We are very prone to see life through the lenses of our own needs.  Whilst the message rings out from the pages of scripture that God cares for those needs, it also becomes obvious from reading the Bible that God is on the side of justice and care for the weak, and his desire is that we catch that desire and make it our own.

This often means looking beyond our own needs, to reach out to help another.  There are many ways we can do this – but perhaps the most important step is to allow God to open our eyes to the need around us.  It is a simple prayer – “Father open my eyes to see someone I can help.”

The help may not even be of what might be thought of as of earth shattering significance, perhaps a small gift of time, or even to make someone feel that they are valued and not just a face in the crowd.

As soon as we take that step, we really do begin to walk with Jesus as we care for those about whom he cares, and begin to enter into the love that he has for all those he has created.

In Joshua 24, God speaks through Joshua and reminds the people of all that he has done for them.  It is amazing to look through that chapter and count the number of times the word ‘I’ occurs.  God is not being self-centred, he wants them to know that every good thing they have achieved has actually been because he has been with them. That also has a reason, namely that they, remembering that God has been with them in the past, will know that he is with them in the present and the future.

It is often hard to recognise the presence of God in our lives at the current moment.  We tend to judge it by whether we feel him there or not.

Take a moment to reflect on the past few days.  As you look back, how can you see that the hand of God was there?  What has he been doing?  Reflect on whether you sensed that at the time.

It is probably true that genuine trust is believing that he is with you and is acting even when you can’t see or feel him.  It is to that trust that we are called, and looking back at his actions in our lives is a sure way of growing in that trust.

We are all products of the instant age – we expect things to be done immediately, we certainly want God to do things instantly.

This is true when we pray, we want God to work to our time agenda.  It is also true of the way we sow the things of God into our lives. We would love to be instant disciples, immediately and dramatically changed into the likeness of Jesus.  This is not how it is.  In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about us being ‘transformed into his likeness with ever increasing glory’ (2 Corinthians 3: 18).

When Jesus talks about us being good seed, we are just that, seed – not instant plants! As such, so much of our growth takes place without our realising that it is growth.  The uncomfortable truth is that our greatest moments of growth probably come in moments of difficulty.

Take a moment to ponder what may be difficult about life at the moment.  Whatever the situation may be – what do you think God wants of you in that time?  How does he want you to be, what does he want others to see in you?  Let him work his growth in you.

Salvation is an all-encompassing word.  It refers to our ultimate destiny and also to the life that we live here. It is about being rescued from something or things over which we are powerless.

This is a liberating truth in itself, if we are saved from something over which we are powerless, then there is nothing we can do to bring it about, it is all down to the Saviour.

This verse, which occurs three times in this psalm, is a beautiful reminder of this very thing – salvation comes from God shining his face upon us.  The psalm is one where the author is reflecting on the desperate state of God’s people.  The phrase ‘shine your face upon us’ is probably a reference to his presence being with us, as God draws near to us, into our situations, however desperate they may be, then his being there begins the process of our salvation.

Find that sense of his presence now, no matter what your situation, even if – perhaps especially if it is a situation of your own making. He does not expect you to find salvation by yourself.  His hearts desire is to draw near to you, wherever you may be, and lead you out.

If you could leave one final piece of wisdom for all posterity what would it be?  What is it that you have discovered that you would want the world to know?

As Joshua approached the end of his life, he gathered the people together to share his final thoughts as their leader.  In his speech he encourages them to stay close to God, and not to disobey his commands, but he does so not just as a stern command, but also with the encouragement that God is there for them.  No matter what their needs are, they need not be tempted find the answer to their needs in any sinful way, because God has always been with them, and none of his promises failed.

As Joshua looked back over his life, he could see the utter faithfulness of God to him, perhaps at the time he had his doubts and worries, but his final words to his people, his final words to us are that God can be trusted.

Hindsight is of course a wonderful thing, and we can probably all look back and see the hand of God that we probably could not see at the time, but as we go into this day, let’s do so with the assurance of Joshua ringing in our ears – Not one of all God’s promises will fail.

A slightly macabre thing to imagine would be to suppose that you were kidnapped and your kidnappers demanded a ransom for you. What do you suppose would be a fair price to put on your life? How much do we think we are worth?

All too often, especially in moments of rejection, we feel worthless, and either feel that is probably what we are worth – not much, or we can feel angry that we are not being valued enough.

What Paul says in this phrase is something staggering, he does put a value on our lives, and it is this – we were worth the life and death of Jesus.  He bought us at a price, and the price was himself.

This is unbelievable, and so we get round it by thinking that the life and death of Jesus was the price for the whole of humanity – not us individually.  That is simply not true.  When Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep, and the shepherd leaving the flock to go off in search of the one who was lost, he was declaring the individual worth of the one, not simply the whole flock.

You matter to God, you matter so much that he bought you with the highest price he could pay.

We often think of ‘a calling’ to be a summons to a great work.  The idea is that if someone is called, then it is to an arduous task that will change the world, and probably cost them their lives!

When Jesus called his disciples to him, it was not simply that they should work flat out for him, but that they might spend time with him.  It is a stunning thought that of all the things we could do for God today, perhaps the thing that he is most looking forward to is our time with him.

When Jesus called his apostles so that they could be with him, we often think that was so that they could learn from him, be taught by him and receive from him.  Could it not also be that he wanted to be with them – that he enjoyed that time with his friends?

The call to pray is not simply to join in the battle of intercession, but also to let the Father be with his children, as he longs to do.

Take a moment to come to God, not because of anything we might get out of it, but because of what he will get from it – a child turning to its parent and declaring love!

Sometimes faith is about making connections.  Trying to connect our need today with what we know of God in the past.  That is what is so surprising about this psalm.  It seems so obvious to us that if God could cause water to flow out of a rock, is it any greater thing to produce food for the same people?

Perhaps the question is not so much could he do it – God can do anything, but rather is God willing to do even more for us than he has already done. Why should he do any more?

When Isaiah looks forward to the coming of the Messiah, he says of him in Isaiah 9: 7 “of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.”

When we seek the help of God, we are calling upon him to extend his rule and kingdom to every part of our lives.  That is one reason why he does not always answer our prayers according to our agenda, but he is committed to growing his kingdom and spreading peace, and he uses our prayers as open doors to increase his presence in the situations that we face.

God is committed to us, he does not have a limited number of blessings for us – actually he has a whole kingdom to release.

Extensive details of exactly who owned what bit of land does not seem particularly interesting to us!  Presumably it was of vital importance to the people whose land it was – for them it marked the extent of their ownership, they knew where they could build and where they could not.

It is here that actually it does become relevant to us.  We need to know the extent of what has been given to us.  For example, there is no point in us believing that God is going to do something if it is something he said he would do.  Similarly there is no point living without something that God has said we should have. Knowing where our boundaries lie is important.

Of course, it isn’t that simple to work out those boundaries, the limits of what we can and can’t expect are not precisely laid out, but it is probably true that our boundaries are far bigger than we think.

Paul wore these amazing words in Romans 8:32

He who did not spare his only Son,
But gave him up for us all -
How will he not also
Along with him
Gracious give us all things.

There words speak of extensive boundaries, of the gracious generous goodness of God.  There is far more he is willing to do for us than we can ask or even imagine.

We all have moments when we seem to have lost that sense of the Lord’s presence.  Indeed one of the problems with relying on our feelings is that when the feelings change, we assume that the facts have changed as well.  Our feelings can be influenced by many things – diet included, but the truth always remains constant – God is here, his presence is with us, he is as close to us as the air that we breathe.  So what do we do when the feelings fail?

The psalmist has his own answer, in verses 10-12, he talks about recalling the wonders of God, maybe the ones he has heard about from the history of his nation, and the things he has seen in his own life.  After recalling them, he meditates upon them, presumably pondering what they reveal about God and discovering afresh the love of God revealed by those actions.

This process leads him to truth that God is still the one who performs miracles, he is still above all things.

Take a moment to recall something wonderful about God, it could be a story from the New Testament, or some way you have seen him at work in your life.  Having recalled it – meditate upon it – what does this say about the love of God, about the presence of Jesus, about the Holy Spirit.  What does that say to you about today?