Corona Devo 137
For God's a jolly good fellow,
For God's a jolly good fellow,
For God's a jolly good fellow...
And nobody can deny.
Often on family vacations, but also periodically during a week, our family will (boisterously) burst out into a rousing rendition of "jolly good fellow" when someone has earned it. It might be for a good meal cooked, thanking daddy for a treat he's given, persevering through something hard, making good grades or...the possibilities are endless.
Sometimes it's hard to sing it for someone else. Like if you lost in pinochle to the "jolly good fellow", but you still sing. Most times, it's fun to "honor" the jolly good fellow because they have earned it in some way.
God has earned a "jolly good fellow" rendition from us today, wouldn't you agree? Or even if your situation, health, or attitude doesn't have you "feeling like singing" today, it doesn't make God any less worthy of the honor.
For real, I think sometimes we need to step back from the chaos and uncertainty of our lives and revel in the blessings of here and now, and the certainty of what we know to be true: God and His provision.
The world and it's weeds of worry can easily choke our happiness and blur our vision of what is right in front of us.
Stop for a moment and take in all that we have, and all that God has provided to you in this world. It's a lot. And realize that we "achieved" none of this: He granted all of this. And it's a lot.
Here is David's rendition of "jolly good fellow" in Psalm 147. The words are different from our family song, but the meaning is the same:
Psalm 147
1 Praise the Lord! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting! ~Psalm 147:1
Yes! It is delightful and fitting to praise our Lord. If we take an honest assessment, He has blessed us with so much, spiritually and physically: He is worthy of our praise!
2 The Lord is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing the exiles back to Israel. ~Psalm 147:2
God is always at work rebuilding us. We have all sinned and it breaks us down, but God builds us back up when we draw near to Him.
And no matter how far we have strayed from God, He is always working on bringing the exiles back. He desires a personal union with us, and He will search for us and rebuild us our life long.
3 He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. ~Psalm 147:3
People, circumstances and sin break our hearts. All of us have cracks and some of us have gaping holes in our hearts. God heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. He is a good Father, and he is a Healer of spirits and hearts and we can take Him at His word on this. Lay your brokenheart and open wounds honestly before the Lord. He will heal you if you let Him work in you.
4 He counts the stars and calls them all by name.
5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! ~Psalm 147:4-5
Not only does God know you and me by heart, but He has numbered the stars and knows each of them by name! This God that desires intimacy with us also created the world and rules nature as He nurtures us. How can that be? Don't worry if it doesn't make sense to you: His understanding is beyond comprehension!
6 The Lord supports the humble, but he brings the wicked down into the dust. ~Psalm 147:6
Is life bullying you? Or maybe you are on top of the world: either way--stay humble. God is working in all of our situations. And we needn't worry ourselves about settling any scores or "making things right": that is God's job. He will take care of the wicked, and our job is to stay humble. That's a big enough job to stay on top of.
7 Sing out your thanks to the Lord; sing praises to our God with a harp. ~Psalm 147:7
Let's praise Him today!
10 He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might.
11 No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love. ~Psalm 147:10-12
These two verses meld together like peanut butter and jelly. They are completely different, but complement and enhance each other in a beautiful way.
First of all, we have to stop trying to earn God's love, favor or salvation. He takes no pleasure in the size of our back accounts or houses, or in how much we (or our kids) accomplish in a day. God doesn't look for how many degrees we have, how neatly our yards (or closets!) are kept or how many friends we have. No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love. Here is our verse of the day, and maybe God wants this to be our verse for life. It's not about any of that other stuff. God doesn't care about all of that, and He wishes we didn't either. He is delighted when we put Him in front of all of that stuff. And when we put our hope in his unfailing love, instead of this failing world and it's stuff.
So for today, forget about the material stuff and resist the urge to think that we need to earn God's approval. And simplify: All that we really need to do is 12 Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! ~Psalm 147:12
As far as jolly good fellow's go, God is IT.
He has earned a rousing rendition with all of our voices lifted in unison for Him, just because of who He is.
Praise the Lord! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting! ~Psalm 147:1
Blessings,
sarah
Comments
Post a Comment