Psalm 103-10.27.22
SCRIPTURE
Psalm 103
OBSERVATION
David starts off this Psalm by saying that he wants to praise God with all that he is. With his whole heart he will praise God. He then continues to talk about how he never wants to forget the good things that God has done for him. Right after this statement, he lists off the many things God had done for him.
UNDERSTANDING
Lately I’ve been hit with how powerful it is to do what David is doing in this passage.
David is increasing his joy capacity.
I believe David understood the importance of joy in our lives.
In John 15, Jesus talks about how He is the vine and we are the branches, and that those who remain in Him and He in them will produce much fruit. Later in that passage Jesus says that if you remain in His love just as He remains in His father’s love, that we will be filled with joy that overflows.
God wants us to be overflowing with joy. I believe as we are overflowing with joy, we will impact our communities. I read a quote one time that said “People will forget what you say , but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
I believe David understood the importance of overflowing with God’s joy. Joy is the thing that will impact those around us. Joy is the thing that people are drawn to. Joy will also carry us through the tough times. When we go through hard times, we can still add the joy of the Lord to our situation, knowing He will never leave us or forsake us. We can grab hold of the joy that He will work all things for His good.
We see David doing exactly what we need to increase our joy. We see Him doing a couple things.
First, we see him showing his gratitude towards God by worshiping God and giving Him glory. Gratitude is the first step to building joy into our lives and it helps us experience a more consistent connection with God.
Second, we see David telling his story. He’s going over how good God is. There’s something that happens when we learn the practice of meditating on what God has done. You begin to realize how much God loves you; you start to remember what that felt like in that moment.
One of the greatest ways to increase joy is to put these two practices into our daily routine.
LIFE APPLICATION
I want to encourage you to start a journal and fill it with the stories of what God has done. If you already have one or are just starting, I want you to start to meditate on your stories every day.
It’s simple to do, but will increase your joy capacity.
Here’s how:
Take 5 minutes each day. You might need more than one story to fill the time.
Each memory should focus on two things.
1. Be aware of the sensation in your body as you relive it. (Maybe you felt butterflies, maybe it was heat, maybe excitement, etc… don’t just think of the words of how you felt, allow yourself to feel it again.)
2. What sort of connection did you feel with God in the memory? Maybe God was reminding you He loves you. He could have be letting you know you can trust him, etc…)
-Justin Eaves