Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - The 16th Second of Success | The Writings | Psalm 65

Episode Date: May 28, 2024

"15 seconds of being at the top of the pile, and it felt euphoric. But there must come a 16th second." Is your satisfaction found in your achievements? Have you noticed how easily it fades? In today's episode, Tanya shares how the wisdom of Psalm 65 provides joy that lasts longer than 15 seconds. Read the Bible with us in 2024! This year, we’re tackling a group of Old Testament books traditionally known as “The Writings”— Psalms, Chronicles, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth and more! Download your reading plan now. 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 65

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. In May 2019, there was a high school graduate named Kyle Martin. He was the valedictorian of his class, and so he got to give the graduation speech at his high school graduation. And he gave a speech that hits at the heart of human disappointment. This is what he said. I found out last year that I was in the running to be the valedictorian. And I worked hard for it.

I sacrificed for it, and yes, I stressed for it, and I got it. And at our senior award ceremony, it felt so good for about 15 seconds, 15 seconds of being at the top of the pile. And it felt euphoric, but there must come a 16th second. And on that 16th second, I sat down and thought, that's it. Oh my gosh, isn't this so true? It just captures in a few sentences. is exactly how we feel when we crush something and think it's going to change our lives and it actually doesn't. Or when we gain something or buy something and we think it's going to change our lives and it often doesn't even do it before we even get it in the door. What are we hoping for before that 16th second? That our accomplishments will make our problems fade away,

that crushing our competition will solve our loneliness, that hearing our name called, will make our future dreams come true. If you believe the Bible, if you believe what God says, then you are probably already thinking about why the 16th second is a real thing. Because the Bible tells us we were created for something more than achievement and accomplishment and possessions. Genesis 127 says we were created in the image of God, given the ability to know God, to love him and worship him, to have a relationship with him.

Psalm 65 is about this kind of life. It's about a fuller life. Achievement and accomplishment are good, but what happens when they don't work, when they don't last, when they don't come through for us? Achievement and accomplishment are for end of the year assemblies and sports banquets, but Psalm 65 is for every single day of your life. It's about appreciation and anticipation. no matter how good or bad your year went, there's a harvest this year and it's waiting for you. Let's break down Psalm 65. In the first four verses of this Psalm, the writer is just nothing but satisfied. Wouldn't that be an amazing feeling to just be satisfied?

Having made it to the 16th second, the writer doesn't have a feeling of emptiness of what's next, but just a feeling of gratitude. And the reason for that satisfaction and gratitude is the knowledge that he has access to the father. It seems really simple, but do we forget this all the time? So here's how it begins. The psalmist writes, oh, you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. Blessed is the one you choose to bring near to dwell in your courts.

See, this is all about knowing that God hears our prayers, knowing that he has atoned for our transgressions or forgiven us, and knowing that he's near to us, that he wants a relationship with us. And it's saying, God hears our prayer, and that's possible because our sin has been removed. There is no longer any obstacle between us and God. So in Psalm 65, the writer finds satisfaction in a relationship with the ruler and creator of the universe. Now, when I'm talking to my sister about a problem that we have to solve, and we seem to have a few of them, just, you know, family ongoing stuff, she always ends the conversation with, it's all good. And I'm like, no, it's not. We have a huge problem to solve. It's not all good.

But see, the psalmist is saying it's all good. Because my biggest problem, the barrier between me and God, has been removed. I am good with God because of Jesus. Now, this alone is enough, but God does even more for his children. He gives us protection. The next part of this Psalm talks about the danger and instability of the roaring sea and waves. There's this whole nature metaphor going on here. Now, in ancient times, the sea was a dangerous and unpredictable place.

You looked out at the sea and you just knew that people and ships went out there and they often didn't return. But the psalma says amidst these roaring seas and these crashing waves, a mountain rises up. And this is a mountain where the sailors can go to find shelter. See, God is always the source of protection for his people. He will never abandon us in the middle of our instability and problems. In our unknowns, he's like a mountain that rises out of the sea. We can run to him when we're tired of swimming against the current. And then finally, in the final verses of this song,

that roaring sea, it turns into a flowing river. And that flowing river waters the crop so abundantly that the wagon going behind the plow to pick up the grain makes ruts in the field. There's a harvest so full and so bountiful, the feast will never end. Verse 11 says, you crown the year with your bounty. Your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow. The hills gird themselves with joy. These are all things we're looking for, right? We're looking for protection. We're looking for bounty. We're looking for abundance. We're looking for overflow. We're looking for joy. But we tend to look in all of the wrong places. Psalm 65 reminds us about something called anticipation. This is actually what we're living for. We're living for more than 15

seconds of fame, more than 15 seconds of euphoria and personal achievement. The song Thomas wants us to mark our years more by remembering the overflowing goodness of the Lord and less by what we've accomplished and what we've gained. When you look back at the last 12 months, just from a human perspective, how would you rate it? Did you do a good job? Did you get what you wanted? Did you remodel your house? Did you make the team? Did you get into the right college? Did you make your family bigger? Did you, I don't know. How would you rate it? just from the way the world looks at your life. And then, how would you rate your year differently from a Psalm 65 perspective? From the perspective of godly access, of being able to have a

relationship with God, of having protection from the Lord, and just having been given anticipation of an ongoing eternal relationship with the Lord? Do you feel like your year has been full of blessings from the Lord? Has it been marked by grace given and received? Love extended, forgiveness granted. Needs met. Those are the ways that he shows his kingdom on this earth right now. Okay, side note. But I love middle school track. My daughter's middle school has 186 kids on the track team. They have literally never jumped a hurdle or used a pole vault, but they go out and do it for the first time probably out to track me. Some of them find out they're really fast. or they can jump really far.

Some of them find out they're really resilient. There's always a crowd cheering when the last kid makes their way down the final stretch on the last lap of the mile. And there's always huge applause when a kid falls over a hurdle and gets up to find the finish line. Who do you think grows more from middle school track? The kid that wins every race or the one that helps someone up after they fell? the one who gets up themselves, the one who cheers on their teammates, the one who finishes the race, even though they were a lap behind. Achievement feels really, really good for a little bit, but it isn't great at making us satisfied people. You probably know the emptiness of the 16th

second all too well, but do you know what you're really looking forward to? And do you know the one who gives it to you. There is one relationship that can fill you up. Will you invest? Will you give up whatever is keeping you from making him the focus of your life?