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.
I said, “I will watch my ways
and keep my tongue from sin;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
while in the presence of the wicked.”
So I remained utterly silent,
not even saying anything good.
But my anguish increased;
my heart grew hot within me.
While I meditated, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:“Show me, Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath,
even those who seem secure.“Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;
Psalm 39:1-6
in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth
without knowing whose it will finally be.”
Devotional
When I was in high school, I was on the Swim team. My hand-to-eye coordination was lacking, but I loved athletics, so swimming was a natural option for me to choose when it came to sports. During my sophomore year of high school, I remember practicing with a great amount of intensity because I wanted to make the state swim meet.
I went to Saturday morning master classes, did conditioning outside of the pool, and tried to eat healthy so that my body would be strong during my races. Unfortunately, I was a few minutes short of the state qualifying time, while holding out hope that I would be named an alternate. The true blow came when my friends were selected over me and my season got cut short. I wasn’t needed and it felt like a horrible injustice.
As a teenager, my disappointment led me into bitterness, speaking ill of my friends and having a horrible attitude about the state meet. I couldn’t see how God was still faithful and that I was blessed beyond measure due to my immaturity. It would be a mistake, however, to think that this kind of attitude remained in my teens. How often does disappointment drive us into sin in our work, relationships, and spiritual lives?
Everything will not go our way in life. When we work hard and put in extra effort to accomplish a goal, but fall short again and again, it is easy to feel as though the deck is stacked against us, but as followers of Christ we always have a choice: allow our disappointment to drive us to sin or to accept that God is bigger than what seems unfair. God is bigger than our disappointments, and we can bring our struggles to his heart instead of lashing out at the world around us.
For Reflection
- How do you typically handle disappointment?
- What would it look like for you to bring your disappointments to God? How could that change things for you this week?
Prayer
Lord, we need you today. In our highs and lows we struggle with disappointments and pray that you would meet us in them this week. Give us more of you so that we shine You outward rather than meeting others with sin and bitterness. Amen.
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Devotionals