Heart Medication

I love the psalms. My wife will agree in that I don’t get by as well during the day, if I don’t get my morning dose of the psalms. Many of you have often heard me refer to the psalms as my heart medicine that I have to take each day. The psalms will change one’s heart. They will strenthen our hearts. They will cleanse our hearts. The psalms are there to maintain our pure hearts before God. I am convinced that such is a large part of what God intended the psalms to do for us today. I am by nature a moody person so I have to be very careful sometimes. I pray every day that I will get better. In fact, I hope you will pray for me. It is no secret in my house that when “daddy” finds himself snapping at the kids or speaking in a tone of voice to his wife that he shouldn’t, it is very likely that he didn’t get his psalms “fix” for the day. Therefore, every morning, I wake up realizing that I must spend some time reading and meditating on the psalms before beginning my day. I cannot emphasize enough, what this portion of scripture means to me and my spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being on a daily basis.

It is just something about waking up to be reminded that the beautiful creation around me of which I am so blessed to be a part is a testament to the existence of Almighty God and His glory (Psalm 19). It is edifying to hear one’s heart poured out to Yahweh, pleading for Him to cleanse his heart. To see David shout to God for joy and affirm God’s victory is a tremendous reminder to me that I ought to do the same (Psalm 20). It is just something about rising out of bed in the mornings in a quiet house and being reminded through inspiration that God loves me and will see to it that I will get through my day, if I allow Him to be by my side. And that there is just so much more to being a follower of Him than arrogantly thinking I have it all figured out. Nothing like beginning your daily journey with words like, “God will redeem my life.” It is comforting to know that I can walk with Jesus, without fearing what man says to or thinks of me because God alone is my Judge (Psalm 50). In fact, it is also quite liberating to know that it is not my role as a Christian to play Judge. I am thankful God didn’t give that role to me. It is motivating to see the psalmist on a daily basis begging God to restore his heart (Psalm 51). If only I would learn the humility to do this on a daily basis, myself! It is powerful to be told at the beginning of the day about how even in the midst of a confused and rebellious world, we can have faith and salvation through our submission to God’s will (Psalm 79). There is nothing quite like being reminded as soon as I wake up in the morning to renew my commitment to our God who is awesome (Psalm 80). I love hearing so early in my day, to sing for joy to my great Jehovah God (Psalm 81). Listening to David plead with God to save him from his enemies, lets me know that God’s strength will get me through the day and that there is nothing I cannot overcome because He is with me (Psalm 109). It is wonderful to be reminded on a daily basis that I serve the greatest High Priest in the world (Psalms 110). What an honor it is to serve an All-Knowing and Ever-Present God. The psalmist reminds us that God’s knowledge and comfort to us is extradordinary and beyond us; so much so, that we are unable to completely grasp or fathom it (Psalm 139:6, 17-18). And He indeed is a God who rescues His people (Psalm 140). Just as He rescued us from the bondage of sin (Romans 6) by giving us hope through His beloved Son (John 3:16; Romans 5:8-9).

Have I told you lately, how much I love the psalms? I would encourage everyone to make the psalms a daily part of their lives. Of course, any reading and pondering on the word of God is wonderful. And I certainly don’t want to appear to be implying that one part of God’s Word is more important than another. I simply want to convey that the psalms are a great heart medicine for me. Try it. I try to read and spend time meditating on 5 psalms every morning. It takes me about 20 minutes (except when I read Psalm 119). By doing this every day, I get to spend time in every psalm by the end of the month. I have been doing this consistently for a while now and it has done wonders for my heart and for my relationships.

May God be with me and help my heart to be renewed on a daily basis! I firmly believe that if I allow my heart to be renewed by God and His word every day, then I can help others see Jesus and effectively introduce people to His kingdom. The psalms certainly help me accomplish this.