Psalm 20:4 says, “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose.”

Job 42:2 says, “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.”

God’s purpose will be fulfilled. However the enemy will tenaciously fight against it

The battleground is for our mind. In Ephesians 2:3 it says that before salvation satan controlled our minds

In Psalm 140:7 David wrote of God’s protection. It says, “O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.”

Isaiah 28:6 says He gives “…strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.”

Satan uses fiery dart lies to destroy our faith. When we fight them through truth there is no battle. They are quenched

When we allow them to penetrate by dialoguing with them the battle becomes inside

They seed into our hearts. We unknowingly own them. They become part of our thought processes 

The strongholds, according to 2 Corinthians 10:4, says the weapons of our warfare are His word. His word alone is able to pull down internal strongholds 

I love Psalm 18. 2 Samuel 22:1 says, “Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 

Psalm 18:7-15 are so picturesque of how the Lord responded to David’s cry for help. 

Verse 16 says, “He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.”

The title of my book, “He Drew Me Out Of Deep Waters” came from that verse. 

It’s a biographical sketch of His deliverance in my life. The epilogue, “…is to use my brain injuries as a platform to proclaim God’s wondrous work.”

Psalm 145:9 says, “The Lord is good to all, His tender mercies are over all His works.”

For years my parents, aunt and uncle held a Bible study at a rest home. Later my dad, my cousin, and myself took turns speaking there

In June 2015 my dad entered as a resident. He still took his turn. His last message,at age 95, was from Psalm 107 which I came to in my reading. Fond memory. Sitting in his wheelchair at a table with his Bible open

Five times in verses 1, 8, 15, 21, and 31 each say the same thing. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”

I love verse 9. It says, For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.”

It is the goodness of the Lord that leads men to repentance. Romans 2:4

That’s the theme of this psalm. They got into trouble over and over. Then they cried out in their distresses and He delivered them

Today ~ take time to just fill your heart with His goodness as you recall His deliverances in your life

Psalm 16:8 is a verse of intention. David wrote, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

Where is your focus? When we focus on our circumstances, we lose sight of the Lord as our Abiding Presence.

Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Our inner transformation is God’s purpose through our trials. Romans 8:28 says He is working everything for our good.

How? Why? Verse 29 says, “…to be conformed to the image of His Son…”

2 Corinthians 3:18 reveals the how. It says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

Setting Him before us eclipses the hard trials and adverse circumstances. They fade. We see Him only using everything in our lives to conform us to be more like Himself.

Psalm 15 ends with these words, “He who does these things shall never be moved.”

The Hebrew for moved means: to totter, shake, slip, be overthrown, to dislodge, let fall, drop, be greatly shaken

Here are the prerequisites. As you read them ask the Holy Spirit to hold them up like a mirror before you

Walk uprightly

Work righteousness (Isaiah 32:17)

Speak truth in our heart 

Does not backbite 

Does neighbor no evil

Does not gossip

Despises vileness 

Honors those who fear the Lord

Heart of integrity 

Lends without interest

Cannot be bribed 

As I read Psalm 45 the Holy Spirit stopped me at verse 7. Though it’s written about the Lord we can apply it

“…love righteousness and hate wickedness..anointed with the oil of gladness…”

Hebrew for gladness takes us back to joy, exultation, and rejoicing. Living in the joy of the Lord is the high watermark of an authentic follower of Jesus. It’s to be our default 

Psalm 104 is a great descriptive psalm declaring God’s sovereignty over all

Verse 35-35 says, “I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord.”

Psalm 146:2 says, “While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”

Praise keeps our thoughts focused on the Lord. Praise sends away thoughts that veer off the path into negativity, worry, anxiety, or fear. Praise brings course correction

I encourage you to read Psalm 149:5-9. Verse 6 says, “Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand.”

Asaph started Psalm 73 totally absorbed in how the wicked prospered. Verse 17 brought him back to truth

It says, “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.”

He grieved over the fact they did not have the Lord

Verse 25 says, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none on earth that I desire besides You?”

Philippians 4:6 says to be anxious for nothing. The Greek word for anxious means: cut up into tiny pieces 

What had fragmented your heart? Let it drive you to Jesus. Use the pressures in your life to seek Him alone

The verse continues, “…but in everything by prayer…” Prayer is communion with the One who died for us

Use the adverse circumstances in your life to cause you to press into the Lord. Otherwise they will be distractions that keep you in inner turmoil ~ not His irrevocable gift of inner peace (verse 7)

Here is a beautiful poem that my friend wrote. She gave me permission to share it with you

Life’s Handbook

If life had a handbook
To guide me along my way, 
I would put it at my bedside
And read it every day.
Inside this mighty handbook 
Would be the truth I need,
Something that could show me
I’m where I’m supposed to be.

I heard there is a book
That speaks of truth and love.
It’s all about Jesus
And all the work He does.
They say it’s called the Bible,
Where lessons of life be told.
Just read this mighty Bible
And your life will happily unfold.

by Kiersten Smith

As I read Psalm 40:5 yesterday I began thinking about God’s thoughts

It says, “…Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare them, they are more than can be numbered.”

Immediately my mind went to Isaiah 55:8-9. His thoughts are not our thoughts. They are far higher than ours

Psalm 139:17 is a great verse to wallpaper on the wall of our heart. It will be there when we are tempted to entertain negative dialogues against ourselves 

It says, “How precious also are Your thoughts toward me, O God! How great is the sum of them!”

I want you, in your mind, to take a handful of sand. It’s impossible to count the grains. Now read verse 18 about His thoughts towards you

It says, “If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand…”

I encourage you to meditate on His thoughts as other Scriptures will come to mind after reading this