Forty Days in the PsalmsSample

I (Josiah) have always found it impossible to use eye drops on myself. It seems like a simple thing, and you might be sitting there right now with a grin on your face thinking about how your ten-year-old uses eye drops daily without a problem. I get it! My problem is the power of reflex.

In my mind, I tell my eyes it's all good. I know we always keep everything out of our eyes, but this is different. These drops will help us. Please stop scrunching my lids closed and turning my head away!

Maybe you’ve noticed already that the problem with reflexes is that they don’t listen to reason. If they did, I guess they wouldn’t be a reflex. They are deeply embedded routines that trigger on their own because if they wait to ask our permission first, it will be too late.

Our body is not the only place we develop reflexive reactions. In my life, when I am faced with situations involving anger or fear, I have things I begin to say or do, almost before I have had time to think about it. The way we react under these stress test situations reveals a lot about who we really are inside. When we read the Gospels and see the way Jesus always responded reflexively to persecution, accusations, and physical abuse with Grace, Truth, and Trust in His Father, we are getting a look at who He really was.

Jesus had Psalm 18 on the inside; "I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies."

With the help of the Holy Spirit and by implementing the spiritual disciplines that were a part of Jesus’ Life, we can have Psalm 18 on the inside too. When we make prayers like Psalm 18 a daily part of our lives and engage with them prayerfully from our hearts, we can be sure that the Lord will begin to weave these words into reflexes of our souls.

RESPOND IN PRAYER:

Bring one or two of those situations where your reflexive response is one of fear or anger to the Lord. Ask Him to begin to unravel that response and replace it with Psalm 18 instead. Memorizing the first three verses or even the whole Psalm is a great way to get serious about this transformation in your life.