“I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”  Psalm 9:2

Psalm 9 is so power packed that it deserves some time–time to sit with the truths the Psalmist shares, time to meditate and allow the peace and strength of the words to seep into the hardened ground of our hearts.  Sometimes we must steel ourselves to make it through the situations and problems that we face.  Even good times take some emotional energy.  Hard packed earth develops in our hearts, which if we are not careful, remains after the fact.

My garden did not do so well this year.  Because we were trying to get it in between the cold snaps and the rain this spring, I superficially dug up some rows and planted seeds.  I know the ground is amazingly fertile because of previous years’ results.  But this year what came up was weak and stunted.  Some seeds did not come up at all.  My husband is convinced this happened because we did not till the ground.  I have to admit he is probably right.

Too soften we block the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives because of this defensive method of hardening our hearts.  To break up this hard packed earth and revive fertile soil, we must start with the marvelous work God has done—not just in our own lives, but his overwhelming work of creation, and salvation.  We must meditate on his awesome love, mercy and grace toward us.  David wrote:

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;                                                                    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.                                                                                 I will be glad and exult in you;                                                                                                            I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.                                                                                                                                                        Psalm 9: 1-2

Some nights I just do not sleep.  Usually my mind will start spinning all the things that I want or need to do.  That spin often develops into a dark dusty windstorm of frustration, fear, and worry.  It is a toxic combination of current events, health, and needs on my prayer list.  But at night, in the dark, when I am tired and want to sleep, these seeds are weeds, which is the ONLY thing that grows in hard packed ground.

I may not get the hours of sleep that I want, but I can testify that remembering God’s wonderful deeds breaks up the hard places and a restful crop of peace, trust, and contentment replace the weeds.  Let us allow the reality of God’s work to produce courage and faith for what is to come.  The solid rock of truth is our safe place.