God, show us your favor. Bless us. May you smile on us with your favor. Selah
Then your ways will be known on earth. All nations will see that you have the power to save.
God, may the nations praise you. May all of the people on earth praise you.
May the nations be glad and sing with joy. You rule the people of the earth fairly. You guide the nations of the earth. Selah [vss 1-4]
God, may the nations praise you. May all of the people on earth praise you.
Then the land will produce its crops. God, our God, will bless us.
God will bless us. People from one end of the earth to the other will have respect for him. [vss 5-7]
(Psalms 67:1-7 NIRV)
For the director of music. A psalm. A song to be played on stringed instruments.
I've had the privilege of traveling to many different places in the world because of God's call on my life. And I've worked with many people in various nations. People who love and serve Jesus, just as I do.
They love their homeland and people but their daily life can be a struggle. Their lives are simple because their means for life are basic and limited compared to our American way of life.
Simply put, what we may complain about, they would probably appreciate. We don't just have abundance, we have excess.
Life, true life, isn't a measure of what we have or enjoy. It's far more than that. The psalmist realizes this truth.
When God's favor—His mercy and kindness—shines upon our life because we trust in Him, others around us take notice. I've observed this everywhere I've traveled.
When believers—those with a personal relationship with God—have joy in the midst of hard times, people around them will see it. When we have peace in the midst of turmoil, our lives will stand out to others.
This is how God's ways can be made known to unbelievers—through those who trust in Him.
I've seen this in the lives of believers in the slums of Nairobi and remote villages in Ethiopia, along the shores of Pacific islands, and mountain villages in the Philippines and Thailand.
As the psalmist says—
God, may the nations praise you. May all of the people on earth praise you. May the nations be glad and sing with joy.
How have you seen God make His ways known through your life?
Others will both praise and fear the Lord when they see God's favor in our lives.
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I won't cover all 150 Psalms, but do selective devotionals through the rest of Psalms.
So if I skip one that you like... let me know and I'll try to cover it!