Daily Devotion – June 9, 2021 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
92:1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
92:2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,
92:3 to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.
92:4 For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
92:12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
92:13 They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.
92:14 In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap,
92:15 showing that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
How does the Lord make you glad?
If you are like most modern North Americans, you take joy in things, but you may not spend a lot of time attributing that joy you feel to the Lord. The psalmist is different. For him or her, the Lord has made her/him glad, and that gladness results in praising God. Not only is God praised, God gets credit for the whole bounty of the earth and for wherever life flourishes. Anything that is good is attributed to the Lord’s work.
What would it be like to think of our world and all its bounty and joy as attributable to the Lord and to God’s hands?
Get up in the morning, look at all the things that are dependable and true, and declare that this goodness and harmony is due to God’s steadfast love. Get ready for bed at night, add up all the good things that happened that day, and attribute all those good things to the faithfulness of God. Wouldn’t your life be filled with a lot more gratitude? Credit where credit is due, right?
All the good and wondrous things in life show that the Lord is upright. There is no unrighteousness in God!
If we actually lived like that, giving praise and gratitude day and night to God, how would our lives feel different to us? And what is more, how would we look different to our friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers? Try it for just a few days and see what happens!
Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for steadfastly being our Lord, our provider. Help us to live our lives in gratitude for your gifts, and help others to see you through our lives of praise. Amen.
