Psalm 4:5 Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the Lord.

There are several verses in this brief Psalm that speak to me strongly. Maybe someday I’ll just have to preach on the Psalm! This verse in Japanese specifies “sacrifices of righteousness.” Obedience, doing the right thing, is one of the very few things we can give God that He hasn’t given us first. Actually, we think of “offerings” rather than “sacrifices,” and there’s a difference. An offering is generally out of abundance, but a sacrifice costs you something. An offering is something you might not miss, but a sacrifice is felt. The Bible uses both terms a great deal. It’s not at all that God doesn’t want us to give unless the giving is painful, but often we need to give even though the giving is painful. As God has been reminding me strongly the past few days, (and wants me to preach on Sunday) He provides everything He asks of us. He even went so far as to provide His Son as the atoning sacrifice that His holiness required to deal with our sin! The better we grasp that reality, the more things that used to be sacrifices turn into joyful offerings. As David himself said in this very Psalm, “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.” (Psalm 4:7) Sometimes it really costs something to be righteous, to do the right thing, but the rewards are always worth it.

This is a testimony I can make with joy! There have been times when I have drawn back from something I knew was of God, saying in my heart, (at least) it’s too hard. Absolutely without fail, the times I have followed through in obedience, the rewards have been more than worth it, and I have regretted the times I have not followed through. The devil is a liar, out to steal, kill, and destroy, (John 10:10) and sometimes our flesh is his ally. That’s why we have to learn to listen to God more than to our flesh. It can be hard getting out of bed in time to spend time with the Lord at the beginning of each day, but that comes from failing to put God first the night before in what time we choose to go to bed! That’s a sacrifice of righteousness. The more we experience the joys of regular fellowship with our Creator who loves us so much, the more we will come to resent and stand against anything that interferes with that fellowship – including those TV shows everybody at work talks about! This is a truth I try to get across to the believers, but so often they have trouble receiving it. I am not to give up, but stay available to the Holy Spirit for Him to draw people through me, for their blessing and the glory of God.

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness to speak to and through me. Help me walk in the righteousness of Christ at all times, whatever it might seem to cost at the moment, so that all of Your purposes for me may be fulfilled, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!