Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

The Psalmist is calling upon the Lord to be his “help and Saviour.” He is looking to the Lord for an immediate response - “Come quickly to rescue me, O God! Come quickly to help me, O Lord! ... O God, come quickly to me ... O Lord, do not delay” (Psalm 70:1,5). The Psalmist continues to pray for the Lord’s help: “”O God, do not be so distant from me, O my God, come quickly to me” (Psalm 71:12). In these prayers, we become aware of the Psalmist’s great pain. He speaks of “those who seek his life” and “want his downfall” (Psalm 70:2), his “enemies” who “talk about him” as “they watch him and plot to take his life” (Psalm 71:10). Through all his suffering, we see the light of faith shining brightly - “Because of Your faithfulness, O my God, even I will give thanks to You, as I play on a lyre. I will make music with a harp to praise You, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will sing with joy when I make music to praise You. My lips, which you have rescued, also will sing joyfully. My tongue wil...

2 Samuel 16:1-23 'He's a great guy.' We like it when people say this kind of thing about us. It makes us feel good about ourselves. What do You think of us, Lord? Yours is the one opinion that really matters. What does it mean to be truly 'great'? Do we want to be called 'great'? or Do we want to give all the glory to You? We know, Lord, that we'll never love You with a perfect love. Your love is the only perfect love. Help us, Lord, not to get discouraged, when we let You down. Lift us up, Lord. Make our love for You more real and more true, more life-changing and more pleasing to You.

2 Samuel 17:1-29 What do we do when everything seems to go wrong? Do we start complaining, blaming You for everything that's happening to us? or Do we start asking the question, 'Where is the Lord in all of this?' Help us to challenge our negative thinking - "Why are you discouraged, my soul?" (Psalm 43:5). Help us to rise above our negative thinking. Raise us up, Lord, for You alone can lift us out of our defeatism and into that special place with You where we know that we are truly blessed - because You love us, and will never stop loving us, even when our love for You is very weak.

2 Samuel 14:1-33 We thank You, Lord, that You love us - and You forgive us. What a difference that makes! There are times when we feel unloved. We wonder, "How could You possibly forgive us?" When we feel like this, help us to remember that Jesus died for us. When we see ourselves in the light of the cross of Christ, our great Saviour, how can we keep on feeling unloved and unforgiven? Take us, Lord, to the cross. Show us Your love. Show us our Saviour, suffering for us. Show us our Saviour, praying for us: "Father, forgive them ..." (Luke 23:34).

2 Samuel 8:1-9:13 "The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went" (2 Samuel 8:6,14). Help us, Lord, never to forget where the victory comes from. It comes from You. It's Your victory - and You give it to us. You direct our attention away from ourselves. You direct our attention to Jesus. He says to us, "Without Me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5). This is a warning to us. We must not try to live in our own strength. Help us to look to Jesus - and to say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

2 Samuel 7:1-29 Life isn't easy. Sometimes, it seems like there are nothing but hard times. There doesn't seem to be alight at the end of the tunnel. That's the way it feels - but it's not the way it is! Our feelings will lead us away from You - if we let them! Our feelings can run riot over us. They can wreck our lives. Help us, Lord, to look beyond the chaos. Help us to look to You. Sometimes, it feels like You're far away. That's the way it seems to us - but it's not the way it really is! You are with us - now and always (Matthew 1:23; Matthew 28:20).