Psalms Day 1

We are moving on to the Psalms. In order to make sure we read all of the Psalms Steve recommended and we don't overload ourselves on reading, they may not be covered in order!

Today, read Psalms 2,8,16, and 61
Today's devotion: Psalm 16:5-6
5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.(NIV)


taken from www.biblegateway.com

The American culture thrives on dissatisfaction with what God has provided. Almost every advertisement highlights things that we don't have but 'deserve'. Companies are constantly coming up with ways to make us crave things that didn't even exist a few years ago! While there are many cool new things on the market, we really don't NEED bigger homes, on-line navigation, ipods, or even cell phones! Some of these things are helpful in our lives, but not so helpful that we should step outside of the blessings God has given us, our portion, and go into debt for them.

Satan is very successful here in causing us to believe that we have not been given enough. We need--even deserve-- more money, bigger homes, newer cars, and better gifts for our children. We spend so much time being dissatisfied that we lose sight of God's blessings. When we spend more than we earn, we are essentially telling God that he didn't know what he was doing when he provided us our portion!

Please don't get me wrong -- God wants us to have the desires of our hearts, but the desires he places there aren't related to 'things'. He wants us to feel peace, joy, and security in Him.

As prices rise, it is a good time to evaluate the things we have grown to expect in life and revisit our ability to be satisfied in any situation. To make ends meet, we have to make tradeoffs and possibly give up things we've grown accustommed to, like new cars, eating out several times per month, or even cable/satellite tv service. Instead of allowing these cutbacks to make us feel frustrated, let's try to focus on the good things God has provided when he gave each of us our 'portion'. The togetherness we gain from carpooling, cooking meals together, or playing board games with our families to pass the time may provide blessings you never knew you had.

Today, think about the portion you have received. What are the gifts God has provided in your life. Do they delight you? How can you learn to be more satisfied with what you have?