Read: Psalm 1:6, John 10:7-18
All of us have times when we feel totally alone. Maybe it was when something terrible happened in your life and you felt that there was no one there to comfort you. Maybe you lost someone close to you and you could no longer go to them for help. Maybe you have been trapped in some kind of sin and felt totally helpless, alone and unable to find a way out. All of us have been in a situation where we feel like no one knows, no one cares and no one can help us.
Psalm 1 gives us great comfort when we feel this way. The righteous person, the one who is in relationship with God and a member of His people, is never, ever truly alone. This is the conclusion of the psalm in verse 6. The psalmist shows the end result of the two ways to live that he has described: the way of righteousness and the way of wickedness.
For the righteous man the result is an incredibly encouraging one: “the Lord watches over the way of the righteous.” One translation says that the Lord ‘knows” the way of the righteous. The idea here is not that God merely sees what is going on, watching from a distance, or knows what is happening in some kind of disconnected, disinterested way. The idea here is that God is intimately interested and involved in the life of the righteous man. God is watching over Him,
Jesus words in John 10 show us the level to which God cares for us and is involved in our lives. Jesus describes His people as sheep and Himself as the good shepherd. He is one who cares for His people and watches over them. Notice verse 14: “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” Jesus knows His people and watches over them.
But more than just knowing them and watching over them Jesus goes to incredible lengths to care for them. See verse 11: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus willingly lays down His life for His sheep. He suffers and dies a terrible death to care for and rescue His people. This is how we can be sure that God is always with us, always caring for us and always involved in our lives. He showed us the true extent of His love at Calvary. Nowhere else do we see this kind of incredible care and involvement to the same level as we see it at the cross.
When you are in those situations where you feel totally alone, when you feel that there is no one there to comfort you, when you think that no one cares remember the cross of Christ. This can give us absolute certainty. Do you want to be sure about God’s love and care for you? Look to the cross. Do you want to know how far God is willing to go for you? Look to the cross. Do you want to have confidence that He is always with you, that He will never leave you or forsake you? Look to the cross. There we see the incredible extent of God’s care for us and we can face anything in our lives knowing that He watches over us.
Prayer:
Use the Bible passage from today and the reading notes to write down your prayer points before you pray.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¥ Thank God that He watches over every detail of your life and that He is working all things together for your good and His glory. (Romans 8:28)
¥ Pray for your church tomorrow as you gather together to worship God and to study His word. Pray that the word would be boldly and faithfully preached. Pray that He would prepare your heart to receive from His word.
Take some time today to reflect on the cross and to praise God for His incredible love, mercy and grace towards us.
It is very easy to allow the stresses and anxieties of busy lives get to us and make us think we are alone.
1. How does it change the way you deal with these situations knowing God is watching over you?
2. How can you remind yourself of this when you are stressed or anxious?
Intro: It is so easy to feel scared when we are alone and no one can help us.
Share: A time that you were scared because you were alone. What happened? What did you do?
Read: Psalm 1:6. The Psalmist writes how God ________ the way of the righteous. What does he say? The Psalmist is saying that God is always with us and always cares for us. He watches over everything we do because He loves us. How does it make you feel to know that God is always with you and always cares for you? What will could you do next time you are scared?
Pray Together: Thank God that He is always watching over you. Pray that you will remember this when you are scared.
Intro: It is so easy to feel scared when we are alone and no one can help us.
Share: A time that you were scared because you were alone. What happened? What did you do?
Read: Psalm 1:6. The Psalmist writes how God ________ the way of the righteous. What does he say? The Psalmist is saying that God is always with us and always cares for us. He watches over everything we do because He loves us. How does it make you feel to know that God is always with you and always cares for you? What will could you do next time you are scared?
Pray Together: Thank God that He is always watching over you. Pray that you will remember this when you are scared.
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