To Encourage You

Psalm 119:147-148 “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words.  My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.”

What’s the first thing you think about each morning and what’s the last thing you think about each night?  If you are like many, perhaps the first thing you do is flip on the radio, TV, or computer.  It may be good to ask yourself, in light of this psalm, ‘Is that really the best thing to do?”  Maybe today you are facing something very difficult – could be at work, a situation with a child, a doctor’s appointment, some critical deadline, or a money shortage, etc., etc.  In such cases, isn’t it typically these problems that we dwell on, morning, noon, and night?  It’s something we almost can’t help.  And worry is often the result, or fear.    

And so the psalmist – actually the Holy Spirit through the psalmist – is encouraging us to put our thoughts on God and His Word as often as we possibly can. There is nothing better to think about, ever.  Nothing else can give us the right perspective – God’s perspective – on life and all of its circumstances.  In Psalm 1, the godly man, the one who is like a tree planted by rivers of water, one who is fruitful in everything he does, and one who doesn’t wither when trials come, is described as a man who meditates on God’s Word day and night.  Giving such preeminence to God’s words will always be better than dwelling on our own (as we talk to ourselves in our thoughts) or someone else’s words – there’s actually no comparison.