psalms

I'm the type of person who, when it comes to my devotional life, really needs a plan.  Now, I am all about leaving space in our quiet times for the Spirit to speak very personally to our hearts, but more often than not, for me, that speaking often comes through the "assigned" portion of Scripture for that day.  October came along, and since I didn't have any other study I was going through, I wound up falling back on the plan that I have for when I don't have a plan--reading the "Psalm of the Day."  This is great and simple plan that Adam picked up from Don Whitney, one of his professors at Southern.  The plan is this...whatever day of the month it is, read that psalm.  You can also then add the number "30" to that psalm and read another, and then add "30" to that psalm and read another, and so on until you run out of psalms.  So, for example, on the 16th, I would have read Psalm 16, Psalm 36, Psalm 66, Psalm 96, and Psalm 126.  Now the beauty of this plan is that you don't have to read every one of those.  I like the fact that you can scan a variety of different psalms and then spend focused time on one which seems to strike you.  Not only that but you can spend time with the psalms in a number of different ways--inductive study, meditation on one verse, praying through the psalm, reading along with a commentary, etc.

I say all that simply to give some background to my month in the Psalms.  I was particularly struck one day by this verse in Psalm 56:  "For You have delivered me from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life."  vs13

What a clear, succinct, beautiful way to describe why God has rescued us through Jesus--so that we may walk before Him in the light of life. I found that my time in the Psalms was helpful in growing in understanding of how to do that. What exactly does it mean to walk with God? A good start might be talking the "Psalm a Day" challenge, and let God use the Psalms to teach you how to walk with Him more closely.