Lover of My Soul

09 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 103, Psalms

Tags

choosing God's ways, Creator, Jesus, Redeemer, worship

Today’s quote and prayer from Psalms 365
Heavenly Father,
I appreciate the free will that you have given me.
I choose to worship you.
You are the lover of my soul.
Thank you for all you have done.
I owe my life to Jesus.
Amen.

The first volume of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer by award-winning author David Kitz is now available. For a closer look at this 262-page daily devotional book click here.

Freedom to Choose

09 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 103, Psalms

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

angels, chaos, choosing God's ways, creation, dominion

Reading: Psalm 103
(Verses 19-22)
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul (NIV).*

Photo by Anastasia Zhenina on Pexels.com

Reflection
Have you ever found yourself in a chaotic situation where you immediately ask this question, “Who’s in charge here?” Sometimes I have walked into an unruly classroom where that question is very pertinent. The teacher may be nowhere in sight, or is absorbed with one or two students while bedlam reigns all around. It takes very little to lose control of thirty twelve-year-olds. Trust me on this point: It takes a range of skills to get a class of youngsters motivated and moving in the same direction.

Today’s reading from the psalms gives us an answer to that age old question, “Who’s in charge here?” The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

So there is your answer. The LORD is in charge here. He’s in charge of everything—the orderly and the controlled, and the seemingly random. Above this world and its mixture of order, routine, bedlam and chaos, the LORD sits enthroned as ruler over all.

Often the LORD is blamed for the bedlam and the chaos, but is that a fair assessment? Yes, He could control everything—every detail, but then there would be no humans on this planet—no free moral agents. To be human is to have the ability to choose both good and evil. If God sovereignly decided that we could only do good, then we would be robotic humanoids—not true humans at all.

Can there be true love, if love is enforced from on high rather than freely chosen? Can there be genuine worship, if this divine privilege is induced by the Creator rather than willingly offered by the created? No, the LORD calls for our worship, but He forces it on no one. The God I serve is not a rapist; He is a true lover.

So I will freely join with all creation to praise Him. I will join the angels, the heavenly hosts and all his works everywhere in his dominion. I will join in praising my Creator and my Redeemer, who was born in a stable and raised high to suffer on a cross, but now His throne is established in heaven and His kingdom rules over all. He is the One I will praise. How about you?

Response: Father God, I appreciate the free will that you have given me. I choose to worship you. You are the lover of my soul. Thank you for all you have done. I owe my life to Jesus. Amen.

Your Turn: Do we choose God or does He choose us, or are both answers correct? How has choosing to worship God changed you?

* New International Version, Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Matchless

08 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 103

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

compassion, Heavenly Father, imagine

Today’s verse from the Psalms
Heavenly Father,
you are matchless.
There is none like you.
Your compassion is astonishing.
Your grandeur is beyond my ability to even imagine.
I love you, LORD.
I bow in awe.
Amen.

Dust and Stars

08 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 103, Psalms

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

compassion, dust, love of God, stars, universe

Reading: Psalm 103
(Verses 13-18)
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts (NIV).*

Photo by egil sju00f8holt on Pexels.com

Reflection
Last week I heard a news report that stated that new research has led astronomers to realize that there are ten times more stars in the universe than they previously estimated. A minor miscalculation you may assume. Not really!

Our own Milky Way galaxy contains about 400 billion stars of varying sizes. The most recent astronomical estimate counts 170 billion galaxies in the observable universe. To do a rough calculation of the total number of stars in the universe, you multiply 400 billion stars X 170 billion galaxies and get a number with twenty-five zeroes tacked on the end. Now that’s astronomical!

So how does that ginormous number connect with today’s reading from Psalm 103? It tells us the LORD’s concern and care for us are nothing short of astounding. The God who created all that vast array of stars cares even for you and me. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

Dust… We are nothing more than dust. From dust we were formed and to dust we will return. (See Genesis 3:19.) Yet despite our humble origin and our body’s grave fate, we have a God who has the compassion of a father for his children. Furthermore, this care and compassion is not fleeting; it’s eternal. Our time on earth may be transitory, but God’s love for us persists. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

Why would a God of such infinite capacity commit Himself to a creature of such miniscule significance? The LORD is mind-boggling; God is completely mind-boggling! You can see it in the stars. You can count it in the grains of dust—dust that the LORD loves!

Response: Father God, you are matchless. There is none like you. Your compassion is astonishing. Your grandeur is beyond my ability to even imagine. I love you, LORD. I bow in awe. Amen.

Your Turn: How big is your God? How tiny are you before this awesome God? How does knowing His love make you feel?

* New International Version, Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Which Is Your Favorite?

05 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 103, Psalms

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

compassionate, forgiveness, infinite love, mercy of God

Reading: Psalm 103
(Verses 7-12)
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us (NIV).*

Racette Park, Orleans, ON — photo by David Kitz

Reflection
Here is a little secret that will be a secret no longer: Of all the psalms, Psalm 103 is my favorite.

Why do I have such a deep love for this psalm? The answer lies in what the psalm tells us about God. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

That sentence should be etched on our hearts and minds. The character of God is revealed in these traits. I stand in need of a God who has these qualities because by nature I am the polar opposite. In various situations I have lacked compassion. I have reasoned that those who suffer are getting what they deserve. Rather than extent grace, I have a tendency to be judgmental. When things don’t go my way, I can be quick tempered rather than slow to anger. I like to think I am loving, but I’m not sure others would always agree.

The amazing truth is that despite all our shortcomings God still loves you and me. He [the LORD] will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

Satan is the accuser; God is the merciful forgiver. Sometimes I think in our minds, we have reversed those roles. That’s why this psalm acts as such a powerful antidote to wrong thinking. Do you think God cannot forgive you because of some past transgression? Think again. Psalm 103 tells us to view God differently. He is more compassionate than we can imagine, more loving than we can fathom, more patient than we can comprehend.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Infinite—our God’s love and compassion are infinite. Enough said.

Response: Father God, because of your love, mercy and grace I want to serve you. Please accept my feeble attempts at loving you back. Your forgiveness leaves me with a debt of love I cannot pay. Amen.

Your Turn: What is your favorite psalm? Why?

* New International Version, Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Constancy in Praise

04 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by davidkitz in Psalm 103, Psalms

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

circumstances, praise, praising God, worship

Reading: Psalm 103
Of David.
(Verses 1-6)
Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed (NIV).*

Ice slab drifting down the Ottawa River — photo by David Kitz

Reflection
Psalm 103 begins by David calling on his soul to praise the LORD. Many see praise and worship as a purely cathartic response to the manifest goodness of God. Something good happens to us. Unexpectedly, we get a thousand-dollar check in the mail. Quite naturally our response is praise to God.

For many people, praise to God never progresses beyond this natural, cathartic level. If God does not bless, no praise is forthcoming. Our praise for the LORD becomes, or simply remains circumstance dependent. But that was not the case with David. His praise extended beyond simple catharsis. He taught his soul to praise the LORD in all circumstances. True biblical praise and worship is after all, a spiritual exercise, a discipline we grow in, just as we grow in the discipline of prayer.

The LORD, the object of our praise, does not change with our circumstances. He is forever the same. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is constant, hence our praise and worship of him should be constant, unaffected by weather conditions, world events, the gyrations of the stock market, our swings of mood or our personal situation.

Of course this constancy in praise is something the natural man simply rebels against. Our world needs to be right in order for us to praise God aright, or so we reason. The only problem with this logic is that the world has never been right since the Fall. Death, disease, war and misery have been raining down on the children of Adam, since willful disobedience to God first took root among us. And this is one weather forecast, for all humanity, that is not about to change—not until Christ returns.

If we are waiting for a perfect world before we lift our voice in praise to God, we will never praise Him. In fact, if our eyes are on the world, or on ourselves, there will always be grounds to withhold our praise. But then, the whole purpose of praise and worship is to lift up our eyes. We desperately need to get our eyes off ourselves, off the world, and onto God our Maker.

Response: Father God, I genuinely want to learn to praise you in all situations. You are always good, loving and worthy of praise. Along with David I declare, “Praise the LORD, my soul!” Amen.

Your Turn: Have you learned to praise God even in difficult times? Why is it the right response for you now?