03/15/2026
My dear friends, since we are not able to meet together in person due to wild weather, we can at least join together in spirit.
Open your Bibles to Psalm 66.
Read through the Psalm slowly.
Psalms 66:1-20 NIV
[1] Shout for joy to God, all the earth! [2] Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious. [3] Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. [4] All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.” [5] Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind! [6] He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us rejoice in him. [7] He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations— let not the rebellious rise up against him. [8] Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; [9] he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. [10] For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. [11] You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. [12] You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. [13] I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you— [14] vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble. [15] I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats. [16] Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. [17] I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. [18] If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; [19] but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. [20] Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
This week as part of my Lenten devotions I have been praying through Psalm 66.
Psalm 66 invites us to pause and listen to the song of God’s mighty deeds.
* Have you stopped long enough this week to see, really see God's mighty hand at work?
* Where have you seen Him at work?
The psalm begins with a call to “make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!”—a reminder that worship is not reserved for special occasions alone, but is a continual response to the God's faithfulness.
Then the psalm turns inward: “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He has done for me.”
In our Lenten journey, we, too, are invited to recount the ways God has intervened in our lives—both the grand miracles and the quiet, everyday graces.
* When has God intervened in your life?
By remembering these gifts, we awaken gratitude, which fuels repentance and renewal.
Verse 9 declares, “He turned away my sorrow, and gave me gladness.”
Lent is a time of confronting sorrow, of laying our burdens before Him.
The psalm assures us that God does not abandon our grief; He transforms it, replacing heaviness with hope.
This transformation is not instantaneous, but it is promised for those who earnestly seek Him.
Finally, the psalm ends with a covenantal pledge: “Let all the earth fear Him, and give thanks to Him.”
Our Lenten practices—fasting, prayer, giving—are tangible ways we join the whole world in reverent awe and thanksgiving.
May this week you notice God actuve in your life and give thanks! Let us cultivate a heart of gratitude.
Change my heart, O God.
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus,
Teach us to be submissive, not with a grudging sigh but with the quiet trust of disciples who follow your footsteps.
Help us to embrace poverty of spirit, knowing that true riches lie in the emptying of self.
Give us a humble heart that bows without pretense,
Fill us with a cheerful spirit rooted not in fleeting pleasures,
But in the sure joy of being united with you in suffering and resurrection.
In this Lenten journey, may our words, our deeds, and our silence
be offerings that draw us nearer to the Cross,
so that we might rise anew with the hope of Easter.
Amen.
