Daily Devotion – March 26, 2021 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison

Psalm 40:5-10
40:5 You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted.
40:6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
40:7 Then I said, “Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
40:8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
40:9 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD.
40:10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.

We know God has already saved us, once and for all. When we believe this, time and again, we are reassured of our salvation. No burnt offering required.

But what can we do in grateful recognition of this big huge gift of eternal salvation, of never having to face permanent death? In this psalm, the answer is clear: don’t hide the news. Tell the news. Speak of God’s faithfulness. More than that, live life as though you were the recipient of a great gift. Because you are.

The trouble with us is that, although we may live in assurance, at least on our good days, we have turned over proclamation of this good news to professional preachers and teachers. We don’t do it ourselves. “Oh, they do it so well,” you might say. “It is their job. That’s what we pay them for!” you might protest.  You would be right about that. But just because we pay them to do it, and they do it well, we ourselves still need to do some proclaiming, some telling, some reassuring.

There are some people in your very own circle of friends and relations and acquaintances who need this good news because they are languishing in fear or guilt or sadness. And your amazing professional preacher DOES NOT KNOW THEM. But YOU DO.

Don’t be afraid to speak of your hope and assurance. It can save someone else incredible grief.

Let us embody this psalm and not hide our good news and reason for confidence in our heart. Let us share it, quietly or boldly, with someone we know who might be heartened by it. Let us not be selfish and withholding. We are more generous than that. God has given us the means to be generous.

Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us the relationships into which we can speak of your great love and giving.   Help us to be bold and to do so.   Amen.