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PROGRAM D-7688
If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, a Psalm a day keeps your stress away! We’re studying five Psalms that give us great comfort and assurance—and that drive away our stress. I’m suggesting—no, I’m urging—that you read one a day because it will make a difference in your attitude and your strength.
Psalm 139 is definitely one of my favorites. It’s a great Psalm to memorize because it assures us that each individual is individually created and known by God. We are not unforgotten specks in this universe. The God of Heaven and Earth knows us intimately, cares for us personally and always invites us into his presence.
Verses 13 -14 of Psalm 139 are great verses to recall when you’re feeling insignificant or unloved or inconsequential: For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
You know, so often we become our worst enemy as we speak to ourselves in discouraging ways, even disrespectful ways. Tell the truth, how often do you look in your mirror and complain about what you see or criticize how you look? Why not dispel that self-inflicted stress and speak these words of truth from Psalm 139: I thank you, God, that you created me wonderfully. Your work in creating me is good, and I know that is true because that’s what your Word says.
My friend, Lucille, who is now with Jesus, came to saving faith as an adult, after living all her life thinking she was a mistake. The message she heard many times from her mother was that Lucille’s birth had made her life so much more difficult—she was not expected or wanted. Lucille tried so hard to win her mother’s approval but it wasn’t until she came to know the love of Jesus that she understood her value and worth. Many times she said to me, “Mary, I just can’t get over the fact that Jesus loves me.” She lived out the remainder of her days in the wonderful assurance that God created her good.
Don’t you think it would make a difference in your day if you focus on this truth that you are not a mistake, you were created by God for a wonderful purpose, rather than reciting negative things about yourself? Words have the power of life or death, the Bible says, and you may be using words of death about yourself that contribute to your stress and your discouragement.
Here’s my challenge to you: Read Psalm 139 every day for at least a week; memorize parts of it, if not all of it, and immerse yourself in the beautiful truth that you were personally and wonderfully created by God. I promise you, that Psalm a day will drive your stress away.