A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 40

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 40
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord (Psalm 40:1-3).

I don’t think many of us fully understand how lost we were and how bad life was without Jesus. I had a friend who once asked me, “Roy, if you ever find the meaning to life please let me know.” At the time I was living a life without Jesus and had no answer to give.

Because of sin, selfishness and pride, each of us has struggled to escape our own “horrible pit” and “miry clay” that David speaks about in Psalm 40.

No philosophy, no club, no religion, no society, and no amount of our own efforts can rescue us.

God, and God alone, is our Redeemer and Deliverer.

Here are ten powerful, freeing and amazing things we discover about God’s redeeming love in verses 1-3,8:

• God’s arm is long enough to reach us wherever we might be trapped.
• His hand is strong enough to lift us out of any miry clay, or the entrapment of quicksand that wants to pull us under.
• When sinners cry out to God for help, He answers with mercy. 
• When sinners repent and confess their sins, God answers with forgiveness.
• God’s redeeming love does even more than show mercy and forgiveness, it washes away all the stench and filth that defiled us.
• After we’ve been cleansed, God places our feet upon a rock that is unsinkable and unshakable, giving us a firm and secure foundation to build our lives upon.
• God continues to extend His redeeming love by placing us on the pathway of holiness.
• In our journey God deposits a love song of praise and adoration that fills our hearts with worship.
• As His story is being written in our lives, God works through us so others will put their trust in the Lord.
• Doing God’s will becomes our daily delight as we live to please Him (verse 8).

Insight: Redemption is a mightier work than creation. Scripture says it this way…

Creation shows us God’s handiwork;
Redemption shows us God’s right arm! (Psalm 77:15)

#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2026 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission, all rights reserved.

 
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A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 39

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 39
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

“And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. I waited patiently for the Lord (Psalm 39:7, 40:1).

A theme in Psalm 39 is time, the number of our days, and the brevity of our lives. In verse seven the focus shifts from ‘time’ to ‘timing’. The two key words that emphasize timing are ‘wait’ and ‘hope’.

Wait—Since the day Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, His followers have been waiting for His return. Today, as we wait for the Lord’s return, we also wait upon the Lord to lead us, guide us, direct our steps, and to fulfill His plans and purposes for our lives. It’s okay if His timetable is different than ours. Our times are in His hands.

Hope—There are a multitude of promises and prophesies given in Scripture. The difficulty for us is not in knowing about these promises and prophesies, but in the timing of their fulfillment. Hope is how we wait. We wait expectantly, not indifferently; we wait peacefully, not anxiously; we wait confidently, not doubtfully.

In His Time
I wait on God to bring to pass
All He’s promised me,
And as I wait, I rest with hope
In what I cannot see.
For in His way He will provide 
At just the perfect time,
Everything that’s good and right
To bless this life of mine.

Insight: At a time when life was very busy a co-worker told me, “There’s always enough time in a day to do God’s will.”

#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2026 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission, all rights reserved.
 
Restore, Renew and Refresh in the Psalms
Green Pastures. Quiet Waters. Righteous Paths.
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A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 38

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 38
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

Those also who render evil for good, they are my adversaries, because I follow what is good. Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! (Psalm 38:22)
 
Sometimes air travel can best be described as a collection of difficult life experiences. When you board a flight and are told to keep your seatbelt on after takeoff due to inclement weather, it’s hard to kick back, relax, and enjoy the flight. My throat gets lumpy when a flight gets bumpy, and my heart skips a beat when they tell me to stay in my seat. There’s only one thing that can quiet my nerves after I experience a sudden drop in altitude caused by severe turbulence, and that’s the sound of the wheels safely touching down at the scheduled destination.
 
Psalm 38 can be described as a collection of difficulties happening to David from different sources and for different reasons. The “severe turbulence” he is experiencing has caused him to wonder if he will safely land on the runway of God’s mercies and be delivered, healed, and victorious once again.
 
If you were looking for a psalm to cheer you up, you would probably skip Psalm 38…that is until you read the last four words…” O, Lord, my salvation.”

These four words represent David’s “safe landing place”. The last word in this psalm is “Salvation”.

For David, and for each of us, our safest place and surest place of finding the fullness of God’s mercies is in Jesus (Yeshua), our Savior, our deliverer and our Salvation!

Insight: God, who can sometimes seem far away, is in reality, the God who is always there.
 
He’s always there when things go wrong;
He’s always there when my hope is gone.
He lifts me up when I’m in prayer,
He’s never far when I’m alone,
He’s always there!
-unknown

#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2026 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission, all rights reserved.

Restore, Renew and Refresh in the Psalms

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A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 37

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 37
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness (Psalm 37:3).
 
It would be hard to pick a favorite psalm, but Psalm 37 would be on my top ten list. Verse three of this psalm would be included in my list of top ten favorite Bible verses. This verse came alive to me when I was a young believer preparing to serve the Lord in Mexico. I’d like to share with you the circumstances in my life that made this passage so meaningful…
 
My wife Char and I, along with my brother Don and his wife Bev, were renting a small house near the beach in Ensenada, Mexico. We were there for three months to study Spanish before moving to central Mexico to begin missionary work in the back country.
 
When we moved to Ensenada, we had enough cash and supplies to last about a month. We had no reserves, no backup plan, and no committed support.
 
Our first test of faith came one morning when both fuses blew in the electric fuse box, and we ran out of drinking water. At that time fuses cost 10 cents each, and drinking water cost 20 cents for a five-gallon jug. Our total need was only 40 cents, but among the four of us we didn’t have a cent.

We didn’t know what to do.
 
Later that morning, my brother told us he was going to take a walk on the beach to pray. About fifteen minutes later he opened the front door of the house with his hand extended.

“Look what I found” he said. 
“What is it?” we asked.
“A five-peso bill” he calmly replied. (At that time a peso was worth 8 cents.)
“How did you get it?” We asked in amazement.
“I was walking and praying on the beach when I saw something sticking up in the sand. I couldn’t make out what it was, so I bent down and picked it up. There in my hand was this folded five-peso bill!”
 
Later that day, with our electricity working and a five-gallon jug of water in the kitchen, my brother shared this scripture with me, “Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness.” That day, the Holy Spirit planted that verse in my heart, and it’s been a treasure ever since.
 
Insight: The old, old story from someone’s life, can become your new, new story whenever the Holy Spirit plants within your heart a seed from the Word of God.

#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2026 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission, all rights reserved.

Restore, Renew and Refresh in the Psalms
Green Pastures. Quiet Waters. Righteous Paths.
meetinginthemeadow.com

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 36

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 36
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore, the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart (Psalm 36:5-10).
 
In Psalm 36 there are so many beautiful revelations of God’s heart and character. It is clear from the writings of David that he knew a great deal about what was in the hearts of those who were against him. It is also clear that he knew even more about the heart of the One who was for him.
 
Here is what we discover about God’s heart and character in verses 5-10:

• The Lord’s mercies and unfailing love will never have a stopping point or an ending point.
• God’s faithfulness reaches beyond anyone’s reach of faith. There is always more to grasp and receive.
• God’s righteousness stands more secure and unmovable as the greatest, biggest, and mightiest mountain range.
• God’s justice is never superficial. He will go to the deepest level to make things right.
• God cares for all He has created, down to the smallest detail.
• There is no gift of higher value, no treasure of greater worth, no virtue of deeper meaning than God’s unfailing love.
• God’s gentle presence will shelter you from any storm.
• God’s ways with you are always generous. He never measures according to how little He can give.
• God’s fruits are never sour. His water is never bitter. You drink from a fountain, not from a cup.

 
Insight:Everything that comes from His heart to yours is delightful.

 

#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2026 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission, all rights reserved.

Restore, Renew and Refresh in the Psalms

Green Pastures. Quiet Waters. Righteous Paths.

meetinginthemeadow.com

BlessedDayCards.com