The Psalms

True Confessions: I never really liked the Psalms. When reading through the Bible, I'd look for reasons to skip the longest book it has. In Bible studies, I'd redirect peers (or students) who answered "The Psalms" when we asked what to study. I avoided quoting them and referencing them in talks.

It's not that I thought they were boring or bad or not as important. I'm just not a huge poetry person. It always felt like I was stealing someone else's thoughts and prayers from some other time that really had nothing to do with me and my life today. Sure, there were the verses I'd memorized in high school that got me to trust God with decisions, and there was even that one passage that a friend sent me in college when I was going through a tearful breakup...so I'm not saying that I never read them, but they weren't the book to which I'd turn often.

Until now.

I'm reading through the Bible again (it's a slow process!) and came to the Psalms. My first thought was to skip them, but they're part of the Holy Word of God and, therefore, who am I to judge whether or not they are wroth my time? They are just as important as any other Scripture. So I started reading through the Psalms. Sometimes one a day. Sometimes a few each morning. There's no rhyme or reason to how I go through this big book; I just read some every day, and when I get to the end, I start over. Sometimes, it's several chapters, and sometimes, it's not even several verses. I read. I journal. I make notes. I look for what I can learn about God's story and how it interacts with and should change my story.

And God's story has taught me a lot. In the Psalms.

I already made it through all the books of the Bible that talk about kings and the Egyptians, Joseph, the Flood, etc.- all those big felt-board stories we learn about in elementary school. I had seen God rescue the Israelites a few times, learned about kings that honored the Lord and also saw some leaders that didn't seem to realize how important He was. These stories are major events in world history - specifically in Israel's history. And I thought that the coverage stopped there; I was wrong.

Remember. Remember Moses. And Joseph. And Aaron. Remember what God did with the Egyptians. Remember the manna. Remember the water from the rock. And the stars at night. Remember the good kings. Remember how He spared David's life. Remember the consequence of sin and what happened to that guy. Remember how God blessed the Israelites with land. Remember how He spared them when they didn't deserve it. And worship Him for it.

Remember. Worship.

It seems so easy, right? Just remember.

But apparently, it's easy to forget. All these Psalms - prayers and praises and heart cries - written by people 2000 years ago helped them and others remember. When you're lonely and out in the desert, claim God's truths, worship him for what He's done...and trust that He will rescue you. When you go to celebrate, retell the story of God's great faithfulness, remember His majestic power and unfailing grace...and you can't help but be drawn into worship.

It's hard, sometimes, in our busy lives to remember to worship God. We can easily be emotionally driven with a dynamic band or motivating speaker, but how often do we take tim to remember who God is and what He has done...and worship?

For me, the other big take away is being reminded that I can trust God with what is to come because He has been faithful in the past. Sure, I've never been exiled from my home or thrown into slavery, but there have been times that have felt that lonely or that suffocated. It's part of my story. And in each of those times, God worked. It may not have made sense...it may never make sense. It may have seemed or even still is seeming confusing. It may be all taken care of and tied off neatly with a little bow. Whatever. Point being...God worked. He was faithful. I prayed for truth, truth was revealed. I prayed for provision, God provided. I prayed for a change of heart...and one day at a time (sometimes it was more like one hour or one minute at a time!), God changed my heart. God has been faithful.

When I read the Psalms and pray about the things on my heart today, I am reminded of this faithfulness. It makes me want to worship. It makes me look at His creation and the beauty of what He has done and is doing and leaves me in awe. It gives me confidence to trust that even though today's concerns may seem overwhelming and frustrating, there's no reason to doubt God's great love and faithfulness. I've remembered how to remember. And I am thankful...for the Psalms, these prayers, of people thousands of years ago. They took time to remember.