Psalm 32:9 “Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.”
[Lord, help us to be the opposite of this. Help us to move in quick and joyful obedience to your Word and Spirit, with the desire to honor you and bless those around us. Help us to act out of kindness, care and love for others.
I thank you, Lord, for your provision in every way, meaning I can trust you fully. May I never need the bit and bridle and instead obey out of understanding and desire.]
Psalm 32:10 “Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.”
[I praise you for your never-ending Love, O Triune God–Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I praise you that your love is eternal, infinite, unquenchable and powerful, always surrounding and protecting us: “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore” (Ps. 125:2), and, “The angel of the Lord encamps round about those who fear him and delivers them” (Ps. 34:7).
Help us all to trust in you, to fear you (care deeply what you think and obey you, to fear the consequences of disobeying you) and to find refuge in you. “I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust” (Ps. 91:3).]
Psalm 32:11 “Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!”
[What a privilege to rejoice in you, Lord, no matter what our circumstances are. May I be glad in you in the midst of this present difficult time of much uncertainty. I give you praise and glory, honor and exaltation now, before there is a resolution to any of the multilayered problems surrounding me.
I choose, like Habakkuk, to rejoice in you, not my comfort: “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 [though I am facing starvation and death], YET I WILL rejoice in the LORD, I WILL be joyful in God my Savior” (Hab. 3:17,18).
This is an act of the will, led by faith, against all external evidence and internal emotions– possible because You, Lord God, are good. You are completely, fully, unwaveringly good, worthy of trust and glory in every way, in every moment. Therefore, I choose today to give you honor and praise in whatever comes. Amen.
