Thursday January 25, 2024

Today is Thursday, January 25 and we are finding delight in God’s Sabbath.

As I enter a time of solitude with God, I sit quietly and still my mind. I breathe deeply in and out and center my whole being on God’s presence. I seek to learn how God wants to bless me in the practice of Sabbath.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, I delight in your presence, I rejoice in your loving kindness, and I celebrate your goodness. I want to learn your way of living in this world. Teach me the rhythm of life you designed for your creation and help me find Sabbath rest in your love. Amen.

I join all God’s people and praise him with the ancient words of Psalm 16.

LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. Psalm 16:5-6

Pause and Pray

Psalm 119 is an ancient, heartfelt prayer that leads the reader to delight in God’s holy Word. This Psalm is the longest in the Bible with an astounding one hundred and seventy six verses. It is nearly as long as entire books of the Bible like Philippians, James, and Ruth. The Psalm beautifully expresses awe and adoration of God for his Word – a place where the believer is encouraged to find delight. The structure of Psalm 119 was designed for memorization. It is composed of twenty-two stanzas, each starting with a different letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Ancient Jews used this Psalm to teach children the alphabet alongside the tenets of the faith. This morning I read a small section.

May my cry come before you, LORD; give me understanding according to your word. May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise. May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, LORD, and your law gives me delight. Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands. Psalm 119:169-176

Every day I am invited to bring my cries and supplications before God. I ask to gain understanding and the fulfillment of promises. In the morning, I praise God and sing for joy. I find delight in his sacred Word. The Bible is the place I learn God’s commands, decrees and precepts. His Word sustains me. His teaching keeps me from going astray. When I take time to open my Bible, read scripture, meditate on God’s word, I find purpose, meaning and delight. His Word is alive and active and the ancient scriptures have the power to continually speak into my life. They light my path and guide my steps.

Ask: How much time do I currently spend reading scripture? Would adding a time of Bible reading to my Sabbath observance bring me delight?

Pause and Pray

Holy and blessed Lord, teach me how to live. Show me the places where I can find delight as I rest in your love. There are past times and current occasions where I have strayed like a lost sheep. Do not give up on me but return me to the right path to serve you faithfully. Help me understand your truth, grant me delight as I study your teachings, guide me on a good path and show me what it means to rest in your loving kindness. I read the words from the Psalm again and listen for the message you have for me.

May my cry come before you, LORD; give me understanding according to your word. May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise. May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, LORD, and your law gives me delight. Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands. Psalm 119:169-176

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

I consider how this passage of scripture informs my current circumstances or provides an answer to a particular prayer. Maybe I have been searching for understanding or truth regarding a certain matter. Perhaps God is guiding me to a teaching I am to follow or a command I am to obey, something I have been neglecting. I consider how the study of God’s word brings me delight and whether I have spent enough time enjoying reading the Bible. Maybe I have become lost or gone astray in a particular area and need to remember God’s good path and seek his correction – his rod and his staff that comfort me.

Pause and Pray

Come Lord Jesus, come and find your lost sheep. Restore me in your love and carry me home. Answer my prayers, set my feet on solid ground, teach me your truth and instruct me in God’s good commands. Let me find delight in your discipline and joy in your instruction, for you know the very best for my life and my soul. Amen.

If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. Matthew 18:10-14

I leave this time of prayer delighting in God’s great love for me. I go to seek the lost and restore the broken in the name of Jesus.

Amen