April 4, 2017
Central Truth
Be faithful at all times, allowing God to grow you. In the Lord's timing your harvest will be all the sweeter.
You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
(Psalm 65:9)
1
Praise is due to you,
1
65:1
Or Praise waits for you in silence
O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
2
O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
3
When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
4
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
5
By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
6
the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
7
who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
8
so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9
You visit the earth and water it;
2
65:9
Or and make it overflow
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
11
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
12
The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
13
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
Sweets are good, but I’ve noticed that I can easily slip into a life of confectionery overindulgence. During these periods of should-be-bliss, I lose sight of how wonderful a slice of warm sopapilla cheesecake can really be. Sometimes, I need a week away from sweets to renew my appreciation for them. A full week without sweets is rough—the longing is almost as deep as the last few psalms we read. Those psalms were about waiting and thirsting for God. This psalm brings a new perspective.
There are so many times that we are asked to wait and thirst for the Lord. We long to fulfill our own selfish desires. But Psalm 65:9 begins, “You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it.” We soak up God's blessings when He chooses to water us.
I don’t know about you, but I know I want to commit my path to following God's way. Verse 11 illustrates that where God goes, there is abundance. If God does not want me to have something today, I will trust Him and pray instead that my longing is for Him. He is in control. There is something about the mountains in verse 6 that makes me feel small and helpless, yet also secure in God’s control. The opposite of a big, unshakable mountain is a tender valley like in verse 13.
When it rains, water flows from the mountaintops down to the valleys, picking up nutrients along the way. It is the valleys that are filled with grain in this psalm—not the mountains. Sometimes, God uses the valleys in life to grow me the most. The valleys are where I connect and love people the most.
How wonderful it is to think of the harvest. Did you notice the personification of creation? How creation shouts for joy!? I rest in knowing that God has chosen to bring me near. He loves me and has a plan for me. In the real (not just avoiding a fresh pan of brownies) challenges of life, I ask community to keep me faithful to God's path, knowing He has a plan.
1. Is there something in your life that you selfishly long for other than Christ? How can you balance this?
2. Is there a time when you were forced to be patient for something and the wait ended up being worth it?
3. What do you think the “harvest” in this passage is referring to? Is it getting whatever you are longing for, or is it something more? (Hint—reread verse 4.)