Offer Thanksgiving - Psalm 50:53 Verse of the Day

It's a gray day; early morning. I've finished my Bible reading and now sit in my workspace with my cat curled beside me, sipping a hot cup of coffee as I glance out at the world through the window. A split in the clouds reminds me of the crack in the wall on Dr. Who. But this split reveals the light blue sky beyond the heavy gray. It reminds me that above all the gray there is sunshine and blue skies. I thank God for that reminder and soon the split is larger and the tangerine highlights of the sun mark the bottom edge of the widening split. In the short time it took me to type this, that crack has turned into a large swath of blue sky with layers of lacy gray clouds drifting to the north. It reminds me of my favorite verse from my reading this morning.

Verse of the Day Psalm 50:53

 

With all that life throws at us, it is hard at times to "feel" thankful, but long ago, I learned to practice thanksgiving as a sacrifice to God, even when I didn't feel like being thankful.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:4-7)

My first memory of putting this into practice is from back in the 80s as I drove to work on a gray day in Northern Illinois. There were times we didn't see the sun for weeks and it could be depressing. I'd use driving time to talk to God, but that day I was in a bit of a funk. The sky showed no definition of clouds, it was like a ceiling painted a solid color. Light gray. I didn't feel like going to work, I didn't like the cold weather, and I could easily fall into grumbling about all the things I didn't like. But I was reminded that "in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving..." And so I searched for something to be thankful for and looked at the sky. I realized it was the color of my favorite eye shadow at the time and I thanked God for it's beauty. As I scanned the world around me I realized I had much to be thankful for, and by the time I walked into work, it was with a new attitude, God was guarding my heart and mind. 

I am thankful. Amen

 

Meditate on God’s Word: Psalm 59:16

Colossians 3:16 tells us to “let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.” Memorizing Scripture is as an excellent tool for spiritual growth. Once memorized the Word lives on and works on within you. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 tells us to bind God's law on our foreheads, teach it to our children, talk about it wherever we go, and make it an integral part of our lives.” Memorizing Scripture make that possible and Psalm 119:11 "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Meditating on God’s Word renews our mind and transforms our thinking so we may discern God’s will. 

 

With that said, I have to admit I’m not as diligent about memorizing Scripture as I’d like to be, but I’m working on it. Currently, as I seek to grow in my prayer life, I figured memorizing Scripture would be the perfect way to meditate on God’s Word and incorporate it in my prayers and so in searching out bible verses to memorize, I looked for those I could incorporate in my prayers.

My current memory verse

My current memory verse is Psalm 59:16, written by King David. This Psalm is filled with his complaints about his life at the time, and includes imprecatory prayers calling for the judgement of his enemies, but also includes prayers depicting his confidence in God. I chose verse 16 as my memory verse.

I’ve learned much as I’ve meditated and memorized this verse and truthfully, I think I’ll memorize verse 17 too. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me just share a few snippets of things God has taught me with these few words that I took the time to memorize and meditate upon.

But as for me: David transitions from talking about his enemies in the fist eight verses to the faithfulness of God. He knows his enemy is strong but he trains his eyes on God, his stronghold. He opens this verse with “But as for me….” With all that is going on, he has a plan of action. I mean he had a lot going on! And he had a plan that included God. The next part of the verse explain it.

I will sing of your strength. First of all, I was reminded of the hard life David was living as I meditated on this phrase. His plan starts with singing of God’s strength. I thought, “What songs do I know that sing of God’s strength. Nothing came to mind, so I started looking. Everything current spoke about how He is my strength. Hmmm. Not what I was looking for. As I pondered it, I thought of the song Miriam sang after the Israelites crossed through the Red Sea and God closed it over Pharoah and his army. Many of the Psalms sung speak of God’s strength, but I was looking for songs I could sing as part of my prayer life. As I lay on the massage bed at the Chiropractor office, this past week, I meditated on this part of the verse and asked God to help me learn to sing of his strength. “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” came to mind. This started me down a path of (for me) long forgotten songs: Give to the Winds thy Fears, God Is a Strong Salvation, Eternal Father Strong to Save, and then I remembered a praise song from the 80s, called Ah Lord God, based on Jeremiah 32:17, ‘Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You. This song was my go-to song for a decade or more as I prayed for a wayward loved one.

The more I meditated the more my thoughts brought me to songs I did know, and the same held true for the next part of the verse, Yes, I will joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning. This not only renewed by thinking about his lovingkindness but note the word “joyfully” and the word “morning.” Wow! That called for an attitude adjustment in my morning mood!

My meditation takeaways from this short verse

Even with enemies surrounding him, David kept his eyes on the Lord. He had a plan to do that. He focused on God's strength and lovingkindness and looked to God as his stronghold.

Scripture meditation is easier when you memorize it. Even if you don’t, take time to meditate on God’s Word. You’ll be amazed at what God will do with it in your heart.