Psalm 50:1-15 (NIV)

1 The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes
and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
and around him a tempest rages.
4 He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me this consecrated people,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for he is a God of justice.
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.
8 I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15 and call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

Reflection

When crisis hits we tend to go toward one of two extremes. We either try to figure things out on our own, or we cry out to God and seek His help. During these times we often “know” that God is mighty and that He loves us, yet we can get caught in the trap of merely going through the motions, bringing God our worldly offerings, while forgetting that He already owns everything we see. However, we see from this passage that what God desires more than anything are hearts that are willing to praise Him for what He has done, lives that are passionately committed to the way He has called us, and hearts that desperately turn to Him in our times of need. It is when we live like this that we are able to see God’s mighty hand rescue us and bring us again and again to a place of worship and praise.

Response

Let’s pray that we will turn to the Lord even faster when times of trouble come. Let’s ask that we would not insist on trying to figure it out on our own, but that we would return to and depend upon the only One who can rescue and save us – our Father who provides all we need and gives us His Holy Spirit to truly live.