14 day plan

Roots, Shoots & Fruits

Day 10 of 14

NIVUK

Psalms 104:16

16The trees of the Lord are well watered,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

Reflection

“Sign up for our seminar to learn the secret to becoming a millionaire in just 12 months!” Whether you want to become healthy, wealthy or wise, it seems there’s no end of self-help gurus out there to help you to become a “better and more successful version of you”. Yet we never seem to hear of a guru promoting a seminar to help you to become the best supporter of your local community you can be! It seems that self-interest wins hands down.

What a contrast it is, then, to flourish in the Lord, in which our thriving blesses others. In today’s passage, the Psalmist depicts the cedars of Lebanon as part of a rich ecology. It’s not just the trees growing strong for their own sake – rather, they provide a haven for other species to live, grow and thrive. Likewise, when we are “planted in the Lord,” God’s love, compassion and mercy flow through us to benefit others.

Question

How is God’s work in your life flowing on to others in your family, church or community?

Prayer

Loving God, challenge me today to keep you in the centre of my life so that I can draw on your strength and love to bless others. Through your Holy Spirit, make me sensitive to the needs of others and to the response you would have me make. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Psalms 104:1-35

Psalm 104

1Praise the Lord, my soul.

Lord my God, you are very great;

you are clothed with splendour and majesty.

2The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;

he stretches out the heavens like a tent

3and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.

He makes the clouds his chariot

and rides on the wings of the wind.

4He makes winds his messengers,

flames of fire his servants.

5He set the earth on its foundations;

it can never be moved.

6You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

7But at your rebuke the waters fled,

at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

8they flowed over the mountains,

they went down into the valleys,

to the place you assigned for them.

9You set a boundary they cannot cross;

never again will they cover the earth.

10He makes springs pour water into the ravines;

it flows between the mountains.

11They give water to all the beasts of the field;

the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12The birds of the sky nest by the waters;

they sing among the branches.

13He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;

the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

14He makes grass grow for the cattle,

and plants for people to cultivate –

bringing forth food from the earth:

15wine that gladdens human hearts,

oil to make their faces shine,

and bread that sustains their hearts.

16The trees of the Lord are well watered,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

17There the birds make their nests;

the stork has its home in the junipers.

18The high mountains belong to the wild goats;

the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.

19He made the moon to mark the seasons,

and the sun knows when to go down.

20You bring darkness, it becomes night,

and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

21The lions roar for their prey

and seek their food from God.

22The sun rises, and they steal away;

they return and lie down in their dens.

23Then people go out to their work,

to their labour until evening.

24How many are your works, Lord!

In wisdom you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures.

25There is the sea, vast and spacious,

teeming with creatures beyond number –

living things both large and small.

26There the ships go to and fro,

and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

27All creatures look to you

to give them their food at the proper time.

28When you give it to them,

they gather it up;

when you open your hand,

they are satisfied with good things.

29When you hide your face,

they are terrified;

when you take away their breath,

they die and return to the dust.

30When you send your Spirit,

they are created,

and you renew the face of the ground.

31May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;

may the Lord rejoice in his works –

32he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,

who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33I will sing to the Lord all my life;

I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

34May my meditation be pleasing to him,

as I rejoice in the Lord.

35But may sinners vanish from the earth

and the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.