Psalm 34 - 4.5.23

Scripture 

Psalm 34:8

18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Observation 

King David wrote this when he was on the run (literally) from his enemies.  If you read through the whole Psalm, although David was not in great circumstances, he did a few things.

He praised and glorified the Lord (verses 1-3).

He sought the Lord and declared God’s power and goodness (verses 4-8).

Then in verses 9-22, he started encouraging outwardly. 

Application

Encourage yourself in the Lord and turn that encouragement outwardly to others who need it too! 

Are you in a rough place? Believe me, you are not alone. However, what we do in these seasons truly matter. Are we going to allow the enemy to bring us down a dark spiral or are we going to press in deeper into the Lord, worship, His Word and community? 

If you haven’t heard Pastor Levi’s sermon from last Sunday called “Press In”, I highly recommend that you watch it. Here’s the YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/ORgWAQpo_Wo

Prayer

Dear Jesus, I want to be like King David and even in hard circumstances, be able to encourage myself and others out of it through You. Thank You for being such a bright light in dark places and that Your light cannot be overcome. Your strength is made perfect in our weaknesses, so I pray we continue to press into You every day for strength and encourage others to do the same. Amen. 

-Michelle Gaddi