Psalm 65 - When I Need Some Fun

Summer in the Psalms

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Boredom. It's only the second day of June and many school-aged kids are already claiming, "I'm Bored." To which, I hope we meet this whine with a touch of sass: Hi Bored, nice to meet you!

Sass aside, boredom is a gift. We need this reminder as much, if not more, than our kids. We don't see it as such, but much like normalcy and the ordinary, boredom - when we choose to embrace it - can lead us into deeper levels of creativity, self-reflection and problem-solving.

What I'm trying to say is I want this for us. I want us to embrace a moment of nothingness, as hard as it may be for us. Keep the TV off, put the phone away. If not for a whole summer, how about today? How about for five minutes? For, it's only when we're bored that we start to ask ourselves the question:

"What sounds fun?"

Fun. We need more fun! In Ecclesiastes 3, we read:

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. - Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

In other words, this life is a gift and God intends for us to enjoy it. To have fun. If our days have become so busy and demanding that it requires get to a place of boredom before we ask ourselves, "What sounds fun?" then boredom it is! Almighty God, grant us boredom so that we might enjoy this gift and reflect more on the gifts and promises You've so generously given us.

Today, we start our sixth summer in the Psalms together (feel free to review posts and episodes from summers past), and we're opening to Psalm 65 to remind ourselves more of our abundantly generous God.

Speaking of boredom, we often find silence boring, but Psalm 65 helps correct our perspective on this, saying:

Silence is praise to you, Zion-dwelling God, And also obedience.  You hear the prayer in it all.

Praise in the silence, prayer in the obedience. God wants us to slow down, to practice being still, to behold and pay attention.

As we read the rest of Psalm 65 together, pull out your mental highlighters - choose your favorite color and highlight every promise of God in bright florescent color with me. This pretend highlighting feels a bit like "silent praise," an act of beholding, to me. Caps off, here we go!

We all arrive at your doorstep sooner or later, loaded with guilt, Our sins too much for us— but you get rid of them once and for all.

Forgiveness, once and for all - mine is in bright green, but it really deserves all the colors!

We continue:

Blessed are the chosen! Blessed the guest at home in your place!

We are welcomed near, su casa es mi casa! What a promise! Highlight that!

We expect our fill of good things in your house, your heavenly manse. All your salvation wonders are on display in your trophy room.

Get those highlighters shaken and ready for this trophy room. It's the trophy room of all trophy rooms. Never has there been one like it and never again will there ever be:

Earth-Tamer, Ocean-Pourer, Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser, Muzzler of sea storm and wave crash, of mobs in noisy riot— Far and wide they’ll come to a stop, they’ll stare in awe, in wonder. Dawn and dusk take turns calling, “Come and worship.”

If it were paper, our highlighter would be seeping through, there's so much color on these words!

Creation is invited to worship! In the stillness, in the silence of the mountains and hills, in the rush of the waves, in the break of dawn and the slow draw of dusk - creation beckons us to praise and obey.

Not only does God create, but God cares for His creation:

Oh, visit the earth, ask her to join the dance! Deck her out in spring showers, fill the God-River with living water. Paint the wheat fields golden. Creation was made for this! Drench the plowed fields, soak the dirt clods

Did you catch those verbs? Paint, drench, soak! The abundance of the Creator is all around us!

With rainfall as harrow and rake bring her to blossom and fruit. Snow-crown the peaks with splendor, scatter rose petals down your paths, All through the wild meadows, rose petals. Set the hills to dancing, Dress the canyon walls with live sheep, a drape of flax across the valleys. Let them shout, and shout, and shout! Oh, oh, let them sing! - Psalm 65 (MSG)

And let us shout, shout, shout! Oh, let us sing! The work of our God propels us to sing and shout and dance. Leap for joy at the work of His hands! And not just that, but to be inspired, to be filled with courage, to go forward and collaborate in creativity with Him!

This I'm confident of: our triune God, when He thought of mountains and rainfall, moons and waves, petals and breeze, dawn and dusk, said those three familiar words: "That sounds fun!" I'm sure there was even a giggle afterwards.

Psalm 65 ushers us to behold and take notice, to cast away the boredom and complacency of taking all of these promises for granted and to be captivated by our awesome and most generous God. His promises are much too great, even just one is far too much: forgiveness, nearness, creation.

And why? Why does God go to such immense lengths to promise all this good to us who have done nothing to deserve it? Because He wants us to enjoy Him and His gifts. It is His kindness which leads us to repentance. Only a loving and kind God would give us life and say, enjoy! Have fun! Come and worship me through fun!

Only the Inventor of fun would extend such a playfully wonderful invitation.

Now, It's Your Turn!

I challenge you to take a moment to pray, then read or listen to Psalm 65 today. Think about what stands out to you. Consider writing down a statement of faith. It may help to think of this as an I-statement. Maybe yours is similar to mine:

God's promises are much too great, even just one is far too much. Forgiveness, nearness, creation. As I behold and take notice, as I cast away the boredom and complacency of taking all of these promises for granted, I am captivated by my awesome and most generous God.

Then, jot down a question to think about today. Maybe yours is similar to mine:

What sounds fun?

May this reflection lead our hearts to gratitude and praise today and may we stand in victory against the tactics and schemes of the enemy.

And praise God for refreshment as we are intentional to spend a summer in the Psalms together, for if we want His truth to ever be on our lips, it must first be planted in our hearts.

Our strength grows as we rely on strength from above. Our joy grows as we see God transforming us from the inside out. Our peace grows as we spend time in God's presence, and we find rest when we intentionally seek the Lord first in our lives, for the Lord is ever our portion.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.