Great Is Our God! - Daily Devotional May 4,2010

Daily Bible Reading - Numbers 11, Psalm 48, Isaiah 1, Hebrews 9

Great Is Our God!

I love Psalm 48 because it starts off with the simple yet profound statement, "Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God!" It is so important to note how David, the writer ends this sentence. He ends the sentence with a (!) and not a (.). David is so overwhelmed with great joy and thanksgiving to God that he exclaims how great God really is. There is a big difference between Great is the Lord. and Great is the Lord!

As a Christ follower I am totally in love with God but in reading Psalm 48 today I realize that sometimes I take my relationship with God for granted. The thought that God is great sometimes becomes more of a statement of repetition rather than a statement of realization. My sentence often ends with a (.) rather than a (!). What I mean by this is that I get so comfortable with all that He does for me that I begin to forget that He is doing anything at all. So when I hear someone talking about God my statement is, "oh sure God is great." Rather then, "Wow, God is great!"

When I begin to view God like this I get comfortable and I begin to take Him more and more for granted. This impacts my ability to show others my passion. This is why I love all of Psalms because it is full of passionate outbursts of praise and glory to God. These were the memories that the Hebrew children were required to memorize so that they would never forget how great God truly is. When they memorized these things they were not just rehearsing statements but they were remembering history and how God came through for them time and time again. Thus there statements more often ended with a (!) rather than (.).

How do your statements about God end? Are they statements of repetition or of realization? If you find yourself lacking in passion and taking Him for granted, do as the Hebrew children did. Take some time today to memorize Psalm 48:1 "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain". Along with memorizing scripture, rehearse all the things God has done in your life. Taking time to rehearse all He has done will ensure that we never take Him and the work He does in our lives for granted.

Let's declare together, "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!!!"

Tomorrow's Bible Reading - Numbers 12 - 13, Psalm 49, Isaiah 2, Hebrews 10

Dream Big,
Ben