“And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.” ~Psalm 89:27

We have ben so busy lately that my heart has been aching to find Jesus in everything. Packing, shipping, giving, cooking, traveling, decorating – all of these things are necessary and beautiful in this season, but they are not to be replaced with Jesus. I begin each day spending time in the Word. Some days this time is long, and others shorter. Some days I read a lot, and others I can only cling to one verse or get my eyes to focus enough to drink some truth from the well of God’s Word. But, lately, I felt a deep hungering. A churning in my soul for more. I know that Jesus abundantly satisfies, so why don’t I feel abundantly satisfied all the time? I know that Jesus is enough, so why do I want more than what I have? I know that Jesus has conquered, so why do I battle defeat and discouragement? These may be questions your heart has been wrestling with as well.

I don’t have answers to every question nor do I live out God’s truth perfectly each day. But I am learning to see my sin more clearly and the grace of God more abundantly. The gospel isn’t for those who are perfect but for those who know their need. The gospel isn’t true just once, but it is true every single moment of every single day. Instead of focusing on my imperfections and getting discouraged at my utter inability to apply God’s Word perfectly to my steps each day, I am seeing what it means to glorify the Lord in my insufficiency. You see, I am so needy. I am so imperfect. I am so desperate for Jesus. And the best place I meet Him is in my sufficiency and His all-surpassing goodness. That is the gospel. I will never do it all perfectly, that is why He came, died, and conquered. This is the hope we believe in!

Yesterday, I wrote about Jesus being in the beginning and in the end. But today He reminded me that He is in the middle as well. I am constantly amazed at how quickly I forget by 9:00 AM what I read at 6:00 AM. Our minds are incredibly prone to wander. Jesus is not just in the beginning of our day, but in the middle. He is not just in our first breath as a newborn and our last breath when we are about to meet Him, but He is in the middle of our lives. I was reading in the Naptime Diaries Advent devotional Psalm 89. The Lord prompted my heart to keep reading the entire chapter – all 52 verses.

As I kept reading, I met my Lord right there in the middle of the Bible. All of Scripture points to our Messiah. Even the Psalms. Psalm 89 is called the “carol of Christmas.” It begins by the Psalmist proclaiming his love to worship the Lord through song and then goes into detail why the Lord is worthy to be praised.

“For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?” (verses 6-7)

He talks about God’s ability to do all things. He created all, owns all, and holds all together. He is mighty, strong, and righteous. He is just, faithful and loving. And then it gets to verse 18 – the proclamation of the hope to come:

“For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel. Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: ‘I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him so that my hand shall be established with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.'”

We miss the point if we think the Psalmist is worshipping David. He is worshipping the One to come from the lineage of David – Christ, the Savior. Jesus is right here. He is right in the middle of this chapter. He is the Holy One of Israel! Matthew 1:1 begins with the genealogy of Jesus saying, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham…” God had promised the people a Savior would come for them from the line of David. He would be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Emmanuel – God with us. That, my friends, is Jesus.

Moving down in the text we are reminded that the enemy can’t stop Him, the wicked can’t hurt Him, He is in charge of the seas, and His Kingdom endures forever. He is the firstborn, the “highest of the kings of the earth,” and God’s covenant is fulfilled through Him. He is the Morning Star, the Sunrise, the completion of God’s promise. This is Jesus. This is our Savior, right here in the middle of the Psalms.

Jesus is in the middle. He is in the middle of the Word, the middle of your days, and the middle of your life. He is the center to which everything revolves around. When our world is centered around Him, everything falls into place. When it is centered around ourselves, everything falls apart. Let us revolve our days around the gospel He breathes into us each new day and remember that by noon, Jesus is still the center and He is there.

Worshipping the One who holds it all together,

Gretchen