Category: Weekly Word of Encouragement

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;the LORD delights in those who fear him,who put their hope in his unfailing love Psalms 147:10-11 (NIV) It is tempting to value what the world values. Nations and individuals pursue power – military, political, economic, cultural – and rejoice when their power grows. But Yahweh rejoices in something completely different; something that is available to everyone no matter how powerless they are. Yahweh rejoices in us if we fear him, revere and respect him. He rejoices when our hope is in his love for us, that he will ultimately bless us and dwell with us forever. Therefore, we do not need to despair about our circumstances, that we do not have the resources we would like to have. Our circumstances and lack of resources may be painful, but consider the infinite treasure Continue Reading →

The LORD lifts up the humble Psalms 147:6 (ESV) Yahweh is not impressed by human efforts to exalt themselves. Which is better, to exalt ourselves or to let God lift us up? If we find ourselves in humble circumstances we can take courage that God sees us and will lift us up in some way, even if this only means lifting our hearts. Even if people around us think of us as lowly, God sees our heart and honors us in heaven. Humility is an attitude of the heart that reflects who we are before God. If we are willing to be honest about who we are and trust in who God is, then our heart is in the right place and God begins his process of lifting us up. But if we resist giving God due honor and authority then why would he bless our hearts or our efforts? Continue Reading →

He heals the brokenheartedand binds up their wounds. Psalms 147:3 (ESV) God cares about our hearts. He knows when we are broken-hearted; he too was broken-hearted when he walked on the earth. Since we have a high priest who “sympathizes with our weaknesses” (Heb. 4:12) he leads us into healing. Sometimes we may need to go through the deep forgiveness process before we are fully healed (see the Renovation Prayer guide on this page.) We also have the Holy Spirit, the comforter, dwelling inside us who comforts us with the awareness of God’s presence and commitment to us. Perhaps the most important way in which he binds up our broken hearts is by promising hope. He has promised that he will work all things for good. He has promised to make us fruitful. He has promised that he will always be with us. Best of all, he has promised to Continue Reading →

You open your handand satisfy the desires of every living thing. Psalms 145:16 (NIV) Doesn’t it seem like our sadness and joy stem from unfulfilled or fulfilled desires? Consider what makes you happy. Is it not because some deep desire has been at least partially satisfied? This verse confirms that our desires are a good thing. We have them and God satisfies them; he would not satisfy anything that was not good. Thus, God has given us many healthy, constructive desires: security, belonging, wholeness, inner peace, inner joy, freedom, friendship, community, approval, physical pleasure, love, significance, purpose, value/honor, righteousness (goodness), justification, creativity, fruitfulness, and others. God gave us these desires because they are good and because he wants to fulfill them. He is going to fulfill all these desires in you, in this age and the next, and your joy will be immense. In this verse, we also see that Continue Reading →