May 2 Focus on the Gift

Focus on the Gift
Read Psalms 14-18

Ps 18:49-50 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD; I will sing praises to your name. 50 He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

HOW’S YOUR “praise quotient” today? Are you focusing on the struggles, or are you focusing on the blessings?
The struggles seem to take the front-row seats in our minds, don’t they? We consider what we don’t have instead of what we have. We think of what could have been instead of what is. We consider, “Why can’t I?” instead of “What are my options?”
David, who wrote this psalm, had many opportunities to consider what could have been. He had a very difficult life. Some was his own doing. Other struggles came from Saul, other enemies, and his own family.
But David did something amazing. In these struggles, through these struggles and after his struggles he considered how God had blessed him. He placed God’s love and kindness above all things. He understood God’s promise to care for his family forever. To grow in God, to trust him in who we are, what he gives us, and what he invites us to do, we need to understand God’s promises, too.
In what ways has God shown his unfailing kindness to you? One way is the heaven-bound way. He sent his Son to die for you, so that you and your family who follow him will receive his kindness forever.
When you’re considering your struggles, consider God’s “unfailing kindness”. Focus on the gift and praise the LORD among the nations.


Pause and Consider: how eternal “unfailing” is.