Rock the World!

A series on the Psalms - the voice of emotions
When you’re feeling thankful.
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Psalm 66

[Life is filled with emotions… anger and love; fear and courage; anxiety and peace. The Book of Psalms is also filled with emotions. They help us to validate our feelings and understand ourselves better; to grow in our faith and our relationship with Jesus; to understand the character of our Lord and how He works in our life.]

 

For the past fourteen years, my wife and I have bought season tickets for Michigan State football. This means that we made the 400+ miles round trip, six or seven times per year. No doubt this qualifies us as rabid MSU fans.

 

But there’s nothing else like sitting in Spartan Stadium for the first game of the season. With 75,000 screaming fans, and the Spartan Marching Band playing the fight song, the team would run out of the tunnel right below our seats. We could feel the heat from the pyrotechnics of smoke and fire. The stadium rocked!

 

This feeling of euphoria, reminds me of the following verses of Psalm 66. See if you agree. But, if you would forgive me, replace the word ‘God’ with ‘Spartans’ (or your favorite team) as you read them.

 

¹ Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
²     Sing about the glory of his name!
    Tell the world how glorious he is.
³ Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
⁴ Everything on earth will worship you;
    they will sing your praises,
    shouting your name in glorious songs.”         NLT

 

Of course, the psalmist had something more heavenly, more ethereal in mind. First, he reflected on how the Lord saved the people of Israel from the Egyptians by opening the waters of the Red Sea.

 

Then, he described how God tested them and purified them like silver. How God used adversity to bring them back to Him. And eventually, how the Lord brought them to “a place of great abundance”.

 

It’s from the psalmist perspective of thankfulness that he responded. He went to the Temple to fulfill his sacred vows to worship the Lord; to bring the best that he had to offer as a sacrifice to the One who had done so much for him.

 

¹⁵ That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—
    the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma,
    and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats.          NLT

 

The psalmist begins and ends his psalm with the theme of unadulterated praise for God that flows from a thankful heart.

 

¹ Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!

²⁰ Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
    or withdraw his unfailing love from me.        NLT

 

Can we do anything less than this? Let’s go rock the world!

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways

Reaching Higher: A Series on My Journey of Discipleship

Jeremiah 29:4-14

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2029%3A4-14&version=NIV;NLT

[Preface: This series is autobiographical to the extent that it is loosely based on my spiritual journey. In some ways, you could compare it to the stock market with a gradual overall increase, but many ups and downs; even a crash or two. Through it all though, the Lord has loved me and been with me the whole time. I hope you find my journey encouraging, but also, that the Lord might speak to you through it.]

They say that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Take me for instance.

Even though I’ve lived in Columbus, Ohio since 1985, Michigan is still home to me. I grew up there from kindergarten through high school. I graduated from Michigan State University; met my wife and married her; started our family; and started my career.

 

I can’t claim that I was exiled to Columbus, the heart of the Ohio State Buckeyes. After all, it was my choice to move here.

 

But I repeat, Michigan will always be home to me. As a testament to that, my basement office is decorated completely with Michigan State memorabilia. The Lord does work in mysterious ways.

 

Unlike me, the Jews who Jeremiah was writing to, had been exiled. They didn’t choose to go to Babylon; they were forced to. They were violently ripped out of their homes; their community; their jobs; their religious traditions; everything that was familiar to them.

 

In the opening line, Jeremiah makes a bold statement that God Himself claimed credit for their exile. The Lord goes on to say that they should “build houses, marry and have children; seek peace and prosperity for the city; even pray for it”. But why?

 

¹⁰ This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.          NLT

 

Indeed, the Lord does work in mysterious ways. Even when you can’t see it; the Lord has a plan for you. Even if you’ve been exiled from all that is familiar; even in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic; even when life hurts deeply; the Lord has a plan for you.

 

It would be nice if He gave us a roadmap that laid out His plan in black and white. But it doesn’t work that way. Sometimes we go through seasons of life without direction; without focus; without meaning. The good news is that the Lord is always with you; always at work; and always loves you.

 

Yes, the Lord works in mysterious ways.