Day 4 - The One Year Adventure with the God of Your Story

Genesis 8:1–10:32; Matthew 4:12-25; Psalm 4:1-8; Proverbs 1:20-23

TODAY IN GENESIS, we watched the floodwaters recede and Noah and his family once again place their feet on dry ground. Scripture unfurls a list of the generations that followed, revealing the ways in which the earth’s population grew and spread.

In Matthew, we saw Jesus’ earthly ministry begin and how He called together men who left everything behind to follow Him. We’ll get to know them well, for they become the band of brothers who will walk alongside Jesus throughout His ministry.

Our reading from Psalms today hits us between the eyes, but before we get to that, let’s begin to understand what we are reading when we read from the psalms. Believe it or not, Psalms is actually five books in one, and we’ll notice when we’re moving into another book because it’s announced. The books are largely separated by author, theme, or purpose, and from antiquity, the Psalms have been considered a priceless collection of 150 of the most beautiful songs, hymns, congregational singings, individual songs, and poems of worship the world has ever seen.

A voice we will truly get to know in the Psalms will be that of Israel’s second king, David. Although we will be offered an intimate portrait of this courageous and deeply human king in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles, the Psalms will reveal his heart.

“Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent,” the poet-king David told us in the Psalms today (4:4). David will teach us a lot about ourselves in the days ahead. After all, how often are we reactionary, as if life is happening to us rather than the other way around? David gave us compelling advice that echoes across the millennia. Imagine the immediate effect it would have on our daily lives if each of us was not controlled by anger and allowed for silence and perspective instead.

“Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise,” we read in Proverbs, as if to bring the point home (Proverbs 1:23). May we accept this invitation and make space in our lives for wisdom to guide us.

MEDITATION:

You can be sure of this: The LORD set apart the godly for himself. The LORD will answer when I call to him.