God doesn't need our repentance.

God doesn't need our repentance.

Psalm 32

This is one of those psalms that I’m sure I’ve read, but I’d never understood it in the way I did today. David said, “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” (vs 3-5)

God has a cure for suffering.

God has a cure for suffering.

Psalm 31

In this world of (what seems like) never-ending suffering, many of us are looking for a way out of it. We want freedom from suffering. Well, I hate to tell you this, but there is no freedom from suffering—not even for God. We followed Satan into sin, and it has messed up the universe. That’s the reality. But don’t stop reading just yet. There may not be freedom from suffering, but there is freedom in suffering.

God specializes in extreme makeovers.

God specializes in extreme makeovers.

Psalm 30

I like how this psalm ends: “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.” (vs 11-12) There are times in this world when promises like this seem almost impossible… but so necessary to cling to for hope’s sake.

God wants you to stand.

God wants you to stand.

Psalm 29

It seems like I’ve been writing a lot about “the end of the world” on this blog lately. Maybe it’s because everything that’s happening in the news right now seems so crazy. Earthquakes, wildfires, plagues of locusts, a burgeoning pandemic. A lot of things seem to be in upheaval. Where’s it all headed?

God is in the house.

God is in the house.

Psalm 26

I’m not sure I’ve ever read this psalm before. But this is what caught my attention: “Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.” (vs 8)

I imagine David was talking about the temple. I don’t know that for sure, but that would probably have been the most obvious point of reference. This is what we would expect of a deity, right? To dwell somewhere else, in a fixed time and place. And if we wanted to meet with him, we would go for a visit.

God's ways are loving—all of them.

God's ways are loving—all of them.

Psalm 25

I have a lot of different friends who hold a lot of different views about God. I’m grateful for this; it means that I have the opportunity to hear different perspectives on spirituality and regularly have my own preconceived notions challenged and questioned. But I have recently noticed a trend of thought in some of these friends (and in some Christian circles) that concerns me: The idea that the Old Testament has a skewed view of God.

God is knocking.

God is knocking.

Psalm 24

This psalm includes some of my very favorite Scripture: “Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” (vs 7-8)

In reading commentaries on this chapter, I learned a couple of very interesting things that I thought I would share with you. First, this divine title, “King of glory,” is not used anywhere else in Scripture. This song of entrance is the only time where God is addressed in this way.

God knows what you need.

God knows what you need.

Psalm 23

Well, what do you say about the most famous chapter in the Bible? Both you and I have read it or heard it read probably hundreds of times. It’s certainly been recited at nearly every funeral I’ve ever been to. I suppose that’s because it is a psalm of utter confidence and contentment. David knows that his God will take care of him. Period.

Take a look at how the first verse reads in a number of different translations:

  • The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. (NLT)

  • The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. (CEB)

  • You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. (CEV)

  • God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. (MSG)

  • The Lord is my shepherd. I am never in need. (GW)

God is the King of kings.

God is the King of kings.

Psalm 21

You have often heard this phrase, haven’t you? King of kings. Lord of lords. If nothing else, Handel made it famous with his Hallelujah Chorus. But, have you ever stopped to think about what it means? Does it just mean that God is a better king than any we’ve had in Earth’s history? Like saying that an F5 tornado is the “mother of all storms,” is God just the “King of all kings”?

God gives us the desires of our hearts.

God gives us the desires of our hearts.

Psalm 20

I love this verse: “May [God] give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” (vs 4)

I have heard many people give caution over this verse. After all, the heart “is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9) What if the desires of our hearts are evil (as is so often the case)? Does that make this verse null and void?

God makes us complete.

God makes us complete.

Psalm 18

Have you seen the 1996 film Jerry Maguire? There’s a scene from that film that had most women swooning and most men rolling their eyes. It’s where the character played by Tom Cruise looks at his estranged wife, played by Renee Zellweger, and tearfully says, “You…complete…me.” That’s what I thought about when I read today’s psalm in The Message. It rendered verse 20 this way: “God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him.”

God is a pleasure-seeker.

God is a pleasure-seeker.

Psalm 16

This is a Stop the presses! sort of blog title. The kind of thing that makes you think, Did I read that right? For I bet you’ve heard a lot of things about God, but I’m sure there are many of you who have never heard God described as a pleasure-seeker. In fact, in many circles, it might be an abomination to put the words God and pleasure together in the same sentence!

God is totally above board.

God is totally above board.

Psalm 15

In English, when we say that somebody is “above board,” it means that they deal completely honestly and fairly with others. Ironically, its origins are from the gambling world: In a card game, if a person put their hand “below the board” (sideboard was a common word for table), it was easier for them to cheat. Keeping their hand “above board” ruled out the option of dishonesty.

God exists, and you know it.

God exists, and you know it.

Psalm 14

Well, David isn’t so sympathetic to the atheist position, here: “Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” (vs 1) This is a little counter-cultural in our day and age. We believe that people don’t have to believe in God to be good (just be good for goodness sake). We believe in the more refined notion of tolerance for different opinions on this and many other topics.