"I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:1-2 (bolded for emphasis)
I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds
When reading the first two verses of Psalm 9, you should quickly recognize that there are two words that are repeated multiple times over these few lines. See them yet? "I Will" is repeated four times in two verses. This repetition piqued my interest because where things are repeated, they certainly must be of much importance.
I love the certainty of what King David wrote in this Psalm. He didn't say, I might, or I'll think about it, or I probably will... No, he simply said, I Will. I've always said that riding the fence on a thought, decision, feeling or emotion is dangerous because typically you fall off on the wrong side. Here, David had his feet planted solidly on his complete commitment to the Lord. Where is your commitment to the Lord today? Let's look at the four areas of the expression of David's commitment to God in these verses.
"I Will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart"
I think Charles Spurgeon said it perfectly when he said, "half heart is no heart." God deserves our whole hearts and our full commitments. Are we to be thankful only on the days that turn out exactly as we had planned and hoped for? Absolutely not, because if that were the case we quite possibly would never be thankful. The truth is that we are to be thankful with our whole hearts regardless! Regardless of our situations, our circumstances, or the outcome of the day. Thankfulness isn't dependent upon the situations of this world, it's only dependent on a constant, dependable, trustworthy, loving, and unchanging God. Thankfulness towards our creator is NOT dependent upon our circumstances! The next verse gives us an indication of how this is attained.
"I Will recount all of your wonderful deeds."
One thing I have learned to be true over and over again is that if I'm having a rough day or going through an exhausting season, the best thing that I can do is to keep my mind set on the wonderful things that God has done. Remembering, recognizing, and sharing these things with the world keeps my heart focused on him, wholeheartedly, instead of my circumstances.
"I Will be glad and exult in you"
The intentionality of this "I Will" is simple, yet overly necessary. Be glad and rest in God. Rejoice in who He is and what He has done in your life. At the end of the day, I rejoice knowing that without Him and the sacrifice that Jesus made for me and every single one of you as well, I would spend eternity separated from my Creator. So when life just beats you up and gets you down, focus your thoughts on rejoicing that the King of Kings has chosen you to be His.
"I Will sing praise to your name, O Most High."
I just love that these verses end with praise! We've given thanks, we have focused our hearts and our minds on His wonderful deeds, we have rested in Him and rejoiced because of who He is. All of this led King David to a point of praise? Where does it lead you? Does God have half of your heart or your whole heart? He doesn't want lukewarm followers who change their course when times get tough. He wants devoted followers that rely on His goodness alone to sustain them. Make your choice today to say, 'Lord, I Will."
Spiritual Disciplines
Spiritual Disciplines have been such an essential part of my growth in Christ. These disciplines changed my daily walk with the Lord and have taught me about reliance and dependence on my Father in Heaven. My prayer is that this space can help deepen your knowledge and understanding by teaching you to lean in closer to God. With that being said, my goal is to incorporate these disciplines slowly so that you are able to precisely understand each one as well and learn how to incorporate them into your daily walk with the Lord. Here is a list of the 8 tangible Spiritual Disciplines that we will cover. If these disciplines are already a regular part of your day, now is a great opportunity to reach out to a friend that could use some help, encouragement, or accountability learning and implementing them. This week we will be covering the importance of memorizing scripture.
Bible Study
Memorization
Meditation
Prayer
Worship
Evangelism
Fasting
Solitude
Week 2
Memorization
Scripture memory is a tool used when studying the Bible that puts scripture freely in our hearts to be used by the Holy Spirit at the right time. In order for me to abide in the Lord and remain faithful to Him and His promises for my life, I need a solid, constant, and steady source of guidance from Him in my day. Memorizing scripture allows me this constant guidance from God all throughout the day and not just when I'm reading or studying my Bible.
This week's Bible Study
Psalms 8-14
This week's memory verse
Psalm 9:1
~tips & Challenges of the week
Use the verse as your screensaver.
Write in on a memory verse board in your house.
Read it numerous times a day.
Once memorized, review it once a week.
Memorize it together as a family or with your friend group.
If you using Growing in God, write the verse in the back in the memory verse section.
Use the app Bible Memory.
Private Facebook Discussion Group
Would you like to dig a little deeper into your weekly reading and spiritual disciplines? Join our Facebook group where we learn, grow and encourage one another.
Questions?
If you ever have questions or read something that you don't understand, please email me your question and I will add it to our q&a sections.
Growing in God
Would you like a tool to encourage your growth in God? Check out my newly released 12-month spiritual disciplines book/journal. This journal will give you a brief understanding of 8 tangible spiritual disciplines in addition to creating a year-long journey that teaches you how to incorporate them into your walk.