During 2025, Peachtree Church is focusing on the Book of Psalms with a series called Dwell, through which we seek to deepen our conversation with God and open ourselves to hearing his response. The practice of praying three times each day will unite the voices of our hearts and souls as we seek the day when we will see the full realization of the Kingdom of God, promised in Revelation 21:3: “…Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
We will email devotionals twice weekly with Monday’s providing an overview of the Psalm as a whole, and Wednesday’s focused on that week’s Daily Dwell.
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn.
Psalm 37:6
Devotional
One of the fringe benefits of my practice of reading through the Bible regularly—Genesis to Revelation—is that I have a fairly good grasp of what is in the Bible. (Admittedly I have not memorized much of the Bible as a certain Pastor on this staff has, but that’s another matter.) As I read this line from Psalm 37, I thought immediately of Philippians 2.14-15:
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.”
One of the lessons I have learned in my life is that when the people of God put their trust in the Lord, they (YOU!) can be confident that the Lord is ALWAYS at work in their life. You may not see it, you may not feel it, but trust me—God is there, and at work.
Most of us, if not all of us, want the Lord’s plan laid out in front of us. It’s like the old MapQuest turn-by-turn printouts that we used some years ago. We want to see the plan: where to go to school, whom to date, whom to marry, what job to get, when to have kids, etc., etc., etc.
But that’s not faith. That’s not trust in God.
And God invites us to know him, and to trust him.
There are no shortcuts to spiritual growth, you know. It takes long-term, faithful and diligent trust in God to grow. And a part of that trust is in believing—in having faith—that God is at work, even when we cannot see his hand.
When you do place your trust in God—and as Psalm 37 encourages, when you dwell with him, enjoy and delight in and commit to him—not only will you shine, you do shine!
For Reflection
- When has been a season in your life when you felt that you were honestly placing your deep and full trust in God?
- What was different about that season and the one you are in now?
- Who is someone that you know whose life seems to “shine?” Why not have lunch or coffee with them and listen to what it is about their life that helps them to shine?
Prayer
God of grace and God of glory, help me today, in the midst of a busy and distracted and worry-filled, sometimes dark world, to believe that you are at work in my life, even if and when I cannot see you. Help me to trust you today and every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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Devotionals