July 2- Daily Pause
July 2, 2020 | Darrin Simpson
READ: Psalm 136 – 10-16
REFLECTION: Where to start… I could write a book on this alone… If you haven’t heard by now, “His Faithful Love Endures Forever”. 26 times this repeated phrase is reiterated in this Psalm. Most likely, this is Israel’s response as the Priest or Levite would speak the first part. It’s a simple reminder that God shows up in a mighty way and we should continually Give Thanks to him for what he has done.
Charles Spurgeon said it this way, “He (God) is good beyond all others; indeed, he alone is good in the highest sense; he is the source of good, the good of all good, the sustainer of good, the perfecter of good, and the rewarder of good. For this, he deserves the constant gratitude of his people.” More on this in a second…
“Hesed” is the Hebrew word for what we read here as “Faithful Love”. It means “God’s grace”. This scripture emphasizes that God’s grace endures forever; it will always be extended to His people. The craziest part about this, there is no limitation or circumstance. That’s mind-blowing! Every time I mess up, “Hesed” is waiting. Every time I fall short, “Hesed” is there. Every mistake, word, outburst, feeling, you name it… “Hesed” is present. God’s grace is so abundant we cannot even process it… our only response is to Give Thanks.
So that’s what we do. We Give Thanks. It is our constant gratitude as Spurgeon mentioned, comes from what God has done and is doing for us. It’s one of the few things we have that God doesn’t already have… our praise… He deserves it, doesn’t He? Sometimes it’s easy to focus on the situation and not see God amidst it. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the small details and miss the big picture God is painting.
PRAY: So this is your one thing… Stop whatever you are doing in this moment. Stop thinking about what needs to get done or the agenda for the day. Take 5 minutes, walk around wherever you are reading this, pause, and Give Thanks to God for the things around you.