DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2020-10-01
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

Bible Reference: Psalm 63:2-4
Translation: The Voice (VOICE)

Bible Text:  ² I have seen You in Your sanctuary
    and have been awed by Your power and glory.
³ Your steadfast love is better than life itself,
    so my lips will give You all my praise.
⁴ I will bless You with every breath of my life;
    I will lift up my hands in praise to Your name.

OBSERVATION: David was in the wilderness at the time that he wrote this Psalm. In spite of his loneliness, David was still filled with praise and still looked to God in awe and with thanksgiving. I believe that we have a great lesson to learn from this experience…..

APPLICATION: Generally if the atmosphere is right, the musicians top notch and the praise team in complete harmony, most church attendees would consider that they have been led to worship God. David may have been alone, but he was reflecting on his times with God – in the temple/sanctuary and in his times of prayer and praise. Without the distraction of all this world throws at us, I believe that David had uninterrupted time to reflect on the God of the universe that he was enjoying. Friends, I believe that we have to constantly be reminded that God is everywhere, and our minds could never contain all that we can praise Him for. Don’t you see that God’s people who are filled with worship and praise throughout the week, they will explode into praise by the time their weekend services rolls around? I believe that we must also learn that we don’t need to wait before praising God for His miraculous work in our lives. His Word declares that we are assured only the very moment that we find ourselves in, and nothing more. Furthermore, if someone blesses us in some way, wouldn’t we very quickly thank them and praise them for their kindness? Why then should God be any different? I believe that a sobering thought for us to consider, is that if we need any of the people or things I first mentioned above, to lead us into worship to our Father, then we should ponder if we are we truly worshiping God out of personal appreciation, and recognizing God for who He is to us personally, or are we simply being obedient to the worship leader, or ‘turned on’ by the music? Let’s remember that we have a heavenly Father who loves us more than anything that we could even comprehend (Ephesians 3:19). Can you imagine this means that in spite of our weaknesses or sin or lack of praise, He still loves us any way? Knowing this, and knowing that He has prepared a place for us to spend eternity with Him in glory, why on earth would we be bashful about praising Him for the miracles we see in our own lives and all around us. Wouldn’t it be neat for us to arrive at church early and find someone there praising the Lord – long before the service begins, because their heart is so overfilled with gratefulness? Would it have an influence on friends and coworkers if they knew us for our praise and thankfulness that we express to God everyday? They might begin to think that there is something real about this God we sometime talk about! They might begin to believe that we have a true and intimate relationship with our Lord!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your faithfulness, and thank You for the hope that we have in You. Please open our hearts and minds to be fully connected to You, so that we will be faithful in our worship and praise of our Savior and Lord! May others be impacted by this and desire to know You personally. May our hearts be so filled with praise and worship that we easily burst forth in praise even at the mention of Your name. AMEN.

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!