MONDAY JULY 28 Let The Praise Continue Daily Reading: Exodus 15 vs. 1-10 “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my fathers God, and I will exalt him.” vs. 2 “Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.” The older translations say that he crowns us with “loving-kindness.” It’s the loyal, unending, unchanging love of God toward us. He heaps up his blessings—and then he pours them out on us. The fact that you think nothing happened today means that God has been doing his job! Then he crowns us with “tender mercies.” Why doesn’t he say “tender justice”? There’s nothing “tender” about justice. Mercy implies failure and defeat. Tender mercy means he knows what we are going through and he meets us where we are. If we were to receive what we truly deserve from God, we would stand no chance. But instead of justice, God give us “tender mercy.” The crown reminds us of our position as the children of God. In our day only kings and queens wear crowns, but it is the privilege of every Christian to be crowned with loving kindness and the tender mercy of God. He also satisfies us and renews us. “Who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” The text says he satisfies you with good. That means there is nothing on earth that can satisfy us deeply except God himself. The “good” of verse 5 comes from God—not from anything we see around us. One translation says, “He fills my life with good things” (NLT), which is true enough but that might leave the impression that God promises certain material benefits—money or status or promotion or some sort of earthly prosperity if we will only serve him. But the emphasis is not on what we possess but on what possesses us. Eugene Peterson captures this nicely in The Message: “He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.” To be satisfied means to be so full that you need nothing else. It’s what happens at the end of Thanksgiving dinner when you simply cannot eat anything else. You have had two helpings of everything and even though there is more food on the table, you cannot eat any of it. If you are hungry, to be full like that is a wonderful sensation. But that satisfaction eventually wears off and you have to eat again. To be satisfied means to be so full that you need nothing else. Here David speaks of satisfaction deeper than anything the world can offer. So it is with everything the world offers. We are here today, gone tomorrow. God says to his fading, frail, perishing children, “I will give you whatever you need so you can soar like the eagle.” All of us need this. There is a way to renew yourself, your energy, your outlook and your attitude. It’s better than aerobics, cheaper than health food, quicker than dieting, and altogether less strenuous than jogging. And what is this “miracle cure”? Fill your life with God’s good gifts to you. If you will let him, the Lord will give you something the world cannot match. God intends to give us: Contentment, Satisfaction, Strength, and Vigour. What a God. Right where you are, think of His love upon your life. For all you have counted, raise a high praise to Him. Further Reading: Exodus 15
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 08:54:47 +0000
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