David: An Acceptable Offering

2/11/2020

We are currently, on Tuesday mornings, looking at seven different characters from God's Word.

We took a break last Tuesday and looked at 9 Blessings of Brokenness, but today we're back on track.

We've looked at Abraham: God’s Powerful Promise to a Patriarch, Joseph: He Obeyed Quickly & Completely, Moses: Lifting the Hands of God’s Man and Moses & Aaron: The Leaders Punished. Today, we're looking at David: An Acceptable Offering.

These characters are also featured in (Part Three: Days 21-27 Men of God Character Study) our Come and Gather: Family Time With God 27-day devotional. Or, what we lovingly refer to as Gather. Today's theme is consecration and our text is from Psalm 19.

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

“All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give…” so begins one of the most beloved and familiar invitation hymns. In Psalm 19:14, the psalmist expresses his ultimate desire, his desire to please the Lord through the surrender of his speech and his thoughts. Much is said in Scripture regarding our speech. James, through the direction of the Holy Spirit, wrote 18 verses regarding the control of the tongue. It is indeed “a little member” but “how great a matter a little fire kindleth” (James 3:5).

The psalmist also realizes the need to surrender his thoughts and desires to the Lord as well.

What do you think about?
What thoughts do you allow your mind to dwell on?

Oh that we would follow the instruction of that great leader of Israel found in Joshua 1:8:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

In addition to his longing to surrender his thoughts and desires to the Lord, David realized it was only because the Lord was his Strength and his Redeemer that he would be able to live out this longing in his daily life.

The Christian can live a life pleasing to the Lord; can have speech that edifies; can possess a mind that thinks only pure and holy thoughts because “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). It is through the strength of the Spirit and the freedom of the redeeming blood of Christ that a Christian can offer an acceptable sacrifice to God.

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.” Proverbs 4:23-24

“Let my mouth speak nothing but what is true, kind, and profitable;
and my heart meditate on nothing but what is holy, pure, and chaste.” —Adam Clarke

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Although our circumstances vary, we all ache with a longing for something more. We are born with dreams, and some of us even have detailed plans about how to make them happen. Yet we all come to a point in life when we realize that we are not in control. A loved one gets sick, a tragedy occurs, our plans backfire. What we may not realize is that even if we can't depend on our circumstances or even ourselves, there is One who will always provide what we need, just when we need it.

With compassion and enthusiasm, Meredith McDaniel writes In Want + Plenty: Waking Up to God's Provision in a Land of Longing and invites you to walk alongside God's people in Exodus as they wake up each morning to manna, God's provision for them in desert places. As she unfolds their story of complete dependence on their Creator, you'll discover through guided journaling how God is providing for you right now, where you are in your own unique story. Along the way, you will develop a comforting awareness that you are seen, guided, protected, and filled by a good God in the person of Jesus.

What passage of Scripture comes to mind when you think about surrendering your thoughts and desires to the Lord?

Come and Gather: Family Time With God published with permission
Pastor Jeremy Sweatt, Farmington Avenue Baptist Church, West Hartford, Connecticut

24 Comments

Barbara Harper link

2/11/2020 09:25:15 am

Psalm 19:14 has been a frequent prayer of my heart. The Scripture that probably comes to mind most frequently about thoughts is 2 Corinthians 10:5 about taking them captive. Then there is Philippians 4:8 concerning what kinds of things to focus our thoughts on. It strikes me that both of those verses are active rather than passive--filling our minds with God's truth rather than passively letting our thoughts roam where they will. And we can only do any of that by God's grace because He is our strength and Redeemer.

Patsy Burnette link

2/11/2020 09:45:33 am

These are great thoughts, Barbara! Thank you for sharing. I especially go to Philippians 4:8 when dealing with anxious thoughts. So thankful for His abundant, life-giving grace!

April link

2/11/2020 09:42:56 am

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
This is a verse I think of when I think on surrendering in Christ. I need Him to help me surrender. Though I may have the desire for surrender, I need Him to help my heart and mind to come under His submission because my flesh is weak. Such a great post for me to read this morning!

2/11/2020 09:47:00 am

Great verse, April! We need His grace to surrender every day.

Laurie link

2/11/2020 11:57:27 am

As a writer, I am always aware that thoughts and words are important. Your post reminded me of this verse: "Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions." - Proverbs 18:2 Something I try to watch out for!

2/12/2020 07:25:40 am

I loosely throw myself into that category, Laurie (just as I loosely throw myself into the "runner" category as well LOL), but you are so right—thought and words are so important. Proverbs 18:2 is an excellent reminder!

Theresa Boedeker link

2/11/2020 01:04:54 pm

Our words are so important and hold such power for those around us. But our inner words and thoughts do the same for us. They can trip us up of encourage us. We want our thoughts to be full of God's truth.

2/12/2020 07:27:09 am

Theresa, you are so right. I love the illustration of the feather pillow that we will share in our post tomorrow. It's a powerful reminder!

Joanne link

2/11/2020 04:17:11 pm

Patsy, thank you for sharing the Adam Clarke quote. The words we think on and keep in our heart will eventually be the words which come out of our mouth. Praying my words would be pleasing to God. Blessings!

2/12/2020 07:28:15 am

Yes, Joanne, most of our problems in life begin as a heart problems.

Susan Shipe link

2/11/2020 04:30:47 pm

David is one of those Bible heroes I cannot wait to meet in heaven. I do have some questions for him!!!

2/12/2020 07:29:29 am

Me too, Susan! Fascinating character! What a life he lived, and so many lessons for us from it!

Lisa notes link

2/11/2020 10:22:59 pm

Oh how happy I am that we have the writings of David in our Bible! He is so illustrative of the wide range of emotions we all can feel. There are multiple days when I pray using his words.

2/12/2020 07:30:59 am

Lisa, his words in the Psalms have gotten many of us through tough days. So thankful for them!

Lauren Renee Sparks link

2/12/2020 11:48:06 am

I need to pray Ps 19:14 more regularly.

2/12/2020 01:33:27 pm

We all do, Lauren. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Yvonne Chase link

2/12/2020 11:48:28 am

I recall singing Psalm 19 in my childhood at young people's meeting. Our choir director turned verses 7-11 it into a beautiful melody that has stayed with me ever since

2/12/2020 01:33:56 pm

Sounds lovely, Yvonne!

Angela Johnson link

2/13/2020 01:16:30 pm

Great post and verses. I love to recite and meditate on Philippians 4:8. It helps to keep my mind and thoughts focused where it needs to be.

2/13/2020 01:55:18 pm

Me too, Angela! It's my go-to verse when anxiety takes control.

Gayl link

2/13/2020 02:52:27 pm

Psalm 19:14 is my prayer as I write on my blog and work on my art. I want to be fully surrendered to God and bring glory to Him while encouraging others. Thank you for this post about David and an acceptable offering. Blessings to you! I'm your neighbor at #LMMLinkup.

2/14/2020 07:27:36 am

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight..." (Psalm 19:14).<— THAT should be what all of us are praying daily, Gayl. Thanks for this excellent reminder!