A "Good" Thing to Do Everyday

 

            One of my favourite things to read on a daily basis is a classic devotional by the famous19th century British pastor, Charles Spurgeon. It is entitled Morning and Evening. It is a collection of devotional writings which you are supposed to read, obviously, if you so desire, in the morning and at night.

            It reminds me of a decision that I made some time ago after reading Psalm 92. Psalm 92 begins "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp , to the melody of the lyre."  After meditating on this passage of Scripture, I committed myself to do the very two things that the psalmist says that it is good to do. I resolved to begin the day my declaring the steadfast love of the Lord. I decided to end the day by declaring the faithfulness of my God.

            When the psalmist wrote that this was good to do, I believe that he meant that it was more than morally appropriate. No doubt, it is the right thing to do because God is, in fact, unchanging in His love no matter what our circumstances may be. It is fitting because at the end of the day, God will have always kept his promises to His people in Christ. His faithfulness does indeed endure.  

            To acknowledge this is to force ourselves to silence our own fears in the morning and complaints at night. To practice this is to say, in effect, "get thee behind me" to the Evil one who wants you to begin the day feeling helpless and alone and to look back on the day with self at the centre, and to face a restless night filled with regret and uncertainty.

            To sing or to say that God's love endures forever is the most truthful assertion that any child of God can make facing a new day. It is true when the sun is shining down on us. It is true on the way to chemotherapy. To end the day, singing of the faithfulness of God is a self-discipline that requires us to see the world as it really is. God has not left the building. God will not fail to keep His Word. The most unshakeable fact about our lives is the unchanging Fatherly care of God towards those who trust in Him.

            That is why that I say that I believe the psalmist means more than it is morally correct to acknowledge these things. It is also beneficially good. It is good to sing this way not simply because to do otherwise would be sinfully bad. It is good because we all need the faith building benefit that comes from such spiritual discipline. What a benefit to my heart and my mind to begin the day remembering the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. What a help to my soul to climb in bed at night recalling the faithfulness of God, not simply to me, but to all His people down through the ages who have trusted Him. Just to think that He promised to send a Deliverer and then loved us enough to keep His Word and to send His own Son ought to erase all doubt. It wasn't until Jeremiah acknowledged this that he was lifted out of the muddy pit into which the enemy had imprisoned him (read Lamentations 3:1-24)

            Here is one more part of the discipline. Tell it to someone. Post it online or whisper it to a child. Pick up a guitar or sit at the piano. The psalmist says "It is good to give thanks... to declare your steadfast love..." Knowing it is important. Believing it is crucial. Remembering it is essential. Declaring it is good.

            Try it today. Start the day singing praise and declaring the steadfast love of the Lord. At night, rehearse the fact and the evidences of God's faithfulness. Do this for a while and you will see - it really is a good thing to do.