Having grandchildren is simply the BEST!

Psalms 34

verse 1 says “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” If I’m honest with myself, I must acknowledge that I am not conscious of God throughout the day. I have this God-conscious adrenaline surge in the morning during my devotions (which I thankfully crave when I awake) but then I go through the day mindful of MY activities and focused on MY desired accomplishments. My activities and accomplishments are not anti-God (mostly) but I am not “mindful” or actively conscious of God most of the time. Conversely, the Psalmist, David, says “I will bless the Lord at ALL TIMES; His praise shall CONTINUALLY be in my mouth”. To carry this theme further, this psalm conveys the sense of not just “thinking” about God always but “speaking” about God always. “I will bless” and “His praise shall continually be in my MOUTH”. Lord, may your name be always on my mind and may I speak of you often in all situations.

Psalms 34, continued – Consider these words from verses 9 & 10:  “for to those who fear Him there is no want” and “they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing”. This is peace and contentment when the Lord does not withhold anything I NEED.  And further, He doesn’t withhold anything that is GOOD. Now, consider the prerequisite of contentment and possessing all that is good and having no want. What is the “cause and effect” of it all?  “Those who FEAR Him” and “they who SEEK Him shall not be in want”. Okay, there it is. Fear Him and Seek Him precedes possessing “all that is good and having no want.”

May I NOT FOCUS on what I want, my needs, my wants – to have, to hold, to possess. Instead may I focus on the fear of the Lord and seeking Him always, and all these other things will take care of themselves. The following, verse 11, doesn’t say “come now and I’ll teach you how to have all good things (the effect). Instead, it says “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (the cause). Father and Lord, draw my heart away from what I want and draw it toward you. I seek you and love you above all else. “The Lord redeems the soul of His servants and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.”