What Really Matters

Psalm 22:22 Common English Bible
I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
I will praise you in the very center of the congregation!

When my mom was dying of cancer, her pastor shared Psalm 118:17 with her and it gave her hope, “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” At the time, I had fallen far from the faith she raised me in. Little did I know that this verse would come alive in me. After mom passed, this verse stuck with me and I began a journey discovering the works of the Lord. I turned from a staunch anti-Christian to a proud and loud declarer of His name. My whole life has shifted so it now revolves around making His works known. Not only do I praise the Lord in the center of the congregation, but I praise Him to my friends and family, and I blast His goodness through every means I can.

As I sit to begin this blog, I face a very difficult and trying time and many of my devotions are filled with lament and sorrow, but I couldn’t see the start to this bogged down with that baggage so I opened the Bible to see where my daily reading would lead and found my eyes on Psalm 22. If you’re not familiar with it, Psalm 22 is the Psalm Jesus quoted while hanging on the cross feeling abandoned by God. You probably recognize its opening verse, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

As I started my reading, I thought great, more pain and sorrow. But as the Psalm unfolded, God revealed something neat to me, there in the midst of great suffering, we have the answer to the way out of it… praise. The psalmist cries his heart out until all his hurt is fully exposed, and just when you think it’s all over, he turns to praise: Oh God, it’s horrible, but still I will praise You! The psalmist looks to God’s faithfulness in the past and has confidence He will come though again.

So, even though there are times it feels like God has abandoned me, I can look at all the good He’s done and have faith that He’ll do it again. I can either let the despair consume me and blot out the joy in my life, or, I can turn it around with praise.

I choose praise! I also choose to honor my mother and the faith she held fast to and passed on to me. In her final days we talked a lot about her desire to restore our family and bring peace back to our homes, and that is what truly matters. To declare the works of the Lord to our families and to pass down our faith from generation to generation so that everyone hears the Good News and comes into the joy of the Lord. And this is how the psalmist ends his song:

Psalm 22:30-31
The Message
Our children and their children
will get in on this
As the word is passed along
from parent to child.
Babies not yet conceived
will hear the good news—
that God does what he says.

All my life I have searched high and low for my purpose in life. Oddly, I didn’t find it, it found me! God spoke it in the least expected way and wove it into my life. Declare the works of the Lord!

It brings me great joy to embark on this journey and it is my deepest hope that through me, God will speak to the multitude and that the beautiful name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will continue passing from parent to child, between brothers and sisters, and husbands and wives.

Prayer
Oh Faithful God, you keep Your promises. Help us know and understand what they are so that we can lead our lives filled by their truth. Keep revealing Yourself to us so that we become the joyful creations You made us to be. Let our lives become songs that tell of Your goodness. All praise to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

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Each devotion will end with a few items that are part of my current life. Books I’m reading. Radio I’m listening to. Songs God put on my heart. Pictures I’ve taken. And more.

As I was finishing this devotion, I was listening to Premier Praise Radio and Chris Tomlin’s Good Good Father started playing just as I was formulating the sentence about searching high and low and one of the lines in the song talks about people searching far and wide. I smiled and imagined God saying, “I am with you David”. (https://www.premierpraise.com/)

GOOD GOOD FATHER LYRICS

Oh, I’ve heard a thousand stories
Of what they think You’re like
But I’ve heard the tender whisper
Of love in the dead of night
And You tell me that You’re pleased
And that I’m never alone

You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

Oh, and I’ve seen many searching
For answers far and wide
But I know we’re all searching
For answers only You provide
‘Cause You know just what we need
Before we say a word

You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

‘Cause You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways to us

You are perfect in all of Your ways
Oh, You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways to us

Oh, it’s love so undeniable
I, I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable
I, I can hardly think
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
Into love, love, love

You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am
You’re a good good Father

You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways