Burdens or Blessings? - Cross the Bridge - April 15, 2018

Burdens or Blessings? Sunday, April 15th 2018

To the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Death of the Son." A Psalm of David. I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
NKJV

As we dig into Psalm 9 we see that it begins with "to the tune of 'Death of the Son'". Interestingly we see David speak of the praising of God and declaring His deeds among the people (Psalm 9:11) along with the declaration of His judgements 'The wicked shall be turned into hell' (Psalm 9:17). The heart of God for us is to be a strong witness to do good when evil seems to surround us. It is powerful to shine the light when it seems life is at its darkest. All you have to do is look to humanity's darkest moment at the death of God's son.

Matt 27:45-46
45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
NKJV

Perhaps circumstances seem to be overwhelming you and the darkness makes you feel like the Lord has forsaken you. Take heart friend, for it's in those moments of darkness that the light shines it's brightest as you continue to press through and declare His goodness in Your life with all your heart. Remember the centurion at the cross saw Jesus at the crucifixion and said 'truly this was the Son of God!' (Matt 27:54). Don't let those moments of difficulty, sickness, a set back at work, or a squabble among your family keep you away from pursuing the promises of God. In these moments we may think why bother with going to church? Additional pressure may make you ponder why should I take time to pray and have devotions today? Friend it is in these tests and trials that those things we need to be consistent in with the Lord can seem like a burden, yet often those things that seem like a burden may be the very thing that is holding us up.

Life Lesson: The enemy wants us to see our blessings as burdens and wants you to see your burdens as blessings.

Lord,
Please forgive me when I am tempted to allow my feelings in dark circumstances to affect my choice to consistently pursue You. It's in that moment that I need to continue to choose to follow after You in spite of my feelings. Please help me to be empowered by Your Spirit to continue to pursue You, remember Your works, and praise You with all my heart. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Living to tell what He died to say,
Pastor David McGee
Cross the Bridge
crossthebridge.com

Scripture quotations marked 'NKJV™' are taken from the New King James Version®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2018 Cross the Bridge.

For more life-changing resources visit crossthebridge.com