Psa 33:20  “We wait in hope for the LORD;”

[This is a decision. Instead of trying to save ourselves in our slight strength and weak wisdom, we must wait for you, Lord. Sometimes we wait for a long time, but you are faithful and will act at the right time, just as you did with Joseph, keeping him in prison until he had learned all that was necessary. Then you brought him out, ready for the great work you had prepared for him. In you there is hope, a certainty of provision at the right time, of love moved by wisdom and power to bring about what is best.]

“he is our help and our shield.”

[Your mighty, majestic power moves in lavish love to support us in our weakness. You pour upon us grace, wisdom, insight, peace, joy and rest.  Out of your superb strength you move to protect us from the attacks of the enemy, from all that would harm us spiritually. You hold your hand of power over us to ward off evil and evil men. You only are our true help and shield.]

Psa 33:21  “In him our hearts rejoice, “

[You alone are the source of our joy, Lord Jesus. All that is good comes from you, from your gracious heart and hand. To know you, to live with you, to be your child, to serve in your power, this is far more than enough for rejoicing no matter what our circumstances may be.]

“for we trust in his holy name.”

[Yes, our joy flows because you make it possible for us to trust in you. You have opened the way so we can know your Name in all its power and purity, its love and light, its faithfulness and forgiveness. You are worthy of trust and submission and obedience.]

Psa 33:22  May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,”

[Praise you that your love never fails, that your faithfulness never ends, that your grace flows forever. Praise you for your promise that your love will rest upon us, not only now, today, in the moment of need, but forever!]

“even as we put our hope in you.”

[Again you remind us that this is a partnership: you provide all, then you wait for our participation. May our daily decision to hope in you be ever evidenced by the persistent present of praise in our hearts, minds, souls and mouths.

To you be glory forever and ever, Lord Jesus, King of Glory, Lord of lords, Shepherd of power and love. I bow before you in awe and respect, I rise up in submission and obedience to you, your Word, your Spirit, your Truth. Glorify yourself in my life today.

Psa 33:12  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.” [This is so true, Lord: to belong to you, to be your possession, to know you is wonderful. Blessed is too mild a word! To know that you chose us, wanted us as your people, sought us out, bought us, adopted us, transformed us, love us, cherish us—what  marvelous truths! It is more than we could ever have hoped for, even if we don’t compare it to what we actually deserve (punishment, rejection, suffering, eternal separation from you and all that is good).

You are the God who is beyond our dreams, beyond our hopes, beyond our understanding. You are Great, Powerful, Glorious, Perfect, Gracious and Pure. You are the fulfillment of the longing of our hearts and far more. Glory and honor belong to you alone!]

Psa 33:13  “From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind;” [Such power, such ability, such completeness that you can look down and see the whole of mankind. No one is hidden from your sight. What a grief it must be to you to see us sin, to hurt others, to dishonor your name, to rebel left and right, yet you keep on looking and working among us because you are faithful and good and loving.]

Psa 33:14  “from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth—“ [Again the word “all”—every single human being is fully in your sight, having your complete attention, for you are infinite in your abilities. You are beyond comprehension and worthy of our worship and trust!]

Psa 33:15  “he who forms the hearts of all, [You are our Maker, you know how things should work, you give directions, guidance, power and desire so we can live as you intended and join you in all you do.]
“who considers everything they do.” [Praise you, Lord God, that you are not just aware of each person, but you think on, weigh, evaluate everything, every single thing we do. That is scary! Not one thing goes unnoticed, and if it weren’t for your great mercy, we would be eternally dammed by these things we do. As it says in Rev 20:13,15 that before your throne “each person was judged according to what he had done…If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”  Our own works bring not salvation but damnation. But there is that big “IF” in this sentence ”if our names are not written in the book of life.”  And praise God, that in the lives of believers the opposite of  this is a reality: our names ARE written in the Lamb of God’s book of life!

That fact alone is enough for us to rejoice forever, even if every other thing goes wrong.  We must follow the example of Habakkuk. In 3:17,18 he wrote: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails  and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls…”  This is a bad, hopeless situation. But Habakkuk goes on in faith:  “…yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” Knowing God, being His forgiven child, having Him as our Savior, Shepherd, God and King who watches over us every moment is certainly enough for joy in any circumstance.

Glory be to you, O God, for you are worthy. May you be exalted, lifted up and praised throughout this day in my life. Amen.

Praise you, my heavenly Father, for your steady, unwavering love and goodness. I am so much the opposite: my emotions are up and down, my sense of achievement and worth waver, my happiness with myself fluctuates with what I perceive to be success or failure, and my feelings change with how people interact with me, even with how well I sleep and even with my dreams. But you, Lord God, have made yourself my Rock, my Protector, my Fortress, my Forgiver, my Cleanser and my Father.

I praise you for the whole-hearted, deep and full acceptance you have given me in Christ. I thank you for the gracious correction, the loving help, the continual support from your glorious riches, for your constant presence, protection and provision.

In you I am forgiven, in you I am transformed, in you I am on the upward journey to heaven, in you I have worth and meaning and unfailing love.

Lord Jesus, as I consider what I am in myself–a selfish, proud, weak, unstable, lustful, lazy, impatient, unbelieving rebel—and considering what I deserve—rejection, punishment, suffering, failure, death and eternal separation from you—I am more and more amazed at your unending, rich, power love for me. You are too good to be true, too wonderful to be real, you are beyond human conception.  Yet, your love is real, demonstrated at the culmination of history, the cross, and then repeated affirmed in my life each day.

You, O God, are the One to trusted and loved, glorified and lifted up. I praise you for the beauty of your Character as shown in Psa 86:15  “…you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”

You lean over the side of heaven and in compassion follow carefully every aspect of my life, preparing each day in detail, providing protection, chastening, guiding and blessing. In compassion you also take me through difficulties to break, shape and transform. You are wholehearted and full orbed in your compassion.

You are gracious: kind and good in your dealings with me. You are also richly generous, pouring out upon me blessing after blessing. You have given me health, strength, the ability to see, hear, walk, talk, you have given me a fine family, good friends, meaningful work, constant protection and many belongings. I lack nothing because you are my Shepherd.

You are slow to anger: deeply patient, graciously patient, perfectly patient and therefore persistent with me. I so often fail, especially in my thought life and in my motives, in each sin grieving you, giving you pain. Yet you do not respond in anger, but instead kindly correct me over and over. You start with very small alerts and if I don’t respond, slowly work your way up to larger rebukes, patiently giving me chance after chance to see, confess and repent of one sin after another. I praise you for your great, rich, comforting, healing patience.

You are abounding in love: you are an overflowing spring of love with an endless stream of goodness that pours out of your rich person, for you are agape love itself. Praise you that your love is unstoppable by my failures and sin, that your love flows deeply, widely, powerfully, forever. It evokes from me an answering love, a desire to do what is pleasing to your heart. Your love transforms, cleanses, equips and leads us on, consistently, abundantly, graciously.

You are abounding in faithfulness: you are perfect, unchanging, unwaveringly consistent. You are faithful to your Character, to your Word, to your wisdom to your promises, to your plan. We can trust you wholly, wholeheartedly, totally and eternally. You are faithful when we are not; you are faithful when it costs you. You are faithful forever.

Glory be to you, Lord God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You are totally worthy of worship, of honor, of exaltation. I bow before you in awe, I rise up to obey in praise and thanksgiving. May you be lifted up, glorified and honored in my life today in my motives, thoughts, words and deeds.

Praise you, Lord, for your undeserved goodness to us, daily manifested by multiple minor means that we so easily take for granted: the gifts of sight, speech, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. And in major, majestic, mighty ways: pardon from deserved eternal death, the gift of eternal life, the indwelling of the Spirit, the wonder of your Word, an intimate relationship with you, meaning, guidance and protection in life, help in every circumstance, membership in the Body, abundant grace at all times–there is no end to the flow of your goodness, just as there is no end to learning about your marvelous character, Lord God.

You are the Triune One: the Father who plans, the Son who brings it to pass, the Holy Spirit who finishes it up. You are the perfect person, the perfect partnership, the perfect personality, the perfect planner. You are marvelous in your being, majestic in your judgments, mighty in your redemption and magnificent in your mercy.

To you belongs all affection, all loyalty, all commitment, all awe, all reverence, all obedience, all honor.  For in you there is no flaw, no imperfection, no error, no lack. You are worthy of eternal, complete, wholehearted, total love.

I bow before you, Lord God, I praise you, Heavenly Father, I honor you, Lord Jesus, , I surrender to you, Holy, Spirit. To you be exaltation, magnification, obedience and glory in my life today. Amen.

Awoke with somewhat negative feelings. Perhaps from thinking too much about work? I do want to be thinking on, focusing on you, Lord Jesus, to be rejoicing in you and who you are throughout the day.

Whether my work goes well or not is not such a big deal. You are the Big Deal in life: the eternal One, the Righteous One, the Holy One, the Mighty One, the Glorious and Beautiful One. You deserve our love, our devotion, our worship, our obedience, our fervor, our focus.

I praise you that you lift our eyes from the temporary to the Timeless, from the small to the Great, from the created to the Creator.  You are the One to be worshiped and I repent of thinking so much about sales and success. Guide me in being balanced in a biblical way, in approaching this work with you, in your time, in your way, in your power. Praise you for all you will do.  Open the way for us to do what is best. I praise you for your goodness and guidance now.

Psa 28:2  “Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help,” [Where else can I look for mercy and help? You are the spring of all mercy. You are the source of all help. What we see on the earth is but a reflection of your great and wonderful character. Truly I can trust you to hear, to answer, protect and guide.]

“as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.” [To focus on you is the right thing to do, for there is no real help in any other place. You are the Holy One who knows what is good, what is pure, righteous and edifying. In you I can trust. In you I can hope. I can praise you for what you will do before there is any sign of your working. You are the God of Goodness, Power, Wisdom and Grace, full of Love, Life, Laughter  and Light.]

Praise be to you, Lord God, my Refuge, my Fortress, my Stronghold, my Shield, my Shepherd, my Protector, my Guide, my King and my God. To you be glory in this day. Help me to be a glory giver at each step, at each juncture. You are the One whom I am to follow, to gaze upon, to focus on, to worship, to love. To you be glory and honor for all you will do.