Lately, I have found myself needing to press deeply into my relationship with the Lord, trusting Him to not only hold my heart, but to bring spiritual revelation so His Truth can overshadow great pain. I know that God is my Shepherd, and even though I have tremendous grief, I am confident that He wants to spiritually transform me and to use even these places of unexplained hurt for good.
In Friday’s devotion, Pastor Mary reminded us that King David did not rely on his feelings for guidance, rather he relied on and trusted in God to lead, direct, and guide his life, so that he would never be lost. Like David, I have needed to cry out to the Lord for His goodness and unfailing love to be my guiding light in a dark valley (Psalm 23).
Today we continue with King David, and we will meditate in prayer and allow our hearts to sing Psalm 100. David wrote this psalm of thanksgiving because he knew that no matter our circumstances, the Lord is our Shepherd, and that His goodness and unfailing love will never stop pursuing us, because God wants each one of us to reside in His House for all eternity.
I know that the enemy wants me to get stuck in my feelings and hand over my joy of the Lord to him, but that is a choice that I will never make. We must remember, Jesus is our Shepherd, Who became our joy when each one of us chose salvation in Him. Even though the enemy is always around, he has NO power to take our joy, unless we give it to him; because Jesus, Who is divine and holy, lives in you and me, and He is our joy even in our dark valleys.
May Psalm 100 encourage your heart today.
Psalm 100 (NLT)
A psalm of thanksgiving.
1 Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Worship the LORD with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the LORD is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being our Good Shepherd. Holy Spirit help us to hold firmly onto our joy. Bring healing to our places of pain as You reveal more of Your wisdom and Truth to us. We do not want to hand anything that is of You over to the enemy. Thank You for being Guide. We ask all of this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen.