March 22, 2015: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

We encourage you to read this devotion three times a day.  Start in the morning and reflect upon the morning reflection question. Then in the afternoon, read it again and reflect using the noon question for reflection.  For the evening, take time to ponder how this has resonated with you in the day and reflecting using the evening question.  We offer a prayer with each devotion for you to pray or we invite you to pray what is in your heart.

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;  his steadfast love endures for ever! 
² Let Israel say, ‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’ ¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my might;  he has become my salvation. ¹⁵ There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: ‘The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; ¹⁶   the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.’ ¹⁷ I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord. ¹⁸ The Lord has punished me severely,  but he did not give me over to death. ¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them  and give thanks to the Lord. ²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. ²¹ I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. ²² The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. ²³ This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. ²⁴ This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Reflection:

Have you ever started to count the ways in which you have been blessed by God each and every day? Even though it may seem ridiculous and perhaps even a little silly to count them, for the numbers would go up and up, it could be a really good practice. When you focus upon the all of the ways God is showing up in your life, it helps us to see those actions more and more clearly. The Psalmist here talks about righteousness, and talks about recounting the deeds of the Lord. What a great practice to think of how God has acted wondrously with God’s grace in your life. So in this season of Lent, count the ways! Count the Blessings! Count the different ways you see God active in your life and in the lives of others, and be blessed for you have seen the Lord!

Reflection Questions:

Morning: How has God blessed you just in the short time of being awake?

Afternoon: Have you noticed anything new now that you are focused upon looking for God in the everyday?

Evening: What was a small way and a big way in which God showed up?

Prayer: God, help us to see you more clearly. Give us the spiritual eyes we need to see your grace actively engaging with us. May we take in all that we see that it might create within us a renewed spirit of peace and holiness. Amen.