So Much for My “To Do” List!
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Psalm 104
1. Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, thou art very great! Thou art clothed with honor and majesty, 2. who coverest thyself with light as with a garment, who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent, 3. who hast laid the beams of thy chambers on the waters, who makest the clouds thy chariot, who ridest on the wings of the wind, 4. who makest the winds thy messengers, fire and flame thy ministers. 5. Thou didst set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be shaken. 6. Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7. At thy rebuke they fled; at the sound of thy thunder they took to flight. 8. The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place which thou didst appoint for them. 9. Thou didst set a bound which they should not pass, so that they might not again cover the earth. 10. Thou makest springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, 11. they give drink to every beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst. 12. By them the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. 13. From thy lofty abode thou waterest the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy work. 14. Thou dost cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth, 15. and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen man's heart. 16. The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon which he planted. 17. In them the birds build their nests; the stork has her home in the fir trees. 18. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the badgers. 19. Thou hast made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. 20. Thou makest darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep forth. 21. The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22. When the sun rises, they get them away and lie down in their dens. 23. Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until the evening. 24. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy creatures. 25. Yonder is the sea, great and wide, which teems with things innumerable, living things both small and great. 26. There go the ships, and Leviathan which thou didst form to sport in it. 27. These all look to thee, to give them their food in due season. 28. When thou givest to them, they gather it up; when thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good things. 29. When thou hidest thy face, they are dismayed; when thou takest away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30. When thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created; and thou renewest the face of the ground. 31. May the glory of the Lord endure for ever, may the Lord rejoice in his works, 32. who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! 33. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 34. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. 35. Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!
My first instinct was to only include part of this somewhat lengthy psalm this morning. But then I was unable to eliminate one verse, because it is so beautiful! I encourage you to read the psalm in its entirety, I assure you, you’ll share the sentiment I expressed in the title of today’s devotion!
My summer had originally been filled up with travel for work – lots of travel! To the point where I had to make a week by week list of where I was to be and what I was supposed to be doing in each location! Our company is going through an accreditation process with a voluntary accrediting agency and as a result we discovered a training void! That’s where I come in! But late last week we realized that all of that "crucial" training needed to be put on hold so we can prepare “evidence of compliance!” Don’t get hung up on the weird terminology – suffice it to say that “extremely urgent” training need has been replaced by an “extremely urgent” project to compile this documentation. The good news in all of this – and the short version!! – is that I won’t be traveling throughout the state this summer! (We’ll probably be discussing that in the fall, when I’m making up for all the training I won’t have done this summer!)
Anyway . . . A million things were whirling through my mind this morning as my feet hit the floor! Because, as you know, I’m sure, when you start one project, it leads to another, and then another! And I had gotten myself quite worked up by the time I got my coffee and settled in my chair in the living room! Really – a million things! Then I opened directly to Psalm 104. Wow! Reading this really makes my puny, “extremely urgent” to do list items seem pretty inconsequential! I was immediately breathless – not at my lengthy and exhausting to do list – but at how easy God makes it all look!
He created the world! I think He can handle my extremely urgent tasks today! He perfectly planned every element of the earth and the sky and of life itself! I think I’m gong to be able to survive my project – and the ensuing projects as a result of this project! It is really hard to throw a pity party for myself when I reflect on all that God has done for me! For me. And for you. He created a world perfectly suited to sustain human life – and every other kind of life essential to sustain our existence! He breathed it all into being. And then he placed us upon this planet! Because no matter how beautiful, how glorious, how wondrous anything is, it’s always better when you have someone to enjoy it with!
So, I took a few minutes off to reflect on how God has my life in His hands. And I was deeply gratified and relieved! In the big scheme of things, all my worries and my extremely important job duties are pretty puny! Not that I won’t hit the ground running when I get to work this morning, but I will certainly pause to “just breathe” throughout the day, recalling the beautiful words of this psalm!
I hope you spend your day looking around God’s world, thanking Him for the perfection He created just for you!
Mary
