TGFABT – Psalm 39

Opportunities in Discipline

 “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.”
Psalm 39:7 

Recognize God’s discipline is an opportunity

  • To reflect on our life and grow our faith. (V4)
  • To be honest with ourselves and with Him. (V2-3)
  • To ask questions of God, clarifying His purposes for our life (V7)
  • To come clean about our sin, seeking mercy, and forgiveness. V8-13)

Jeremiah 29:13-14

Seek Him.  Seek Him with all of our heart. He will be found.

Truth Tuesday

I want to live life fully in light of verse 4.

Word Study

But now, Lord, what do I look for?  My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7

This is a new word for me- Towcheleth (to-kheh’-leth), hope. There is not a fluffy, wordy definition. It is defined as hope. So off to dictionary.com I went to see the exact meaning of the word hope. This is where it gets really good!

  • the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best
  • a person or thing in which expectations are centered

 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.” 1 Timothy 1:1

Don’t you just love words!  Don’t you just love the Word!!!

Thankful

I am thankful for David, a real person, who struggled with real stuff just like me.  I am thankful he recorded all that God taught him.

Today I am thankful for my Aunt Irma and celebrate her birthday in my heart.

Faith Stretching/Strengthening

When my faith is stretched it strengthens… I am feeling strong!

12 Comments

  1. I am so thankful for this Psalm prior to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Psalm 39:3&4 with the reminder to seek God in all situations dealing with my family. I pray I turn to God with everything or anything I feel I need to say to a family member and if it’s a complaint or a regurgitated concern they have heard many times; my prayer is for God to silence my tongue or direct my tongue in a way that glorifies him. All of our time is temporary and I want my words to be encouraging for what really matters – loving God and others and preparing for eternity with our Father. That is where my hope needs to be.

  2. Seek God! Love the message this week. Love the reminder how fleeting life is. I do want to be reflective and grow to be more like Jesus in my words, thoughts and actions. One of messages in yesterday’s sermon was : when dealing with others always err on the side of grace. Oh how I need to err on the side of grace!

  3. I too love this Psalm. Seeking God during times we don’t understand. In a situation now where I want to seek God even more although I don’t understand the crisis he has given me in my life. I ask him…haven’t I had enough already. Just lost my dad in February. My husband of 2 years has been diagnosed with lung cancer this past week and we just had our retirement future on hold. I want to be gentle with my words of encouragement when I am seeing John turning away from God when I just got him to start believing in him again when we got married. I am looking for the blessings and one is that his mom who is 95 with last stages of dementia has no idea what her son is going through. ALWAYS SEEK GOD’S BLESSINGS IN ALL THINGS. Not always easy but comforting at the same time. God bless everyone as we approach Thanksgiving this week. Please pray for us.

    1. Dear Vicki,
      I am so sorry to hear of your heartbreaking situations. I will pray for you all.
      Kim

      1. Thank you Kim. This is so hard to wait for the test results and all the doctor’s visits before we even get to begin the treatment plan of chemo and radiation. We appreciate your prayers.

  4. Truth: My notes for verse 3 say (as David spoke)- He did not violate the conditions of his original commitment since he did not vent before men, but unloaded his burdens before God. Such an awesome lesson to learn!
    Another truth that Wendy brought out was in times of difficulty and discipline there is opportunity for growth. Important to have that mindset when we feel God’s discipline. So important to be reflective so as to grow.

  5. Truth for me is in verse 5, each man’s life is but a breath and verse 7, But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.

  6. So sorry I’m late in posting.
    I consider myself an optimistic, hopeful person. However I do wholeheartedly that that is Gods gift to me. I know that without him in my world my life would not be the same. That being said I have certainly had times in my life that I was being disciplined I’m sure but I was too selfish to realize it. As I look back on certain times in my life I now realize the truth of those hard days.
    I am so grateful for Wendy helping me to understand the events on David’s life that reflect in my own.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you all! May you enjoy your families, God’s bounty. Safe travels to all of you, but especially to Kurt and Karen!

  7. HOPE..I have hope for healing not only for my husband but for the entire world. God has to be involved in lives before all this hatred in the world will quit escalating. Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

  8. Word study: Isn’t the word HOPe precious to the Christian? What would we do without it? Vicki, I love that verse too: verse 7- But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you. You and John are in my prayers dear friend.

  9. Thankful for family and friends that God has chosen to make a part of my life. Most of all, thankful for His sacrifice and Jesus’ obedience to the cross for each of us. Indescribable LOVE! Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone!

  10. I am thankful for you girls and this study. I praise and thank God for being my driving force that makes me strong enough to survive all the obstacles in life but not too strong to know I must continue to rely on him as David did!

    Happy Thanksgiving to my friends and your families.

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