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.
Teach me your way, Lord,
Psalm 86:11-13
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.
There are times when we need to move around familiar areas, but in the dark. If the power goes out, or if we don’t want to turn on a light yet but we need to move around, we have to think hard and walk carefully. You might say to yourself, “The house isn’t going to jump around and change, so even though it’s dark, I can remember how my path is put together. Here is where the stairs start down…here is where the laundry basket sticks out…here is where I need to take a left…here is where I can grab a handrail…and here is where I can lean over and find the switch on my favorite lamp, between the bedpost and the nightstand.” And now, in its light, I can see clearly. But I have walked safely through the dark, trusting to my memory and my past experience in the space.
In the same way, the Psalmist is thinking through how to move through the darkness of his present situation. He describes himself as poor and needy, as in distress and in need of a guardian. He sees ruthless enemies who are attacking as though they mean to kill him. He is in the dark.
But there are many things he knows for sure. He can rely, like the person walking through their home in the dark, on his memory and his past experience with God. He remembers that God listens, that he answers, and that when he has cried out in distress in the past, God has faithfully answered.
And then his thoughts ripple outward. The Psalmist remembers the history of God with his people, how his mighty deeds on behalf of His people are without parallel. There is no one else like God.
He comes back to his own life and recalls God’s faithful steadfast love, even when he was in a near-death experience. He asks God to continue to be his God, his help and comfort, no matter what his enemies do.
For Reflection
- What do you know for sure about God?
- What did you learn about God when times were tough for you?
- Did your hardest times separate you from God, or did they separate you from a faith that was too small and limited (and useless to you)?
Prayer
Dear Lord, I can navigate through my house in the dark. But sometimes I lose my way in the dark of sorrow, or grief, or anger. I can’t find a safe place and I can’t find you. I lose my memory of who you have been my whole life. Help me to remember that you do not change or hide from me. Help me to remember my past experience of your faithfulness. You are there, still loving me, waiting to listen and turn on the lights for me. Through Christ our Lord, Amen!
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Devotionals