a bit, forgetting to thank him at all times for everything he has done, is doing and will do in, for and though our life. Is it only when we are going through some struggle that we pray for help? We promise we will thank him if he gets us through it, but then we just go on, with our life. No, that is not how we live. We are always aware of his great power working in our life, but we still sin. How can that be? It is not that we ignore him or turn away to live for self.  It is not that we simply say we are believers then pursue all the things of the world, like all that non-believers who trust only in themselves. We love the Lord, but we are but flesh and blood and we are in some sense prisoners to our bodies. Perfection eludes us. But we cannot and will not lie to God about how much we follow every one of his commands. He knows full well our weakness, and so do we. We confess that weakness, and he forgives us. He is our Rock. He is the God Most High and he knows our every thought. He knows our weakness and he has redeemed us in Christ. He has shown us great mercy and compassion by paying the price his justice demands. He knows we cannot pay it, so he paid it for us. So here we are a passing breeze, our life is but a mist, a vapor that will vanish when the light of the Son appears. But we also are born again, a new creature into live eternal. We will live forever with our God, being his people. But we cannot lie to him ever. We cannot think we are sinless, or pretend that we have it all figured out. We will forever be grateful and thankful for his grace, mercy, peace, and love. All he wants is for us to live as his people, to be faithful to his covenant. Jesus gave us the covenant we are to live in. We know it is one of love. Loving God with all we are and loving others in the same manner. How easy is that? Think again, not so easy to love those unlovely ones. Not so easy to love those irregular people in our lives, those who rub us in all the wrong ways. But that is it, which is where the rubber meets the road. So we may not be as faithful as we should, but we cannot lie about it, especially to God, giving him lip service.  We cannot pretend we are all wonderful Christians, “Good Christians” when we fail to live up to the covenant completely. We try, we can tell him we are trying, but we are not getting it all done. He knows if we are really trying, we cannot even give him lip service about our trying to do it. He knows. So let’s just be honest and frank with God. Let us be real with him.

Discontentment

DEVOTION

PSALMS

DISCONTENTMENT

Ps 78:17-31

17 But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High. 18 They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved. 19 They spoke against God, saying," Can God spread a table in the desert? 20 When he struck the rock, water gushed out, and streams flowed abundantly. But can he also give us food? Can he supply meat for his people?" 21 When the LORD heard them, he was very angry; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, 22 for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance. 23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above and opened the doors of the heavens; 24 he rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven. 25 Men ate the bread of angels; he sent them all the food they could eat. 26 He let loose the east wind from the heavens and led forth the south wind by his power. 27 He rained meat down on them like dust, flying birds like sand on the seashore. 28 He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents. 29 They ate till they had more than enough, for he had given them what they craved. 30 But before they turned from the food they craved, even while it was still in their mouths, 31 God's anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel.

NIV

This is the story about never being content with what we have. They were thirsty, and wanted water, God provided it not by bringing them to a river, but by making a river flow from rock. Just thinking about that brings thoughts of the miraculous to mind, something only a living God could do. But that wasn’t enough for them, they wanted food too, so he sent manna from the sky. We are not sure exactly what this manna was or what it was like, for no sample is for us to examine. We know it was the food of angels. Was it some kind of meal of sorts which that could grin into flour make bread, or was eaten just as it arrived each morning? They did have to gather it, much like we have to gather supplies for out pantry, except we just have to go to a store and pay for it. Here God simply provided it freely for them, as much as they could eat. But they still were not satisfied, grumbled and complained about just bread and water, although they were healthy. So he sent them quail or some bird like a quail, right into their camp, all they had to do was pick them up and prepare them for a great dish. But was that enough? Nope, they still were discontent, so much so God’s wrath rose up against them. Let us learn something here. Discontentment with what God has provided for us is not a good way to live. Considering the way they lived, in tents, moving whenever God decided to move, staying whenever God decided to stay, having him guide them in a miraculous way, that pillar of smoke in the day and of fire in the night. They were always assured God was present with them, but still were always complaining. We live in a nice home, have cars to take us wherever we decide. We have clothes and can have more if we want to. We have all the food we want to buy, any kind, whatever we like the taste of, our choice. We can enjoy a great cup of coffee in the morning after a good night’s sleep in a comfy bed, under the warmth of blankets and in a house with either air conditioning in the heat of the summer, or a furnace during the cold of winter. What more could we want? Good health is but a doctor away if we have some illness, or break something, or need a joint replaced or even a heart. Our sight can be restored in so many ways, glasses, contacts, lasik or even cataracts replaced with a new lens. What more could we want? A bigger house, a newer car, better clothes, more money, newer furniture, upgraded appliances, new counter top, an RV or camper, a boat, a nicer RV or boat. A bigger yard, a newer this or that, always seeking more, never content with what we have. How about a newer phone, or computer, or notebook? The list of wants keeps growing. Discontent leads to envy or jealously and maybe even being a bit despondent or depressed, unhappy, not at peace, not feeling the joy of the Lord. Who do we blame? Do we blame ourselves or God? We have to blame ourselves for our discontentment, for our lack of appreciation for what God has done in our lives. No, we will not allow that scheme of the devil to play out in us. We are content with all we have and all God has done and is doing in our life. We are so content is almost looks like we live by faith. It does look like that! We believe God. We trust God. He has provided for us when we had no means. He has healed us over and over again. He has led us by the hand, by his voice, by his Spirit to where he desires us to be. He has opened doors when we could not even see a door. What more could we ask for? Nothing, yet he says we are to ask. But our asking should not be centered on us, but on him. What is his will? What does he want for us? How can we accomplish what he desires for us? By faith in him. He even gives us the faith. He gives us the strength. He gives us everything. We should be asking how we can best serve him. We should be asking how we can witness of his greatness. But we should also be thanking, continuously thanking him for his great love for us, for his marvelous provision for us, for his ever present guidance and protection. We are blessed beyond measure. We are indeed blessed. Thank you Lord! How could we ever not be thankful? How could we ever allow discontentment, deployed by Satan, to get passed your armor? We will ever be grateful.