Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 40-41 NIV, Ch. 42-43 ERV

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Thoughts

God Is Worthy

In Psalm 87 we read how God loves Zion, used in this case to mean Jerusalem. There is an obvious tone of joy with this Psalm. 

But Psalm 88 is full of anguish. The writer is pouring out his heart to God. In the opening, he confesses that God is his savior, and immediately begins telling God about the anguish he is in, and seems to wrap up by saying that it is God who has put him in this place. And yet, remember how the author opened, with a confession that God is his savior. So as bad as things are, there is hope.

And then Psalm 89 begins with praises to God with all of His love, majesty, faithfulness, might, righteousness and justice. And the covenant that God made with David is remembered, but David’s descendants have forsaken God’s law, and therefore God has withdrawn his protection and blessings from Israel. And then the Psalm ends much as it begins, with promises of eternal praise to God.

The fact is that despite outward circumstances, God is worthy of praise. He is worthy when life is good, and He is worthy when life is hard. He is our savior in both places. He does not change, but our surroundings do. He is eternal, our lives here on earth are just a spark, a fleeting moment in time. 

Our Purpose

But despite our live’s short span, we have a responsibility to make it matter. There is a reason God put you here. You are not an accident. Your life has purpose. What is that purpose? For each of us, the primary purpose is to bring glory to God. Isaiah 43:6b-7: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; 7Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

So what does that actually mean? How can you and I glorify God? By praising Him. By worshipping Him. By proclaiming His greatness. By doing His will. Each of us must do these things in our own unique way, because He has different specific things He wants us to accomplish. How do I know that?  Because of the following verses:

4There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

7A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice12:8a Or gives a word of wisdom.; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.12:8b Or gives a word of knowledge. 9The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages,12:10 Or in various tongues; also in 12:28, 30. while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 NLT

So God gifts each of us differently, because He has a different specific will for each of us. That’s one of the greatest things in the believer’s life: discovering his or her gifts. But that is an entirely different discussion.

For now, it is enough to remember that despite outward circumstances, God is always worthy of praise, and He has a purpose for you.