Bible.com.au: Reading Plan - The Resilient Believer

Reflection: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1Thessalonians 5:18.

The Bible tells us to give thanks. That can be easy to do when things have gone well for us – when a circumstance has worked out as we hoped it would, or when we have had an answer to prayer that we had been believing for. I love the chance to tell of God’s “wonderful deeds” – testimonies can be very encouraging.

The Bible also tells us to give thanks “in all circumstances”. This is much more of a challenge. It means even when the answer to the prayer was not as we had hoped for; even when we are in that challenging time; even when things aren’t going well for us, we are to give God thanks! That can stretch our faith. But we have a faithful God. We can give thanks because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever – unchanging! God is reliable. We can still give thanks because of who he is and what he has done for us, providing a way for us to have a relationship with the Father through Jesus his son.

Prayer: Thank you Lord, for who you are. Thank you for all that you have done for me. I thank you and trust you in my current circumstances – there is nothing too hard for you. Thank you that you love me. Amen.

Psalms 9:1-20

Psalm 9

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

1I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

2I will be glad and rejoice in you;

I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

3My enemies turn back;

they stumble and perish before you.

4For you have upheld my right and my cause,

sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.

5You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;

you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.

6Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,

you have uprooted their cities;

even the memory of them has perished.

7The Lord reigns forever;

he has established his throne for judgment.

8He rules the world in righteousness

and judges the peoples with equity.

9The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

10Those who know your name trust in you,

for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

11Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;

proclaim among the nations what he has done.

12For he who avenges blood remembers;

he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

13Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!

Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

14that I may declare your praises

in the gates of Daughter Zion,

and there rejoice in your salvation.

15The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;

their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

16The Lord is known by his acts of justice;

the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.

17The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,

all the nations that forget God.

18But God will never forget the needy;

the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

19Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;

let the nations be judged in your presence.

20Strike them with terror, Lord;

let the nations know they are only mortal.

The Resilient Believer

Day 5 of 14

NIV

Psalms 9:1

Days

Psalms 9:1-20