SuperChamp

So, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom – Psalm 90:12

Time is our most scarce and precious resource. It is the only resource that everyone gets in the same quantity. It is impossible to get more than twenty-four hours in a day. Moreover, we don’t get a choice of whether to keep it or spend it; we must spend every day. The choice we do have is how we spend our time. Lastly, we can never get the time we spend back. Despite this being the case with time, we tend to treat it as if it is wholly abundant. We waste it as if we can always call on more of it. We don’t do the things we know we should do. We procrastinate on calling our loved ones and on spending time with friends and family. We waste time fighting each other instead of cherishing the time we have with each other. We do this until one day we find that we are out of time! Then we start to live in regret and wonder what could have been. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can treat time as precious commodity and live wisely. We can redeem our time to the glory of God.

I will do what God is telling me to do without delay. I will do what is important

My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips – Psalm 89:34

God has made a covenant with us through Jesus who brokered it and sealed it by His blood on the cross. We are safe and secure because of that covenant because the nature of the covenant is that it can never fail as it is a covenant that was brokered between the God and God – God the Father and God the Son who came to earth in the form of Jesus Christ. Since the promise of the covenant does not depend on our faithfulness but on God’s faithfulness, God will always do what He has promised to do. This is good news for us in that we are guaranteed success if we align ourselves with the words God has already spoken. We know we are guaranteed success because His words do not return to Him void but accomplish everything they were sent to accomplish (Isaiah 55:11). It is up to us to make sure that we act on the words that have gone out of His lips, knowing that the result when we operate in obedience to Him is guaranteed.

Whatever God says to me is done in the spirit realm. My obedience brings it forward in the physical realm

I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him – Psalm 89:20

God looked for someone with the right heart in the form of David. And when He found David, He took him out of obscurity and anointed him as king. Then he propelled him to greatness and ensured that He would never be forgotten (through the star of David, which can be found on the flag of the nation of Israel). God desires to do what He did for David for us. God has already searched us out with His love and found us. God has anointed us with His Holy Spirit, and we become royalty in identity. If we wait for the appointed time and follow in the statutes of God (like David), then we too can be propelled to greatness in God’s eyes no matter what we are doing. It is this last part that is difficult for us. When we become like David, there is always a Saul that we need to overcome before we can be propelled to greatness. What or who is your Saul – the enemy that wants to keep you from ascending to the greatest heights? How is the Lord leading you to deal with your Saul? Don’t yield to the urge to achieve greatness in your own way but wait on God’s timing and he will exalt you.

Greatness comes when we overcome our Saul the godly way

In Your name they rejoice all day long, and in Your righteousness, they are exalted – Psalm 89:16

When the bible says, ‘In Your name’, it means in many place ‘in according to the will of God’. We will always have cause to rejoice when we are walking in the will of God. The will of God is simple: It is to love God by being obedient to Him, and to love our fellow men by serving them with our gifts to meet their needs. Thus, the will of God is both vertical towards God and horizontal towards man, just like the cross is both vertical and horizontal. Next time you think of the cross, consider that God wants us to love Him and to love our fellow man just like Jesus showed on the cross. No one operating in the will of God to love will be sad or downcast for long. And when we make the right-choice of operating in love, we find that we are exalted by God. Do you want things to change? Do you want to get and feel better? Then focus your life on one thing: Love.

The degree to which I love is the degree to which I will experience joy and exaltation

Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance – Psalm 89:15

Busy with this and busy with that! Today, everybody seems to be busy with something. Is busyness really from God? God’s instruction to man in the garden was for man to be fruitful. Now, just because we are busy does not mean we are being fruitful. Consider that even the hamster on a wheel is busy running, but he is busy running to nowhere! The hamster on a wheel wastes a lot of energy without making any progress! To be fruitful does not require never-ending activity but requires that we do the right things at the right time. Busyness can be a distraction from the enemy that he uses as a tactic for our destruction. This is because the busier we are, the less we pay attention to the sound of the voice of God. But blessed are those who hear the joyful sound of God when He speaks. Those who hear His voice and heed it will walk in His power and grace and experience the joys of walking with Him.

Sometimes the best addition is a good subtraction

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face – Psalm 89:14

Without Christ, no one is righteous. Without Christ, the justice we deserve is death. But though we are not righteous and deserve death for our sins, because of Christ and despite our sins, we no longer have to fear death, for Christ has become our righteousness, and justice for our sins have been done on Him through His death on the cross. God is merciful to us because of Christ; we have no reason to be afraid of God because of Christ; we don’t have to worry about whether we measure up because of Christ. How wonderful it is to be counted amongst those who know Him. And how frightful it is for those who do not know Him. The foundation of His throne is this incredible love that made Him take on the death sentence we deserve and give us the righteousness we do not deserve. Is there anyone you can introduce to Jesus today? Is there anyone you know that can benefit from His love?

I do not have to be afraid because I know and I am known by Jesus

Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? – Psalm 88:14

The Lord knows and sees our heart, therefore there is no reason or point in pretending with Him. The Psalmist words here show us that it is fine to go to God in an emotional state; that it is okay to tell him exactly what we are feeling; that it is not an issue to be honest with God. Some think that we should go to God on our best behavior because He is God. While they are right in that He is God, they also forget that He is our Father. So, we can be honorable to God and be honest with God at the same time. God does not consider it to be honest with God, otherwise He would have been angry with David. God does not consider it disrespectful to question or challenge Him, otherwise He would have been angry with Abraham for questioning Him concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. We don’t have to approach God  trying to fake how we feel – that would manipulative. Rather, we should be sincere with God and allow His Spirit to minister the truth that brings freedom to us. If the Psalmist could be honest with God, then so can you

I will no longer fake how I feel with God but allow His truth to change how I feel

Both the singers and the players on instruments say, “All my springs are in you.” – Psalm 87:7

A different word for a spring is a well. The importance of wells is understood by those who live in the desert. Without wells, the desert becomes unlivable, and societies cannot form. Hence, a well becomes a lifeline for the desert dwelling communities. Without God, we live in a spiritual desert. Only in Him do we find a place of safety and rest. Only in Him can our thirst truly be satisfied. Only in Him can we truly thrive. Think of the time you lived apart or moved away from God – His voice, His principles, statues, and instruction. Then think of the time you lived in beautiful fellowship with Him. Do you recall the difference? Indeed, all our best times are in God. Without Him, we are nothing but a dry desert. Please do not wait until you are completely dried up before reaching out to God. He is the spring you have always been looking for; He is the spring you need.

I will not dissert you lest I experience a dry season in a spiritual desert

And of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her; And the Most High Himself shall establish her – Psalm 87:5

Zion, the city of God, represents where the people of God reside. It is a place where God is first place, and He directs the affairs of His people. To live in Zion is to live in the territory and environment that God has chosen for us. Yet, there is difference between living in Zion and experiencing the life of Zion. To live a life of Zion requires complete surrender to God in humility; it requires walking with God in the Spirit. Apostle Paul said that if we live in the Spirit, we should also walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:35). When we walk in the Spirit, we set ourselves apart from the rest of the people around us, whether they are of Zion or not. People take notice and they see that we are different. Being of Zion is not about appearing to be holy or doing things to try to prove to others that we are different. Rather, it is about allowing God to live His life through us daily. Therefore, Zion life comes when we die to ourselves so that we may live to God.

Lord, show me where I am prideful so I can surrender those areas to You and live the life that you intend.

But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth – Psalm 86:15

Just because a father disciplines his son doesn’t mean he doesn’t love him. In fact, the opposite is true! Just because a married couple engages in a heated argument doesn’t mean the marriage is over. So why do we doubt the loving heart, nature, and character of God when we read about His justice? Though we may misunderstand what God is doing in the moment, we must humbly recognize that we neither have a complete view nor do we have an eternal view. God knows this, and so sent Jesus to help us understand his heart, nature, and character. When we look at Jesus, it is clear to see that God is full of compassion, gracious, patient, and abundant in mercy truth towards us. While justice lasts only a moment, His love endures forever.

God loves me, even when His hand of justice is heavy upon me