Slices
Prepare
As you worship God today, whether at home or with others, pray for the presence of God to be real, and the Word of God to be faithfully preached.
Bible passage
A song of ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures for ever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people
both now and for evermore.
3 The sceptre of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
their hands to do evil.
4 Lord, do good to those who are good,
to those who are upright in heart.
5 But those who turn to crooked ways
the Lord will banish with the evildoers.
Peace be on Israel.
Explore
Some time ago, when I was deep in grief during the darkness of winter and the isolation caused by the COVID pandemic, my future seemed very bleak. I wanted to trust God but could not. My loss felt too great.
Then one day it dawned on me that it was not my ability to trust God that mattered, but the fact that he is trustworthy. Whether I could trust him or not was irrelevant, because he will always be faithful. He cannot deny himself. If we are faithless, he remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).
This psalm is about trust inspired by the character of God. God surrounds his people with love as surely as the mountains surround Jerusalem (v 2). We are safe because he will never leave us or forsake us. As we focus on him, and his reliability, we are able to trust him to bring us through our difficult times.
We need not fret about the wicked or those who do evil (v 3). We can leave them in God’s hands. What we know is that if we are following his ways then he will continue to do good to us (v 4).
Respond
Do you find it difficult to trust, or believe you have a future? Fix your eyes on God, who is faithful. He will never abandon you or let you down. You are safe in his love.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Exodus 35,36; Psalm 18
Pray for Scripture Union
SU Nepal is publishing a daily devotional Bible guide in Nepali. They recently printed and distributed 1,500 copies of the guide for the new year. Pray this will help people to meet God daily.
