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In God we boast all day long, and praise your name forever – Psalm 44:8

Are you boasting in God or boasting in yourself? Pride says look at what I did on my own. Humility on the other says look at what God was able to do through me. If we must boast, then it is best to boast about God than boast about ourselves. The moment we start to think our accomplishments are all our own doing is when we start to look away from God. Invariably, looking away from God causes us to stumble and fall. Choose to boast all day in the Lord and it will keep you in a state of humility. And when you stay humble, you will find yourself praising Him. Why? Because his grace follows humility, glory follows grace, and praise follows glory. Therefore, you should make no room in your life for pride if you desire to see and experience more of the glory of God and want to His praise to be forever on your lips.  

 When I stay humble, I stay in His grace

You drove out the nations with your hand, but them you planted – Psalm 44:2a

Which hand of God are you experiencing? The hand of God can be upon our lives in different ways. One way for His hand to be upon us is to rebuke us and another way is for His hand to establish us. When we humble ourselves under His mighty hand, then the bible tells us that He will exalt us in due time. Hence, we have a say so in deciding which way the hand of God is upon our lives. Humility puts God on the throne of our lives as the decision maker. When we decide to be humble, we find that we experience the power and favor of God. We find that we are planted, we are established, and we flourish. Conversely, those who decide to operate out of alignment with the purpose of God find things difficult, as the hand of God is not upon them to plant and establish. Rather, the mighty power of God is withheld, and lives are lived in frustration and failure. Remember, God’s power follows His purpose. If you are living a life of frustration and failure, take a step back and seek God. Check to see if you are still aligning with Him or if you have begun operating in your own strength.

 I choose to experience the mighty hand of God in a pleasant way

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, for the help of His countenance – Psalm 42:5

How often do you speak to yourself? While the world would make us think that speaking to yourself is weird, this verse of the bible shows us that it is perfectly normal to speak to ourselves. We should speak to ourselves anytime our thoughts are out of sync with God’s thoughts. We should speak to ourselves when our mind, will, and emotions are not in sync with our true position and identity in Christ. The bible tells us that David encouraged himself (1 Samuel 30:6). To encourage means to give courage. In life, we must make it a practice to give ourselves some courage and strength in the Lord when our soul is downcast. Remember that you are not your soul! You are a spirit-being that possesses a soul. That means your soul is your property and so can take instructions from you. Just as David spoke to his soul, you too should speak to our soul. Make it a practice to speak the truth to your soul about who you are, who God is to you, and what you have in Him. It will make a big difference in how your days go.

My soul is not in control of me; I am in control of my soul

Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in the time of trouble – Psalm 41:2

What is your attitude towards the poor? Do you blame them for their condition? Do you dismiss them and pay them no attention because you subscribe to the worldview that poor people are poor simply because they are lazy? The biblical view of the poor is clear – you should consider the poor! Remember that you too were once poor. Your poverty may not have been material or financial, but it was certainly spiritual. And just like the rest of us, you could not dig yourself out of your spiritual poverty but needed Jesus’ help to move you from spiritual poverty to spiritual prosperity; to move you from death to life. What if Jesus did not consider you and I but decided to let us try to save ourselves in our own strength? That point is that having the right person come along to help makes a huge difference in people’s life trajectory. Let us choose to be the right person for the poor. Let’s love the poor just like Jesus loved us instead of handing out stiff judgement. When we cultivate a heart that considers people with the intention of improving their lives, it spurs innovation and business ideas that not only bless the poor but also causes us to be blessed – both by people and by God. 

I am blessed when I bless the poor

Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me – Psalm 40:9

Have you ever experienced betrayal? It hurts! If we are not careful, the betrayal of the past can lead us to make secret vows or lock up our hearts in a way that is deleterious to our lives. Betrayal tests whether we have God-security or man-security. God-security understands that people are weak and fallible. God-security knows that people will fail us, but that God never fails us. It accepts that friends may come and go, but that God never leaves us nor forsakes us. It realizes that family members may shun us because of our behavior, but that God chases after us regardless of what we have done. The truth is that our relationship with mankind is temporary, but our relationship with God is permanent. Thus, it is better to depend on God than to depend on man for it is a matter of time (even if it through death) before man abandons us. If we do not have God when man fails us, we may fall into a deep hurt and depression. But when we look to God, then we have a safety net that causes us to rebound from the hurt of a lost relationship. 

My security is found in my relationship with God and not in my relationship with man

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; my ears You have opened – Psalm 40:6

Why do you read the bible? Is it so that you finish the challenge of reading the scriptures in a calendar year or is it because you truly want to deepen your relationship with God? Why do you tithe? Is it because you want to give to others or is it because you want the blessings associated with it? In life, it is easy to get stuck in automatic; it is easy to continue doing those things that we have always done while forgetting to check on why we are doing them. The Psalmist reminds us that God is not just interested in our tick the box exercise. He is interested in the heart behind what we do. God is neither fooled nor impressed by the level of our activity. He is only impressed by the level of our faith and obedience to Him. The bible tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). Jesus reminds us that He prefers that we sit at his feet instead of keeping so busy that we don’t get the chance to truly take from Him (Luke 10:28-42). You are a human being and not a human doing. It is time to be still and allow God to open your heart to Him in new ways rather than continue to do the same things you have been doing without seeing any improvements. May our ears be open to His heart so that our heart may reflect his heart.  

God is after my heart and not just my hands

My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness – Psalm 38:5

How honest are you? In this verse, the Psalmist was honest to admit that he had wounds which were getting worse because he neglected them. What about you? Do you have a wounded heart that you have neglected? Honesty is the best policy. Without honesty, we fool ourselves and there is no chance for repentance and transformation in our lives. Sometimes, the enemy is not external, but the enemy is within. Sometimes, undesirable things continue to happen to us because we make mistakes habitually and never learn. It is best to be honest and acknowledge our part in the way our lives have turned out. Honesty may hurt our pride and ego, but it leads to the truth that sets us free from bondage. So, let me ask you again – how honest are you? Do you see the part that you are playing in the things that are happening to you or are you always a victim of your circumstances? You are better off examining your side of the equation to understand the things you can do better even if the hurt or the wound that you have was not caused by you. Today, choose not to be a victim of the wounds that you carry. Choose to take the steps needed to heal your wounds so that you can live the life that God intended.   

I choose to be honest with myself so I can start the process of living the life I want

The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him – Psalm 37:32

Are you staying alert? Just because we haven’t gone looking for trouble doesn’t mean that trouble isn’t looking for us. On the contrary, the Psalmist informs us in today’s verse that if we decide to do good, then we can be assured that wicked people will be ever watchful, looking to accuse us and plotting our downfall. Has someone slandered you behind your back? Perhaps a colleague accused you of something that you did not do. Or even worse, the person you thought was your friend was only interested in replacing you. When these things happen, don’t think that it is you. Don’t think why is this happening to me?  Your trouble is not always a sign that you have done something wrong but could be a sign that you are doing all the right things. In fact, if you never experience resistance, it may very well be that you have settled for the ways of the world and are no longer pushing the boundaries to change the world for the better.  If you know you are doing the right thing that God has told you and are suffering persecution, do not change from doing good but ask God for wisdom to navigate the situation. Stay alert and stay steadfast and you will outlast the wicked and shall be exalted in the end. Amen

I will not stop doing the right thing no matter what it costs me temporarily

The law of God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide – Psalm 37:31

How do you make decisions? Many people lean on opinions, some examine the facts, while a few follow principles. To make the best decisions requires that we follow godly principles. The principles of God are hidden in the law of God. These hidden principles are exposed and revealed to us by the Spirit of God in a way that helps us understand what we should do as we encounter different situations and circumstances. It is our job to ensure we have the law of God in our heart so that the Spirit of God can pull from it and expose the principles contained therein to us. Why are God’s principles important? It is because His principles give us direction and instruction! God’s direction tells us where we should go, whereas God’s instruction tells us how we should get there. Direction is general but instruction is specific. We make mistakes and hamper our chances of success without the specifics. When we know His law, then we do the things He wants us to do the way He wants us to do them. By doing this, we ensure that our steps do not slide.

It is good that I have started with God, but it is better that I continue with Him

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret – it only causes harm – Psalm 37:8

When does anger become harmful? The bible gives us a clue when it says that anger rests in the heart of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:9). When we accepted Jesus, the Spirit of God made His home in our heart. When anger lodges itself in our heart, it competes with the Holy Spirit for influence in our lives. The Spirit is an awesome master, but anger makes a terrible master. While righteous anger is a tool used by the Holy Spirit to bring about positive change, it is a different matter when anger takes control and relegates the role of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit wars against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit (Galatians 5:17)  Once the role of the Spirit is relegated, the flesh controls our anger,  and we act in foolish ways that cause harm. We should not choose to hold onto anger that is past its date of usefulness. We should not hold onto anger when the Spirit says to let it go! This kind of anger is no longer justified; it causes destruction in our lives and the lives of others and does not produce the right results. Do you find it impossible to forgive? Are you quick or hot tempered? These may be signs that you have anger lodged in your heart.

I will no longer let my anger control me but let God control my anger