God is Faithful

Psalm 40:1-2
I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.

Psalm 89:1
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

As the New Year begins, it is traditional for people to make resolutions trying to decide just what it is they want to do, or want to do better, in the upcoming year. Maybe you have made some of those resolutions. My resolution this year is to try to look at things with a positive attitude. I have always tried to do that over the course of my lifetime, but it seems like sometimes I get bogged down and I forget to look at the positive.

In Psalm 40 there are some words that really remind me of just how much I have to be thankful for. David wrote, "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry." David is saying, "I waited and God just sort of leaned His head over, He inclined, and He heard me as I cried to Him."Verses two and three go on, "He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth - praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord."

I like those verses from David. The fact that he just waited, he cried to God, God heard him, and God rescued him from his terrible, terrible situation and took him out of the awfulness and put a new song in his mouth. David had something very positive to look at, and something to sing about.

I think of Psalm 89 then. What was David singing about? Well, he could have been singing about the faithfulness of the Lord or many different things. In Psalm 89:1 it says, "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations."Perhaps that is what David was singing about - God's mercy.

We read of that mercy in Psalm 23:6,"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." The word translated "mercy" means that one person has a need, and another person has all it takes to meet that need.

As you face this new year, I hope you will be singing a new song of God's mercy, His faithfulness, and His ability to meet your needs, no matter what those needs might be. Sing a song of gladness! Sing a song of joy! Sing a song of God's faithfulness! Sing of His mercy! Sing and rejoice in this year 2000, and thank God for all that He is - meeting all of our needs.

By Dr. Ann Shorb

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Related Articles and Devotionals:
Giant-Sized Faith
He is the Risen Christ Who Knows Us by Name
White As Snow

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