WEDNESDAY 15th
Psalm 105
NIV (vv4-6) ‘Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, you his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.’
ESV (vv4-6) ‘Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones!’
This is quite a long psalm, but as you read through it you will discover that it testifies to the fact that God is in control, he knows what is going on and he always has his man or woman ready to step into a situation for his will to be carried out. The examples used here are firstly of Joseph in verses 16-22, which show to us that before the famine arrived in the land, God had already prepared for Joseph to be at the right place at the right time, he had to go through the mill so to speak, but in it and through it God was going to be glorified and Josephs testimony was ‘But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”’
The second example is that of Moses, verses 26-36 who we know had an incredible encounter at the early stages of his life when he was placed among the bulrushes, saved from being killed and as a result propelled into the palace of the Pharaoh, and yet it was going to be at the age of eighty after spending time in a wilderness watching sheep that God was going to commission him to the task of bringing Israel out of captivity—all hope seemed to be lost for them, but God was at work, and we know the outcome.
The third example is Israel, they were the offspring of Jacob, (v23-24) as a result of the famine found in Egypt, they became slaves, as I said previously it looked like they were finished, all hope lost, doomed to be trodden upon as a people, but God was at work, he had a plan for them and no one nor anything was going to thwart that plan, and they came out of Egypt, they wandered in the desert but eventually arrived into the promised land with the final verse of this chapter saying ‘praise the Lord’.
We praise him because of his faithfulness.
May this psalm be a reminder to us that we serve the same God who intervened in the affairs of those found in this chapter, God had a plan, he was going to bring that plan to fulfilment, when it looked like the end of the road had been reached, God stepped into the situation and brought the helper and the help that was needed. Look today to the Lord who is the Maker of the heavens and the earth, it is him we look to, to be our Helper, to deliver us, to step into our situations, to send help at exactly the right time. Remembering as Job said, ‘I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.’ (Job 42:2) We rest in the confidence that God is in control, and as we trust him, he will perfect that which concerns us and bring it to completion. (Philippians 1:6) Exactly the same time as I am writing today’s devotion a song is being sung in the background, and I caught the words as being so relevant, ‘The same God who made a way is the same God who is here today, even in my darkest moments it will be the truth I’m holding, the same God who made a way, he’s the same God who is here today.’