Today’s Tasting: Psalms 102–104 start with requests from the psalmists for God not to hide in the times of their distress and for God to bless their souls. Psalm 104 praises the Lord for His creation—even the birds sing praises to God. The psalmists recognize and declare the greatness of God. The Lord is above all of creation and rules creation by His might, strength, and power!
“Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress!” (Psalm 102:2 ESV).
“Bless the Lord, O my soul” (Psalm 103:1, 2, 22 ESV).
“The birds of the heavens … sing among the branches” (Psalm 104: 12 ESV).
“O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures … When you send forth your Spirit, they are created … May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works (Psalm 104:24, 30, 31 ESV).
Today’s Nourishment: Recognizing God’s greatness helps us to deal with distress and the inner workings of our souls (our mind, will, and emotions). I’m writing a Bible Study on how to handle distress called Tasting the Good when Troubles Emerge. I have realized that if we find the good during times of adversity, it helps us not to succumb to unhealthy emotions and attitudes, which can cause us to sink into distress: depression, anxiety, worry, and stress.
Although we all experience distress at various times in our lives, and some life circumstances cause us more distress than others, the way we react to these life events often determines the level of distress we experience.
We maintain balance by mixing affliction and adversity with a measure of peace and calm. We can learn to face adversity in a godly manner. Healthy responses to times when we are suffering physically or mentally ultimately lead to growth and renewed fullness of life.
Tasting the Good when Troubles Emerge looks at Job’s life and how he ended up in distress, then follows his journey back from distress to being stronger and more prosperous in all areas of his life.
- Job realized his “empty talk” and quieted himself.
- Job recognized God’s greatness and spoke about it.
- Job repented to change his thinking.[i]
The Lord has taken me through this process of realizing my empty words to stop them. Recognizing God’s greatness and my weakness causes me to turn to Him and repent to change my thinking. My repentance helps to change my perspective and that causes my life to change and become better.
The Lord will help you with whatever life challenges you’re facing. He will not hide from you during your distress. I encourage you to:
- Realize any “empty talk” and quiet those words.
- Recognize God’s greatness and speak it.
- Repent to change your thinking.
See more in the upcoming Word Feast: Simply Delicious Bible Studies, Tasting the Good when Troubles Emerge, which will be available on my website.
Tomorrow’s Delight: 2 Samuel 5; 1 Chronicles 11–12
Carolyn Marlowe, CCLC
Gigi to six adorable grandchildren
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[i] Excerpts from another Word Feast: Simply Delicious Bible Study: Tasting the Good when Troubles Emerge by Carolyn Marlowe
Thank you for a powerful word this morning. May I realize my empty words and quiet them.
It is so easy to fall into the trap of speaking “empty talk.” Yes, may we realize our empty words and quiet them to speak of God’s greatness.
This was great Carolyn. God is so good and has been so good in my life that I want to speak of a his greatness. We can get caught up in empty talk easily if we are not focused. I agree that our response makes a big difference in the outcome of things!
This makes me think of the childhood blessing we learned, “God is great, God is good!” He really is great!