Shiny New Mercies

Read: Psalm 68:7-19

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.                                                                                 Psalm 68:19

     When you were young, I imagine you were just like I was when it came to getting gifts. Whether it was your birthday, Christmas, or just a day that your parents decided to buy you something, you couldn’t wait to open up that gift and reveal the shiny new toy that was inside. As you have gotten older, however, I suppose that in most cases you would rather have money instead of a toy. How awesome would it be if your parents gave you a debit card that they loaded with $500 every morning? Every single day of your life when you woke up, there would be another chunk of money on your card to spend however you liked. Any needs that you had would be taken care of just by swiping that card. “’Keep dreaming!” is probably what you are thinking to yourself. “That will never happen any time soon!”

     Unfortunately, you would most likely be right; it will not happen that way any time soon. Yet, according to this Psalm, we are daily loaded with benefits. We have the Word of God that is a living book. Each time we read it, we may be blessed in a different way. Each time we study it, we may find a different encouragement. The key is to make sure that we read the Bible. As excited as you were as a kid to get a new toy, or as thrilled as you would be with an unlimited debit card, the Word of God should be to us as something that we are excited to open up. Instead of dreading the moment your parents make you read your Bible, you should relish the opportunity. Instead of doing everything possible to avoid studying the Word of God, look at is as an opportunity to gain some valuable insight into the life that we are called to live down here. The Word of God is God’s gift to us. It should be an excitement and a thrill each time we get to open it.

     Second Corinthians 4:16 reminds us that as we walk through this life, we will be worn down. Our outward man may perish, yet our inward man can be renewed day by day. But not if we never crack open the Bible to read it. Imagine how foolish it would be for you as a child to have a present that you never opened. How disappointed would your parents be? Or what about your debit card – what if you struggled to get by because you never used the money available to you? God has given us a way to experience a joyful, abundant life. We must spend time every morning reading and studying the Bible to enjoy the benefits of being daily renewed.

Quote of the day: “A well-read Bible is a sign of a well-fed soul.”