Psalms
I can’t stop sharing with others all that the Lord is teaching me in studying the Psalms. The theme for this series for our community is “Psalms…Songs of the Heart”. I am also involved in the inductive study of Psalms with a small group of women on Tuesday mornings. The lesson is divided into five days. The study begins with a preparation of the heart and the quotes that are selected usually touch me in a profound way. After reading the Psalm, I select key words in the passage. Then, I study the key Hebrew words in the passage and what they mean. Finally, I interpret what the passage means according to my study. One of the final questions in the study is “Do you see Jesus in this passage?” So, there is opportunity to dig deep. There is also time to ponder and reflect and to “camp” on certain scriptures that are helpful with the circumstances in my life. After studying Psalm 103, I decided to memorize and meditate on verses 13-18 because it touches me in my stage of life.
Last week, Doug and I were visiting our children and grandchildren in California. Psalm 121 was the lesson for the week. My daughter, Beth, and her husband, Jon’s, home has the view of the Sierra Madre hills. I could say “I will lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord who made the heaven and earth.” Doug and I both had a bad cold and needed healing and I could call out to the Lord for help and healing. He answered our prayers! Our son-in-law, Jon, needed the Lord’s guidance in an important decision and I could pray Psalms 121 on his behalf and continue to pray for wisdom and discernment. Just today I was confused about a situation that had come up and I had to ask the Lord for His help. Learning to go to Him immediately for help is so important for me because my tendency is to try and figure it out first and then go to Him. He wants to hear from immediately. Psalms121 begins with “I will lift up my eyes to the Lord.” I need to focus and look up!
This past Sunday in the morning service I was blessed by Janet Nordlund, Sally Bland and their team as they gave us opportunity to experience Psalm 121. Thank you so much for the excellent planning. It was refreshing to worship with our community again after being on vacation. I especially enjoyed the interactive responses and activities and also, the community prayer time!
I can honestly say that I am beginning to sing from my heart the “Songs Of The Heart” that our ancestors of the faith sang long ago. My goal is to have different psalms I can sing because I have memorized and mediated on them. I also want to thank Paulette and Wayne Williams for all the work they did in writing the inductive study for Psalms.