Summer in the Psalms - Week 9: “When I Hunger for Awe”

Jul 19, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Trading Glory for Glow: When Snacks Replace the Feast

We fill our lives with temporary comforts—endless scrolling, achievements, or distractions—that dull our hunger for God’s grandeur. Like snacking before a feast, these “glows” shrink our capacity to marvel at His glory. Psalm 66 invites us to name what we’ve prioritized over awe of God, recognizing how lesser things leave us malnourished. True satisfaction begins when we clear space for the One who designed our souls to feast on His presence. [21:16]

“They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”
(Romans 1:23, NIV)

Reflection: What “snacks” have you unconsciously relied on this week to numb your hunger for God’s awe? How might fasting from one create space to taste His goodness?

Day 2: Mountains, Oceans, and the Need to Right-Size Ourselves

Standing before vastness—a starry sky, a mountain range—forces humility. We confront our smallness, not to diminish our worth, but to recalibrate our perspective. Psalm 66 reminds us that awe isn’t just inspiration; it’s a spiritual discipline. When life’s challenges loom large, creation shouts: God is bigger. Our anxieties shrink when we rehearse His mastery over seas, storms, and galaxies. [24:10]

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”
(Psalm 8:3–4, NIV)

Reflection: When did you last let creation silence your worries? Step outside today—what ordinary marvel (a sunset, a bird’s song) can remind you of God’s vastness?

Day 3: Furnaces, Fire, and the Refiner’s Unseen Hands

Trials feel like punishment, but Psalm 66 reframes them as God’s refining fire. Heat purges impurities; pressure reveals true character. The psalmist recalls Israel’s journey through Red Sea chaos to abundance—not because the path was easy, but because God was present. Our struggles aren’t signs of His absence but workshops where He reshapes us. [46:21]

“For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.”
(Psalm 66:10–12, NIV)

Reflection: What current “furnace” might God be using to refine you? How could trusting His purpose change how you walk through it?

Day 4: Praise in the Net: When Traps Become Testimonies

Trapped by circumstances? Psalm 66 says worship anyway. The psalmist praises God not after rescue but in the net—because praise realigns our vision. Like Paul singing in prison, worship disrupts despair’s grip. Our songs don’t deny pain; they declare God’s faithfulness in it. Testimonies aren’t born in ease but in the tension between “Why?” and “Yet I will trust.” [49:08]

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open.”
(Acts 16:25–26, NIV)

Reflection: What “net” has you feeling stuck? Write one sentence of praise to God for His character (not outcomes) within that struggle.

Day 5: From “All the Earth” to “Me”: When Glory Gets Personal

Psalm 66 begins with cosmic praise (“all the earth”) but ends intimately (“He has not rejected my prayer”). Awe isn’t abstract—it’s the God of galaxies bending to hear your whispered prayer. Jesus, the radiance of God’s glory, became small to make you eternally significant. Your story, your fears, your joys matter to the One who counts every hair and holds every tear. [59:58]

“Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.”
(Psalm 66:16–17, NIV)

Reflection: When did you last tell someone “what He has done for me”? Share one specific way God met you this week, however small it seems.

Sermon Summary

Psalm 66 begins with soul hunger, the kind of hunger that gets ruined when lesser things fill the appetite before the real meal. Awe is not just a nice feeling in front of mountains, oceans, stars, or the Grand Canyon. Awe is a human need, and awe is a pointer. It points past itself to the only One big enough to satisfy the ache.

Psalm 66 gives the big idea plainly: the bigger the view of God, the better the view of everything else. God is not made smaller by a problem, but a problem can feel oversized when God is viewed too small. The psalm refuses that puny view. It calls “all the earth” to shout, sing, say, worship, and praise because God is big enough for the whole world and every inhabitant in it.

The psalmist says, “Come and see what God has done,” because praise is not complete until it is shared. Worship is not “me and Jesus, no one else needed.” God’s people need the concert of praise, the testimony of others, and the reminder that God is doing far more than one small bubble can contain. The psalmist points outside the narrow world and inside the Bible, back to the Red Sea and the Jordan River, where God turned water into a walkway and carried his people into promise.

Psalm 66 also says God is big enough for anything. The psalm does not pretend life is easy or sweet all the time. God tests, tries, refines, brings into the net, lays crushing burdens, and lets people feel run over. The furnace is not random. The heat, the removal of impurities, and the time are part of how God strengthens faith and forms character. God’s people often want God to be big by preventing trials, but God wants to be big in the trials.

The psalm then narrows from all the earth to “me.” The psalmist brings praise into God’s house, not as something found only on Sunday, but as something formed in everyday trouble. Big worship grows a big view of God. Under the old covenant, sacrifices had to be repeated again and again, but Jesus came as the Lamb, the temple, and the priest. Because of Jesus, God’s greatness means a person does not have to strive to be great anymore. Gratitude replaces striving, and the glory of God exposes the cheap glow of lesser things.

Key Takeaways

1. Awe right-sizes the soul Awe brings a person back to scale. No one stands at the edge of the Grand Canyon and says, “Look how great I am,” because real vastness humbles without humiliating. God uses created wonders as pointers, not destinations, so the soul learns to look past the streetlight toward the sun. [25:21]
2. Worship completes enjoyment of God Praise does more than report delight. Praise completes delight by carrying it into the presence of others. The psalmist’s “Come and see” shows that private gratitude is meant to become shared testimony, because God’s greatness is too large to stay locked inside one person. [37:21]
3. God is big in trials The refining fire is not proof that God has stepped away. The heat, the impurity being drawn out, and the time in the furnace may be the very place where God is strengthening attachment to himself. A faith that only praises in fair weather has not yet learned how big God is in the storm. [45:51]
4. Praise belongs in the furnace Psalm 66 puts blessing and praise right in the middle of trials, troubles, and terrors. Worship is not denial that the burden is real. Worship is the act of placing the real burden into the hands of the One big enough to carry it. [51:46]
5. Jesus frees striving for greatness The new covenant reveals Jesus as the Lamb, temple, priest, and sacrifice. His greatness means human greatness no longer has to be chased, performed, or protected. Gratitude becomes possible because the cross has already answered the deepest question of acceptance. [61:49]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[21:16] - Snacking on Lesser Awe
[22:29] - Psalm 66 and Soul Hunger
[23:48] - The Human Need for Awe
[26:33] - A Bigger View of God
[30:07] - Praise Out of Lament
[31:57] - God Is Big Enough for Everyone
[39:08] - Get Outside Your World
[39:42] - Get Inside Your Bible
[43:24] - God Is Big Enough for Anything
[45:51] - Trials as the Refining Furnace
[49:54] - Through Fire and Water
[53:24] - God Is Big Enough for Me
[57:05] - Bringing Praise Into God’s House
[60:52] - Jesus and the New Covenant
[63:13] - Trading Glory for Glow

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 66
“Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.’ Selah Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man. He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him, who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance. I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!” [22:29] [32:32]

Exodus 14
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, “They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.” And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.’ And they did so. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, ‘What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?’ So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: “Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians”? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’ And Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.’ Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.”

Joshua 3
“Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, ‘As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.’ Then Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’ And Joshua said to the priests, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.’ So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, “When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.”’ And Joshua said to the people of Israel, ‘Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.’ And Joshua said, ‘Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. And when the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.’ So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.”

Observation questions

In Psalm 66:1–4, what actions is “all the earth” called to do, and what do those repeated commands show about the kind of response God deserves? [32:32]
In Psalm 66:5–7, what two great acts of God’s deliverance are remembered, and which earlier Bible events do those point back to?
In Psalm 66:10–12, what words and images are used to describe the people’s suffering and testing? [45:51]
In Psalm 66:13–20, how does the psalm move from the whole earth and all peoples down to one person saying “I” and “my”? [55:13]

Interpretation questions

Psalm 66 calls all the earth to worship, not just one nation or one person. What does that suggest about how big God is and who his greatness is for? [31:57]
The psalm says, “Come and see what God has done” and later, “Come and hear ... and I will tell what he has done for my soul.” Why does praise naturally move toward shared testimony instead of staying private? [37:21]
Psalm 66 says God tested, tried, brought into the net, laid burdens on backs, and led through fire and water. How should that shape the way suffering is understood when life feels hard? [47:45]
Psalm 66 comes from an old covenant setting with repeated sacrifices, but Jesus is now the Lamb, temple, and priest. How does that change the way a Christian brings worship and gratitude to God? [01:01:49]

Application questions

Everyone hungers for awe, but lesser things can fill that hunger too quickly. What has been acting like “snacking” in life lately—screens, success, noise, comfort, control, approval—and how has that affected hunger for God? [01:05:05]
The bigger the view of God, the better the view of everything else. What problem, fear, or burden has been feeling oversized lately, and what might it look like to ask God to be big in that specific place this week? [29:33]
Praise completes enjoyment, and worship is not meant to stay locked inside one person. Who might need to hear a clear story this week of something God has done for your soul? [39:08]
God’s people often want God to be big by preventing trials, but he also shows himself big in the middle of them. Where does life feel like a furnace right now, and what signs of refining—not just pain—might be worth paying attention to? [46:31]
Psalm 66 puts blessing and praise right in the middle of trials, troubles, and terrors. When pressure rises, is the usual response more like praise, worry, complaining, silence, or trying to control everything? What would choosing worship look like in a concrete way this week? [52:03]
Big worship is formed in everyday life and then brought into the gathering of God’s people. What is one specific way to come ready with praise instead of waiting for someone else to create it? [57:05]
Because of Jesus, there is no need to strive to be great anymore; there is freedom to be grateful. Where is the pull to prove, perform, or protect personal greatness strongest right now, and how could gratitude begin to loosen that grip? [01:01:49]

Sermon Clips

68s

#BiggerViewBetterLife

“``The bigger your view of God, the better your view of everything else. Now, true or false? I wanna hear your voice. I need to hear every voice. So so let me hear you. True or false? Sometimes life's challenges can just seem bigger than you. True or false? I've had that experience many times in life where my current challenges are just bigger than my ability. My current challenges are just bigger than my patience. Yeah. So here's my confession friends. All too often, I have allowed the size of my problem to determine the size of my God. Can anyone relate with that? I know I I've been there many many times. So here's some good news today. When when your view of God is big, everything else is right sized. It's proportional. It's correct. But here's the bad news. When your view of God is too small, your view of everything else will be oversized.”

67s

#SeekGodBig

“Truth is friends, what I need more than anything is is to see God big in my life. What we need more than anything as a church family is to seek God big in our church community. What you, my friend, need more than anything is to see God big in your life. So do me a favor everyone. Put your hands out in front of you just like this. Go ahead. Put your hands out in front of you. I want you to fill in the blank. I need you to be big in my what right now. For some of you, maybe it's a relationship. For some of you, maybe it's your finances, job, money, it's it's all a problem. For some of you, it's just the world inside of you, mental health, anxiety, depression, confusion. For some of you, just simply taking your next steps with Jesus. You're just really not quite sure what to do. Here's the reality, friends. As we engage the Psalms today, particularly this Psalm, it will help us grow a bigger view of God.”

41s

#GodInTheMidstOfTrials

“Notice the list of troubles. You brought us into the net. That's the feeling of being trapped. Ever been there? You laid a crushing burden on you ever have a heaviness, just a heaviness on you? How about the third one? You let men ride over our heads. You ever feel like others are just running you over? It turns out friends, listen, again, we want God to be big by preventing trials and troubles. God wants to be big in the midst of our trials and troubles.”

59s

#NotAFairWeatherFaith

“Let's be honest with you, friends. The reality is there are many of us who unknowingly relate with God as if we were a fair weather friend. When things are good, God is good. When all is well, God is to be praised. When all of our support systems are still in place, gladly we praise God, worship God, thank God. But when things turn bad, and I wonder, yes or no aloud, do things turn bad? Yes. Then what? So often we quit praising, we start complaining, quit worshiping, and we start worrying. Listen, we trade a big view of God for a puny view of God.”

43s

#CultivateAweDaily

“Question is, why all this emphasis on worship and praise and offerings? And here's why. A big God deserves big worship. And listen, and big worship isn't formed. A couple hours on a Sunday. And I fear, honestly, for many of you that you're starving all week long for awe. And you're not realizing it's in the midst of your everyday life. You were to call upon him, look to him, open his word, let him meet with you, and get a bigger view of God. And then when you show up on a Sunday, you can't wait to share with a few others and hear from others and see what God is doing.”

75s

#GodLeadsThroughFears

“By show of hands, how many think fire sounds dangerous? How how many you know anyone who's actually afraid of the water? You see, we all have our fears. And here's the problem. So often, can allow our fears to grow so big that they're bigger than God and actually get in the way of keeping us from all that God has for us. So the question is, why will God lead us to our fears? Well, God will lead us to our fears to lead us through our fears. You know, that sounds scary. That's not nice. Why would God do that? Well, because God loves you. That's why. Look at verse 12 at the end. Look at his goal. The goal is to bring you out to a place of abundance. This word abundance in Hebrew means satisfaction, overflow. All in favor of getting to that place? Wouldn't that be great? Turns out friends, listen, in order to get to the place of satisfaction in your soul and an overflow, you gotta go through the trials, troubles, and the terrors.”

36s

#ChooseWorshipNow

“We thank you for coming to this earth, paying every price we would ever owe so that in you we freely receive all that our father has for us. Thank you for your cross. Thank you for your resurrection. Thank you that you have not rejected our prayer or removed your steadfast love from us. So help us, Lord, to take whatever's weighing on us and to transfer it, Lord Jesus, into your nail pierced hands today. Today, right now, with this problem, we choose worship. We choose you.”

75s

#LeadThroughFearsToOverflow

46s

#AwePointsToGod

“Turns out, friends, awe and humility go hand in hand. The bottom line, friends, experiences of awe are like pointers. They point not to themselves, they point beyond themselves, to someone, who's the only one big enough to satisfy that awe that we feel. That's what we're gonna learn today in Psalm 66. So if you're a note taker, I want you write this down. Here's our big idea. We're gonna see this play out through the Psalm. The bigger your view of God, the better your view of everything else.”

56s

#FurnaceBuildsCharacter

“Now, the truth is there's some of you today, you're in the furnace. You have a demanding boss, the context and environment is not great, couldn't even maybe he's not even healthy. You're like, why would God leave me here? It's not about them. It's about your character. This is the furnace. Some of you, your family dynamics are like, this is horrible. Why are they why won't they just because God's working on you. He'll get to them, but now he's working on you. It's about your character. Some of you, your finances are out of control. You're trying to figure out the financing. Truth is, you've done it your way. You don't even know God's principles. You're just doing it your way. And God has you in that furnace because he wants you to come and learn his design, his kingdom way to do finances. Truth is we prefer God to be big by preventing trials. God prefers to be big in our trials.”

38s

#GodBigEnoughForMeToo

“The bigger your view of God, the better your view of everything else. God's big enough for anyone. Everyone is big enough for anything. And thirdly, very quickly, God is big enough for me. The last set, verses 13 through 20. Now, I just gotta ask the honest question. I mean, we're an honesty church. We're like real and raw people around here. Was gonna ask it. What what difference does it make if I believe that God is big enough for everyone, the whole world? If I believe that God is big enough for anything, any problem, if I do not believe and function accordingly, that God is big enough for me. What good is that?”

82s

#BringPraiseIntoTheHouse

“I want you to notice first of all, notice in verse 13 the statement, I will come into your house. The psalmist is talking about coming into the gathered worship of God's people in the temple in Jerusalem under the old covenant of the old testament. We'll talk about that in just a second. But I do want you to notice the personal pronouns. I highlighted them for you. The word I occurs seven times. The word my occurs six times. That's 13 references to the individual. What's going on here? Listen. Here's what's going on. The psalmist is bringing his praise into the house of God. Where did that happen? Oh, in the trials and troubles and terrors of everyday life. Those things were brought into the house of God. Yet so often, God's people today go to the house of God to find their praise. And this is not where we find praise if we are God's people. This is where we bring our praise if we are God's people. I just wanna say this, the number one question on your mind when you come to church should not be, am I gonna get anything out of this? It should be. Who can I encourage today with what God has done in my life? Do not leave this place until you can check that box.”

54s

#GetOutsideYourBubble

“So listen, you wanna grow a bigger view of God, which I hope you do? Psalmist gives us two little pieces of advice that are so important. Write these down. First off, get outside your world. Verse five, get outside your world. Notice the psalmist points to God's awesome deeds toward the children of man. That's just other people. How many have ever traveled outside this country? And you realize, woah, there's more to the world than America. Turns out, there's more to God than the bubble that you live in every day, every week. And if you were to cross the street to get to know other people, if you were to get outside your world to get to know other people around you, even at church, you would realize God's a big God doing bigger things than I've ever thought. Get outside your world, the psalmist says. Second thing he says, hey, get inside your bible.”

74s

#RememberGodsRedemptions

“In verse six, the psalmist recalls God's historical acts of redemption that are recorded in the scripture. The first one is the the the reference here to the sea. He turned the sea into dry land. This recalls the Red Sea crossing of God's people Israel when he brought the children of Israel out of four hundred years of Egyptian slavery. You can read that yourself. Exodus 14. But the second scene, right after that in verse six, it says, and and they passed through the river on foot. River, not sea, river. This is the next generation of God's people being led by God himself through Joshua the leader to cross the Jordan into the promised land. You can read that for yourself in Joshua chapter three. What am I saying? Here's what I'm saying. Take some time. Make it a habit to read the awesome things that God has done in his word, so that you can see how awesome God really is, so that you can then trust God to do those same awesome things in your life.”

54s

#ReadScriptureForPerspective

“Get outside your world. Get inside the bible. It's how we grow a bigger view of God. Now listen, I just wanna be straight honest with you. God is always bigger than your current understanding of him. God is always greater than your current understanding of him. And to know him and love him and worship him is to keep pursuing more and more of that awesomeness and greatness. He's so big. He we can't fit our minds around him. We can't fully figure God out. And I believe we need to to to regularly be blown away by the greatness and awesomeness of God rather than settling for a God that fits into the box of what you've always been told on the theology that you like to follow.”

54s

#RadicalCommitmentOverConvenience

“So question is, does this describe me? How would I know? And as I wrestle with this passage in my own walk, I think it it parts into two experiences. Choose one. It is either response of radical commitment or convenience only. Convenience says, will praise God when things are good. When I get around to it, gather with God's people. Yeah. When I can, you know, I'm busy. I got all their stuff, know. Radical commitment says, are you kidding me? He's redeemed my soul. He's provided me a place in his family. He's met my every need when I haven't even noticed it. He gives me breath every every breath in my body. Every beat in my heart I owe to him. Why would I put him second to anything? Radical commitment.”

68s

#RefinedByGodsFire

“notice the psalmist goes from speaking about God to to God. What does he say? For you, oh God, have tested us. You have tried us as silver is tried. I wanna draw your attention to those three words, tested, tried, tried. What do they all have in common? They all refer to a process. It's called refining. Refining is a process that you use to make metal stronger and bring out its value, its true value. Refining involves three basic elements. One, intense heat. Two, extraction of impurities. And three, time. According to the psalmist, when God wants to strengthen your faith, strengthen your closeness to him, strengthen your bond to him, he's gonna turn off the heat. Why would he do that? He wants to extract that which is not of the value he has for you, and he's gonna keep you there for some time.”

38s

#StopTradingGloryForGlow

“As I reflected on it, it hit me hard. That's me. All too often, I've traded the glory of God for the glow of a screen. How about you? I've traded leaning into the glory of God for the glow of some shiny other next thing. Trade the glory of God for the glow of some accomplishment or achievement or status or to be seen in a certain way. Does this sound familiar to anyone? In other words, my hunger for awe has been fed, but in the wrong way.”

44s

#GodMeetsUsInBrokenness

“Reality is raw and difficult. The Bible from beginning to end is a book about a God who meets us in suffering and redeems brokenness. But for many of us, our Christianity comes from Christian radio, Christian book, Christian pie that does not acknowledge the reality that we find in the Psalms, the scriptures, or regular everyday life. It's a good news. The Psalmist shows us here how to get a bigger view of God right in the middle of the messiness and brokenness of life. In fact, rather than giving us like practical advice, he points us to God. Write this down. Here's the first thing he says. He says, God is big enough for any trials, any of them. Notice in verse 10,”

63s

#ReleaseControlTrustGod

“let me see your hand if you've ever had a moment in life that felt like this. Your life is shaking, the wheels feel like they might start coming off, and you start thinking, this might be out of control. Raise your hand if you've ever had that experience. The reality is we live under the illusion of control, that we're in control of things. But the truth is, we're not in control. God is the one who's in control. And at the end of our illusion of control can be the beginning of God's actual control. Now I wanna ask you before God and all these witnesses, how many of you here today will raise your hand to the sky to testify God's control is better? Raise your hand, stick it up straight up. I didn't tell anyone to do this friends. This is the reality. And so the psalmist is inviting us to join into the same thing. And notice the verbs in the passage. You brought, you laid, you let. Turns out God is in control even when our troubles seem like it's just all out of control.”

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