Vital signs- Saturday, October 15th, 2022

A Time to Pause

When I was growing up, most stores were closed on Sundays. Even for those who never went to church, the lack of places to go signaled that it was a day to slow down, take time for family, and rest. Several decades ago, our government lifted the ban on Sunday shopping. With everything now open seven days a week, there is very little resting in our modern-day world. 

Today's Psalm was to be sung or read on the Sabbath. A sabbath day for the Israelites would have been a day where everything slowed to a standstill. It was a day for them to dedicate the entire day to the Lord. Today's society does not stop, so we have to choose in our lives to live out in intentionality, setting apart time to acknowledge what God has done. 

The Psalmist encourages us, showing how good it is to praise God, exhorting us to focus on his love every morning and remember God's faithfulness at night.  Busyness can cause us to fail to remember how God has protected, blessed, and poured His goodness on us. Today's reading is an encouragement to acknowledge the goodness of God daily. 

When was the last time you intentionally paused to remember God's goodness in your life? As you read this Psalm, take time to pause and reflect on God's love and faithfulness in your life. 

“It is a good and delightful thing to give thanks to the Lord, To sing praises to Your name, O Most High, To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night, With an instrument of ten strings and with the harp, With a solemn sound on the lyre. For You, O Lord, have made me glad by Your works; At the works of Your hands I joyfully sing. How great are Your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep [beyond man’s understanding]. A senseless man [in his crude and uncultivated state] knows nothing, Nor does a [self-righteous] fool understand this: That though the wicked sprout up like grass And all evildoers flourish, They will be destroyed forever. But You, Lord, are on high forever. For behold, Your enemies, O Lord, For behold, Your enemies will perish; All who do evil will be scattered. But my horn [my emblem of strength and power] You have exalted like that of a wild ox; I am anointed with fresh oil [for Your service]. My eye has looked on my foes; My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me. The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright and useful]; They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable]. Planted in the house of the Lord, They will flourish in the courts of our God. [Growing in grace] they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age; They will flourish and be vital and fresh [rich in trust and love and contentment]; [They are living memorials] to declare that the Lord is upright and faithful [to His promises]; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭92:1-15‬ ‭AMP‬‬