Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - How to Set Your Eyes on God | The Writings | Psalm 124

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

Are the eyes of your heart set on God? Is God with us in the frustrating moments? Are you cultivating gratitude? In today's episode, Tanya shares how Psalm 124 encourages us to see God's hand working through each moment of our lives. Prepare your heart this Advent with the 2024 TMBT Advent Calendar! Each day, receive a new prompt for Scripture, prayer, and reflection—designed to help you slow down and reflect on the Hope, Love, Peace, and Joy that Jesus offers. Sign up now to receive your free Advent calendar! Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Psalm 124

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmeth. Today's passage from Psalm 124 is an invitation to slow down and really take stock of the ways God has been present in our lives. When we make time to recognize His goodness, in the smallest moments, we begin to see how much we've been given, even in the midst of life's challenges. Let me share something with you that I've been thinking about. One of the joys of being a writer is the ability to craft each sentence carefully. It's like building a small intricate puzzle piecing together words until they express exactly what's on my heart. And yes, I know that sounds nerdy, but bear with me.

There's something very revealing about the way we choose our words, especially at the beginning of each sentence. When I write, I often go back and look at how many sentences start with the word, I. I did. I think. I want. And when I see it, it over and over, I realize it can sound a bit self-centered, almost like an echo chamber. So I try to edit to start with something else, something that draws attention away from me. Imagine for a moment if we could do this in real life. What if we could edit our thoughts, conversations, our interactions to move the focus off ourselves? How different might our families, our friendships, even our communities look if we shifted the focus? If instead of thinking

and speaking with a focus on I, we lifted our gaze to someone greater. Today's scripture gives us a beautiful alternative. Psalm 124 opens with, If it had not been for the Lord who is on our side. And instantly that shift happens. The focus turns away from us, away from what we want or fear, and lifts toward God and what he has done. The whole Psalm becomes a prayer of Thanksgiving, a remembrance of God's presence and power in the face of life struggles. It's like a breath of fresh air for a weary soul, a reminder that it's not about us, and we are not alone. So today, let's take a few minutes together to reflect on Psalm 124. Let's pause, breathe, and let gratitude reshape how we see our own

lives. What would your life look like if you paused more to recognize God's hand in it, if you truly saw each challenge, each moment in light of God's love and protection? Psalm 124 sounds like this. What if the Lord had not been on our side? Let all Israel, repeat. What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. The waters would have engulfed us. A torrent would have overwhelmed us. Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives. Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart. We escaped like a bird from a hunter's trap. The trap is broken and we are free. Our help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124 is a beautiful reminder

how God transformed Israel's story and can transform ours. It's a story of gratitude for his faithfulness in the most difficult moments. The Psalm recalls times when the Israelites were almost overcome, like when they escaped from Egypt, when they were spared from the Egyptian army, and when they safely cross the Red Sea. Each moment of escape, each protection from overwhelming waters, echoes with Thanksgiving. For us today, the Psalm's message can speak directly to our hearts. If it had not been for the Lord, our fears and doubts would overtake us. Our challenges might drown us, and we might be swept away in despair. But God intervenes.

God holds back the waters, just as he did for Israel. Now, life with God isn't trouble-free, but it allows us to face troubles with a lighter heart. We would remember if it had not been for the Lord on our side, we see his hand in our lives, even amid challenges. Think about moments in your life where you felt. God's presence. Where would you be if it had not been for the Lord on your side? How would you have responded? What traps might you have fallen into? It's easy to thank God for things like food and health and happiness, but what if those were stripped away? Could we still say, thank you,

God? Consider the story of Corey Tin Boom and her sister Betsy. They were imprisoned in a concentration camp. And Betsy encouraged Corey to give thanks every night, even when the circumstances were horrendous, which was all the time. Now, Corey managed to give thanks for her sister's companionship, and she would give God thanks that their Bible wasn't confiscated when the guards checked their luggage. But when Betsy thanked God for the fleas and her barracks, Corey drew the line. Corey did not want to give thanks for the fleas. Later, though, she realized the fleas were keeping the guards away. way. The fleas were protecting the women from assault from the guards. Corey's perspective changed. Could it be that even the most frustrating things can help us

see God's goodness? I want to encourage all of us to carry gratitude with us beyond just this moment. Psalm 124 as a reminder that God is not only with us in our brightest days, but in those moments when we feel swallowed up by worry, fear, or overwhelmed. What if the Lord had not been with us on that day he went to the cross. The day that he defeated sin and death, that is the reason we have for continuous constant Thanksgiving. If it had not been for the Lord who was on our side, just that phrase alone can change how we see our stories, both past and present. So take a quiet moment today and ask yourself, what do I have to be grateful for? Those things like blessings, good health, beautiful day, those are great. But can you go deeper?

maybe even try thanking God for a hardship, a difficulty, or a challenge that has allowed you to lean on him and depend on him. Like Corey Tinboom and her sister Betsy, who dared to give thanks even for the fleas in the prison camp, could we also find a way to thank God for the parts of our lives that we can face with him even though we'd rather not face them at all? Gratitude has a way of shifting our vision of lifting us to a place where we see our lives through the lens of God's bigger story, of the way God rescued us from sin and death. And that lens, knowing that God is with us, allows us to walk with more courage, more trust, more hope, and ultimately more peace. So can we be intentional about gratitude?

Can we share it with those around us? Can we speak it out? And let it transform how we view even the smallest parts of our day. And above all, let us hold on to the truth of Psalm 24. The Lord is with us, always and forever.