“May The People Praise” - Psalm 67 (Day 3)
This week's time inside Psalm 67 has challenged us to look outside ourselves by setting our sights on the world around us. The author pours his soul out to God in prayer, not for personal blessings, but for a day when all nations will praise God's name. In that gap between the prayer and its culmination, we reside and play a part in its fulfillment. Today, we want to consider how our message to the world is a heart and life transformed by Christ's love. So before we begin, I want to provide space for you to pause and consider the transformation taking place in your heart and the message that it sends to the people around you. Then, pray that God would use that change to bring encouragement and hope to others.
As mentioned earlier in the week, the author of Psalm 67 asks God to bless the Israelites not for selfish purposes but for other nations to see and know about God's great saving power. As God's chosen people, they lived differently than other tribes, pointing back to God as the ultimate source of their blessings. Their presence served as a testimony to God caring for His people through His faithful hand. By walking according to God's ways, they hoped His name would be known throughout the earth and His salvation experienced among the nations.
With this in mind, I invite you to read Psalm 67. As you do, pay attention to how the author turns his prayer and focus outwardly.
Psalm 67 says this:
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—
2 so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
Take a moment to reflect on what you read:
What did the author hope others would experience and encounter?
Speaking about life change doesn't make sense when we remain a carbon copy of the world. The book of Acts chronicles the birth of the early Church and how this small pocket of Christ-followers went on to impact and transform the world as we know it. How did they accomplish their mission? By living differently. They did life together - enjoyed meals, shared possessions, worshiped - and they did it all with a sense of joy, generosity, and goodwill. Their communal life centered on love, humility, and caring for the needs of others was attractive and grabbed people's attention.
Like the early Church, we must stick out, but not in the way most think. It's not about Christian bumper stickers, picket signs, listening to K-Love, or throwing in a "thou" or "amen, brother" when speaking to our neighbors. The Christian life centers on immersion. Rather than reject or disengage from the world around us, we're sent into the world to saturate culture with Christ's love. We look different, not by rallying around what we're against, but uniting together around what we're for - the world. We want to live our lives so that it bends culture toward God's Kingdom. We serve, bless others, and rub shoulders with the world from our distinctness.
Take a moment and consider…How can you "be different" for Christ today? Why did that area come to mind?
Read today’s passage slowly one more time.
Psalm 67 says this:
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—
2 so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
We express and proclaim God’s faithfulness by being faithful. We should be so full of God's love that it influences and shapes every aspect of who we are - our words, actions, relationships, and attitudes. The transformational and redemptive work God graciously does within our hearts allows our lives to be an offering of praise. When we find ourselves filled with the Spirit, we love boldly, forgive generously, and encourage others regularly. A transformed heart comes out in the form of a kind word, an extended hand, acting with integrity, owning up to our shortcomings, and looking for ways to give rather than get. We aim to be this self everywhere, all the time, and with everyone. Distinct but engaged. Different, but content. Unmistakable but humble.
Consistent effort, generosity, and humility over time matter and speak volumes. There are opportunities all around us to be the Church, many aren't these grand sweeping moments but ordinary occasions to love others. By sharing our lives, we share our story and invite someone else into the much larger story God is telling. When we are full of heart, others catch a glimpse of God's heart for them.
So, as we begin to wrap up our time together, we want to provide you some space to respond to what we read and maybe to what God is trying to say to you through Psalm 67. First, take a moment to process this question…How are people catching a glimpse of God’s heart for them through the way they interact and engage with you?
Another question to consider is this…What aspect of Christ's love needs to spill out of you today?
PRAYER
Father God,
Encountering Your love changes everything about me.
When people look at my life, I want them to see You and You alone.
Let what I say and do bring You glory.
Let me stand out - not due to my ability, but through compassion, love, and forgiveness.
Today, I will be different because you profoundly impacted my world. Amen.