Day 6…Psalm 50:14-15

“What I want instead is your true thanks to God; I want you to fulfill your vows to the Most High. Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me the glory.”

Notes from the devotional:

• God’s people were active in religious observance, meticulously offering animal sacrifices. God had no complaints about their religious activities, but he wanted more.  He wanted them!
• God wanted his people to thank him… saying “thank you” is evidence of a healthy relationship with him.
• Those who recognize who God is in their lives and know how much they depend on him to intervene in their experiences should be overwhelmed with gratitude.
• God wanted his people to fulfill their promises. Though they had a covenant relationship, his people tended to ignore their promises and the relationship deteriorated. Sound familiar?
• God wanted his people to trust him. Instead of turning to him in times of trouble, they turned elsewhere, to false idols and gods.
• What God wants is no mystery – he wants thankful, trusting, and faithful children. He wants people he can delight in and who can delight in him.

My notes:

• The Israelites aren’t alone. We do this – constantly – today. Our country continues to deteriorate because we have turned away from God in times of trouble, looking to men and idols to “save the day.”
• Our families continues to deteriorate because we look to television to figure out how to handle difficulties rather than to the One who made us and made families.
• Our marriages continue to deteriorate because we look to other people – people other than our spouses – for fulfillment, rather than Our Creator and the person he designed for us.
• I have fallen in this trap in all areas, and I thank God for his faithfulness to me when I mess up and lose my focus on him.
• The only way I see to keep my focus on him in both good and bad times is DAILY TIME IN THE WORD. I have never done that consistently and that is why I feel I constantly struggle in so many areas in life. Thank you for this passage, Lord, to remind me what you need from me.

Personal challenge:

• What do you have to be thankful for? What do you put your trust and faith in within this world?
• Ask God to be more reliant on him and to seek him more so that you can fulfill his desire of that intimate relationship with you.

~~from The One Year Book of Devotions for Men (Stuart Briscoe, 2000)~~