Second Week of Advent ~ Tuesday

It's no coincidence that each Scripture in this Lent reading journey links to a mention of Jesus! In some way or another, there is reference to one who would save and rescue. There's a leaning into a hope and a breakthrough.... A goodness beyond our here and now.

The prophecies recorded in the Old Testament hold so much expectation for a King. And even in passages like today's Psalm that may have literally been written for or over a person, we have the opportunity of retrospect in that we can look back and know that this held prediciton for the one we know to be Jesus.

Today's Scripture holds nothing short of greatness and glory and lifting high the one who is coming that will save and redeem all.

- Read Psalm 72

I like this Psalm in the New Living Translation, but you can of course use any that works best for you.

- Devotional Thought

Psalm 72 is such a Psalm of praise, a writing that includes thoughts of how great and how brilliant the king that is 'to come' is.

And that is how we should approach the throne of God every single day! It talks of goodness, it talks of rescue, of refreshment, of hope, of abundance.... it speaks about the goodness of this King.

And it reminds me that Easter isn't just a yearly event and a moment in our calendar where we follow tradition again because that's what Christians do, but it's a time to come into God's presence again and see that He is better than we could ever box Him in to be. He has far more and far greater than our world would like Him to have.

Flourishing and thriving are not normal and ordinary things. They are qualities that far out weigh what we can access in our day and age. Abundance is not reached in your own strength.

That's why it's such good news to be reminded again and again that god is good and He came to bring good.

If we allowed what we see and what we face every day to be a depiction of God, we would constantly be disappointed. And maybe that's where are going wrong... With the struggles against anxiety and depression on the rise, people being worried and feeling out of control in so many areas, maybe we have forgotten the plain and simple news that God is Good and that He came to bring good. It is only when we are out of alignment with who He is, what He says and what He plans to do that we fall short of experiencing the fullness of Him

Maybe it's time to realise again that He is good, only ever Good.

- Passage to focus on 

"May all the godly flourish during his reign.

May there be abundant prosperity until the moon is no more."

"May the king’s name endure forever;

may it continue as long as the sun shines."

Psalm 72vs7 & 17 NLT

One word that sticks out to me iin this Psalm is “abundance”...

In verse 7 we see talk of abundant prosperity, but only until the moon is no more (the end of time). In verse 17 it talks of the kings name enduring as long as the sun shines, and it doesn’t reference an end to the sun shining!

So this abundant prosperity isn’t bound to their side of heaven but found within the endurance of His name. Something has to continue from this time into the next, and it’s praising His name! So our hope is not in what the world terms as prosperity but in what the Lord declares as presperity and that

- Image for today 

Todays' passage remidns me of wildflowers.

With words like flourishing, abundance and fruitfulness... I think of flower fields that never need to be planted or tended to. There's something magical about flowers growing randomly at the side of the road or in any other place where they haven't been trimmed in and manicured. Sometimes life is a bit like that, the more we let go of rules and agenda and let God take care of us and help us grow, the more beautiful our lives become!

- Prayer 

Father,

We thank you again for the Easter story and the Easter journey. We thank you that we live in the knowledge of the salvation that you died for. Thank you that we can have confidence that when we let go of our ridgid agenda and lean into your saving grace, we will bloom. Your word talks of flourishing and abundance, of good things coming from the King and today, despite what we are going through, we thank you for your goodness.

And as we thank you for your goodness, we also pray that you will continue to show us where you have been so good in our lives so that we can thank you again for it!

- Active idea

Try to find a place near where you are that has flowers or greenery that simply grows on the goodness of the nutrients of the surrounding. We need to realise that our envirnment matters, what nutrients we take in matters, what we say or don't say matters....

It's not to stress you out but rather to make you mroe and more aware each day that it is not by strength or stamina that we live, but by the power of letting go and letting God work through us!

Let the wildflowers show you that they are clothed in beauty and yet they do not strive, they trust!

Thank you for joining me today! Hope to see you again soon!

Have a blessed Lent

~ X ~