A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 42

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 42
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God (Psalm 42:1-2).

One of my favorite worship choruses that came out of the Jesus People revival in the 70s was based on Psalm 42.  Here is the first verse…

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship Thee
You alone are my Strength, my Shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship Thee.

—Martin Nystrom

Psalm 42 begins by reminding us that both our bodies and our souls get thirsty and need water to drink. The water that the soul needs to survive and thrive does not come from a faucet, but from the Holy Spirit. It is living water. Only the Holy Spirit can quench the thirst of the soul. 

Jesus likened the Holy Spirit to a river of living water. In John 7:38-39 we read, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Here is what we learn from Jesus’ words…

• Spiritual thirsting brings spiritual drinking.
• Jesus is the source from which living water flows.
• The Scripture promises that your thirst will be quenched by believing and receiving from Jesus.
• Jesus doesn’t give you a cup of water, instead He places within you a river of the Holy Spirit so you can be filled and overflowing.

Insight: Since Jesus has been glorified He has been filling thirsty believers with the Holy Spirit for generations. Only three things are needed:

1. Be thirsty.
2. Ask Jesus to fill you with the Holy Spirit.
3. Drink.

#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 41

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 41
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

Blessed is he who considers the poor... (Psalm 41:1).

 
Jesus told us that the poor would always be with us. It’s clear that God’s eternal purpose for the human race is not to make everyone materially wealthy. However, for now, the poor can become wealthy in the things that matter most.

My dad lived his entire life as a poor man according to the world’s standards. When he died there were no possessions he could pass on as an inheritance.

Yet, during his life he made it possible for me to become one of the richest men on earth. In our correspondence he would sometimes jokingly begin his letters by saying, “Dear Roy, heir of the Lessin millions…”. Of course he was speaking about eternal riches! He could say that because when I was nineteen he prayed with me to receive Jesus as my Savior and Lord. The riches I received through that one prayer will keep on giving forever!
 
There are many ways we can respond to those who are poor, needy, helpless, or weak. Sometimes it’s through an organization and sometimes it’s through our own plans. Sometimes it’s intentional, and sometimes it takes us by surprise. I would like to share with you one of those surprise times.
 
As my wife and I arrived home from church she stopped at our front door and said, “I believe God wants me to bring some groceries to our neighbor.”

I told her to go ahead. A few minutes later she walked next door carrying a bag full of groceries.
 
Our neighbor was a single mom with two young daughters. When she heard my wife’s knock she immediately went to the door. To her surprise, my wife said, “This bag of groceries is for you. It’s a gift from the Lord.” Our neighbor, with tears in her eyes responded, “A few minutes ago, my girls and I sat down at our table for lunch. I had just finished thanking the Lord for our meal when I heard your knock. The thing is…we have no food in the house!”

Insight: God always responds, remembers, releases, redeems, renews, reestablishes, restores, refreshes, revives, and rewards (Psalm 41:1-3).

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

#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

Restore, Renew and Refresh in the Psalms

Green Pastures. Quiet Waters. Righteous Paths.

meetinginthemeadow.com

BlessedDayCards.com

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.

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

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

Green Pastures. Quiet Waters. Righteous Paths.

meetinginthemeadow.com

BlessedDayCards.com