A New Vantage Point
Opening Prayer
Lord, You are holy and majestic. Yet I know You are here with me and You speak through Your Word. I am listening.
Read Psalm 99:1-9
[1] The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. [2] Great is the LORD in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. [3] Let them praise your great and awesome name- he is holy. [4] The King is mighty, he loves justice- you have established equity; in Jacob you have done what is just and right. [5] Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. [6] Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on his name; they called on the LORD and he answered them. [7] He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them. [8] LORD our God, you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God, though you punished their misdeeds. [9] Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
When overwhelmed, where do you turn for perspective?Do you ever feel shut in by your problems; your vision narrow and your faith weak? Perhaps this was the starting point for our psalmist–yet look where he arrives! He begins, not with his own sense of inadequacy or gloom, but with the supreme and wonderful reign of God (1-5). He reflects that God has engaged, in the past, with real people and situations (6-8). He, too, can respond to this living God and take his place among those worshiping before God’s throne (9). He thinks of Moses and Aaron from the days of the Exodus and Samuel from the days of the kings. They weren’t perfect people, but God spoke with them, enlisted them in his service, and persevered with them in friendship. They witnessed God’s power in action, but learned even more from his endless mercy. So the psalmist has found a place to stand; a vantage point from which he can survey God’s grace in history; a view from which he can praise God in his own day.
Apply
Consider an area in which you are facing challenge. Now consider that God reigns even there. He is ever faithful.
Closing prayer
Lord, You reign! Your Word reminds me that no matter my circumstances, You are sitting on Your throne!
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