On days like this...

I have to remember and repeat frequently:

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:26

Psalm 65

I've been studying the Psalms on Wednesday nights since I arrived at ESBC, taking one a week, and slowly but surely watching how God reveals Himself time and time again. This past week, looking at psalm 65, focusing in verses 9-13 I was reminded of a great truth that I've seen play itself out in moments all spring and summer, year after year with my father as we planted our garden. In verses 9–11 All the covenantal benefits are blessings of God by which he demonstrates to his people that they are his beloved, chosen people (described first in Psalm 65:4). One of these blessings is water (Psalm 65:9). For generations, people have prepared the land before the fall rains by making “furrows” and  “ridges” (Psalm 65:10). They would build up these raised bed gardens and wait. patiently waiting for God to water the seed that He had blessed them with. They had taken what God had given them and prepared the land. Now all there was to do was wait for God to bless their efforts. Despite all of their work, if God didn't show up their work was for nothing. 

They rejoiced when, after the gentle rains, their “crops” would grow. They rejoiced even more when they saw the latter rains in the spring. These rains permitted the crops to mature and to produce abundant harvests (Psalm 65:9). 

This drove me to ask the questions: How am I making furrows and ridges in my life? How are we preparing to receive the blessings of the Lord in our church? How am I taking the gifts that God has given me and setting them up intentionally to receive a bigger blessing? How am I showing through my life that I am relying on the Lord? I once heard Dr. Jim Shaddix say, "We should live and plan our ministries within our churches in such a way that if God doesn't show up, our ministries will be an absolute failure." We must beg and plead for God to do a mighty work. We can't just schedule a revival, we must seek the hand of our mighty God to move and act and draw men and women unto Himself and use us to reap the harvest!  

God's heavenly carts overflow with his blessings, (Psalm 65:11). When God’s carts overflow, his people rejoice in his bountiful provisions. He has blessing upon blessing in store for His children. May we be bold enough to work diligently in God's will and to pray fervently for Him to rain down on us all that we need to continue doing His work!