March 6, 2013 Devoted To God

Read Psalms 86-88 Devoted to God Psalms 86:2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. & Psalms 88:7 Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. WHAT is devotion? It is easy to see in Psalm 86 in the words that expression joyful commitment to God. The psalmist is confident God will guard his life, show mercy and save him. His devotion shines through his words as he declares God is the source of joy, forgiveness and goodness. God is absolute. In his praise, the psalmist devotedly will worship God and give glory to his name because the Lord has comforted and helped him. Psalm 87 continues to praise and pronounce the power of God. But then comes the despair and pain of Psalm 88. Where now is the devotion? Life is that way, isn’t it? You can praise God one day, and you are sure of your devotion to him. Then you can despair the next day, “Is God devoted to me?” What do you do on the hard days? You stay devoted to him. A title for Psalm 88 is “A Prayer When You Can’t Find the Way”. That’s what you do when you can’t find your way, or you can’t see God’s light in your life. You pray. Devotion is pursuing God on the good days and the hard days. Devotion is celebrating when you see Him and weeping when he is not there. Devotion takes you into God’s presence and devotion helps you know God is present. Are the days good? Devote yourself to praising God. Are the days hard? Devote yourself to prayer, pursuing and waiting on him. It’s True! Devoted to God, you are constantly aware he is God.