- As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!” Psalm 41:4 – In this psalm we see David navigating two difficult situations. The first was some sort of sickness in his body. We don’t know exactly what sort of ailment plagued David, but it seems like from the wording of this psalm that it was serious. The second difficult situation David had to deal with was destructive “friends” around him. From the way they spoke about David in this psalm, they clearly wanted this sickness of David’s to kill him so they could be rid of him. With sickness within him and terrible people around him, David had one place to turn…the Lord. While David turned to the proper place, also notice how he turned in the proper way. David pleaded for healing and grace in the trouble, but his pleading was not fueled by this idea that he deserved such things from God because of how holy he was. David knew he had sinned, he knew he wasn’t innocent before the Lord, and if he ever wanted to taste wholeness and health again, he would need God’s grace and healing over more than just the physical aspect of his life. Your story too needs healing over more than just the physical. Each of us has sin in our life, and sometimes the hardships we face are attached to those sins. Like David, we ought to come to the Lord asking for help, but also asking for grace over our sin. Thankfully, if you are a follower of Jesus, know your sin has been completely and eternally covered by God’s grace. Your sin has been forgiven, yet, while forgiven, we can still experience the harmful consequences of such wrong choices. In those spaces, come to the Lord for help. Not because you deserve it, not because God owes you it, but because you know God loves you and is gracious toward His children. How great is our God that not only does He forgive our wrongs against Him, but is gracious enough to help us out of the pains our own sinfulness leads us into. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2996
- By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. Psalms 41:11 – As my wife and I read through this psalm this morning she pointed out a simple, yet oh so important truth from this verse. A truth we so often forget and often choose to not believe. That God delights in us. That God delights in those who have placed their faith in Him. This means that if you have done that, God delights in you. He’s not mad, or annoyed, or disappointed, or fed up with you. He delights in having you close and wants you. How does this truth compare to the way you’re telling yourself that God sees you? How would living in this truth change the way you live? God delights in you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 977
- Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him; the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. Psalm 41:1-3 – When this passage says they are blessed it isn’t kidding. They will be protected, be kept alive, called blessed in their land, not be given over to their enemies, and be restored to health. Yet who are “they” that we see spoken of? Those that watch out for the poor. Now as Spurgeon describes, poor includes the poor in substance, weak in strength, and desponding in spirit. We find blessing when we consider those who are poor like this. When we lean into the life of someone who is needing help God calls us blessed and blesses our story. Who then is “poor” like this around you today? Who is weak in strength, down in spirit, or low on resources around you? Lean in and help however you can. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1758
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