Listen

I give thanks to you with all my heart, Lord. I sing your praise before all other gods. I bow toward your holy temple and thank your name for your loyal love and faithfulness because you have made your name and word greater than everything else. On the day I cried out, you answered me. You encouraged me with inner strength.

Psalm 138:1-3

Think

In Jewish history, Psalm 138 is considered a postexilic psalm because it was written after the Babylonian Captivity in 539 BC. Despite its sounding as being written in the voice of an individual, the references to “holy temple” suggest that the audience is one in community or experiencing communal worship, experiencing God’s power and transcendence.

I am writing this devotion on the day after Thanksgiving. David’s psalm begins with giving thanks for three of God’s attributes: faithfulness, love, and deliverance. Despite David’s faults and shortcomings, he rejoices in the consistency of God’s presence (faithfulness), God’s gift (love), and God’s power (deliverance). These are the attributes that God offers to you and me when we answer the call to serve God. What more can we do but cry out and bow before God?

Tom Baynham

Question to Ponder:

When and how have you experienced God’s faithfulness, love, and deliverance in your life?

Pray

God of love and faithfulness, of deliverance and grace, I ask the continuance of the gifts you offer to me daily. Allow me the energy and strength to proclaim your gifts to the world and continue to bless me with inner strength that flows only from you. Amen.

Go

“To love the Lord our God is the heartbeat of our mission.
The spring from which our service overflows.
Across the street or around the world, the mission’s still the same.
Proclaim and live the Truth in Jesus’ name.”

Jon Mohr and John Randall Dennis, “The Mission”