psalm – Ericka O Smith

Taste & See

O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! – Psalm 34:8

At the beginning of our adventure in home schooling, we took a dip into the homeschool community by attending a potluck dinner for families interested in joining a particular home school group. Wanting our elementary-aged kids to exercise their social muscles, we sent them ahead of us to go through the line while we found a table and got the little ones settled. When our son made his way to our table, he had an entire to-go box of fried rice in his hands and a smile on his face. I asked him what he could possibly have been thinking in taking the entire dish for himself. He replied, “I’m hungry.”

I look back on this story now with a smile on my face instead of the embarrassment I felt in the moment. I question my choices when I feel spiritual hunger. In his hunger, my son went straight for the good stuff, unashamedly taking what was offered at the table, and he found satisfaction.

PONDER: Do I approach my quiet time like my son approached that potluck? What is keeping me from bellying up to God’s table, fork in hand, to feast on His Word today?

PRAYER: Father, I want to take refuge in You in the busy-ness of my days. So many things are vying for my attention. Help me to be ambitious when I open my Bible, ready to feast on Your Word every day. My heart desires to taste and see that you are good today.

Help for the Hurting Heart

Because of what I shared here on Monday, I wanted to follow up with some encouragement for those who are currently experiencing brokenness and are “feeling the feels” today. Know this – God loves you and there is help to be found in Him.

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Crying Out – a short devotional

Ps 66-17 NLT

An impending lay-off. A broken relationship. Financial distress. Health issues. Car trouble. Simply living life provides us daily with circumstances that can prompt us to cry out to God for help. But what if there was something more we could do? I believe this psalm gives us that something more – praise Him as we cry out for help. Think about it. He is worthy of praise even if His answers to our cries for help don’t align with our expectations. Psalm 66 teaches us to voice our praise even as we cry out in our current circumstances. Praising God redirects our attention from what needs saving, to the One Who saves. We praise Him, not because of the outcome, but because of Who He is, regardless of the outcome.

How our perspectives would change if we praised Him as we cried out to Him instead of waiting to see how He answered!

PONDER: What circumstances keep you crying out to God for help? In those same circumstances, how could you praise Him even as you cried out to Him for help?

Crying Out is one of thirty devotionals I’ve been asked to write this year as part of a friend’s year-long devotional project. You can read more short devotionals like this by clicking here or the Devotionals tab at the top of this page.