PURSUITA C I T Y H I L L S D E V O T I O N A L

C o n t e n t s Preface……………………………………………………………………………. . 5 Prayers……………………………………………………………………………… 8 Praise………………………………………………………………………………. 9

d e v o t i o n s

DAY 01 Psalm 4 by Tiffany Coughlin…………………………………………..10

DAY 02 Psalm 5 by David Davenport………………………………………….12

DAY 03 Psalm 14 by Lorianne Collins………………………………………… 14

DAY 04 Psalm 15 by Janee Williams………………………………………….. 16

DAY 05 Psalm 16 by Myron Mullins…………………………………………… 18

DAY 06 Psalm 18 by Chera Meredith…………………………………………. 20

DAY 07 Psalm 19 by Liz Ford………………………………………………….. 22

DAY 08 Psalm 24 by Terry Neal……………………………………………….. 24

DAY 08 Psalm 24 by Jeff Coughlin…………………………………………… 26

DAY 09 Psalm 27 by Debbie McChesney……………………………………. 28

DAY 10 Psalm 31 by John Cope………………………………………………. 30

PURSUIT: A CITY HILLS DEVOTIONAL

Copyright © 2020 by City Hills Church

Written by Tiffany Coughlin, David Davenport, Lorianne Collins, Janee Williams, Myron Mullins,

Chera Meredith, Liz Ford, Terry Neal, Jeff Coughlin, Debbie McChesney, John Cope, Harry

McKinney, Jowana Dunlap, Angela Kennedy, John Chandler, Joel Rickard, Shawn Kramer, Cody

Hubbard, Silky Kramer, Christin Eastman, Merrell Van Keuren, Megan Mullins

Requests for information should be addressed to:

City Hills Church 1501 Kirby Rd, Knoxville, TN 37909

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior

permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

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DAY 11 Psalm 37 by Harry McKinney………………………………….….…. 32

DAY 12 Psalm 51 by Jowana Dunalp………………………………………… 34

DAY 13 Psalm 63 by Angela Kennedy……………………………………….. 36

DAY 14 Psalm 86 by John Chandler………………………………………….. 38

DAY 15 Psalm 91 by Joel Rickard……………………………………………. 40

DAY 16 Psalm 103 by Shawn Kramer………………………………….…..…. 42

DAY 17 Psalm 119 by Cody Hubbard………………………………….……. 44

DAY 18 Psalm 139 by Silky Kramer…………………………………………… 46

DAY 19 Psalm 142 by Christin Eastman……………………………………… 48

DAY 20 Psalm 147 by Merrell Van Keuren…………………………………… 50

DAY 21 Psalm 31 by Megan Mullins…………………………………………. 52

Notes……………………………………………………………………………… 54

ecently I received a letter that peaked my interest.  The top of the letter said boldly, "You have unclaimed money waiting for you."  That type of heading will get your attention.   At first I was skeptical and went to throw the letter away with the other pieces of junk mail, but as I read on it described an insurance policy that I used to have a few years ago.  That insurance company had issued a refund check that I had not received due to a change of address and those funds had become "Unclaimed Property" in the state where we used to live.  The firm who sent the letter specialized in helping people be aware of and recover these types of funds—for a small fee of course.  It was not a lot of money, but it turned out to be legitimate and the unclaimed money was an unexpected blessing to our family.  I am thankful I did not throw that letter away.

This book you are holding is a little like that letter.  For you too have unclaimed property waiting for you—or should I say unclaimed promises.  God has so many promises waiting for us to simply claim them and walk in them.  His promises are so much greater than the few hundred dollars from an old insurance policy.

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yourself to him over the next twenty-one days.  May God continue to bless you as you pursue Him with all your heart!

-Pastor Brandon Shanks

(Psalm 27:8) You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”

(Psalm 42:1) As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

His promises are life, joy, hope, peace, salvation, just to name a few.  Most of all, the greatest reward we receive from pursuing is more of His presence in our lives!

Over the next 21 days I encourage you to take the journey of pursuing God with all your heart.  Don't just read these pages, commit yourself fully to God.  Open up your heart and watch what He will do.  

Here are a few tips for the journey.  For the next 21 days: • Begin each day with a time of prayer.   • Write down your prayer requests. • Choose to fast something. (For more information about prayer and fasting visit CityHills.com/21days) • Read the daily chapter from the Book of Psalms. • Read the daily devotional. • Journal what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you each day.

Don't be surprised by opposition that comes your way in this season.  It is just the enemy trying to stop you from making progress.  See the opposition as confirmation that you are headed in the right direction.  Most of all, get ready for the great adventure that lies ahead.  I pray that you will experience the presence and power of God in an extraordinary way as you commit

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ow difficult it is to center our lives around God and His purposes when the world seems set upon pulling us in other directions. We are pulled through gates that are wide and easy but that lead us away from our Creator. (Matthew 7:13-14) What do we do when the world doesn’t understand our love for God, or more specifically, our desire to pursue him?   In Psalm 4, the psalmist David lays out an answer to these ancient problems.  He understands the importance of continuing to cry out to God, remembering the times God has proven faithful in the past.  He addresses the God of my righteousness.  Not only is God perfectly righteous, but He is the author and perfecter of everything righteous in us.  (Hebrews 12:2)  It is God who enables us to seek Him even when the world seems set against us.

God has set the godly apart for Himself.  Who are the godly?  They are those who love Him, the faithful who follow hard after Him even when times are difficult. The godly are those who are ridiculed for their faith and those who stand strong even when it feels like the whole world is against them.   

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David understands the anger that can settle into our hearts over injustices. Yet in this Psalm we see him taking that anger to God, knowing that He hears us when we call to Him (v. 3). Rather than seeking vengeance, David offers the sacrifices of righteousness and trust in the LORD (v. 5).  The godly are called to a higher good that refuses to lash out at others. Instead, we can dwell in peace, gladness, and safety, as we pursue and rest in the LORD (V. 7-8).

Tiffany Coughlin

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f you know me for long, you’ll find that I’m a pretty sound sleeper. My wife can get up during the night or come to bed after me, and I’ll never know what happened. I can sleep through storms and wind, and I used to sleep through my alarm regularly. But there was a season of life where my sleep was very different. My oldest child was born at 5 pounds, 12 ounces, and he was about the size of a football. We had many days of going to bed tired with hopes of a good night’s rest, but my ears were tuned differently in those days. Because of his small size and difficulty sucking, we had to set an alarm to feed him every two hours, but often I would hear him stirring in his bed, down the hall, and go to him without the alarm ever sounding. 

God is tuned to us in this way. He knows the sound of each of His children and the meaning of our cries. He knows when we squeal in delight, when we coo contentedly, when we cry out in pain, and when we need to be fed. When we wake in the morning and whisper to Him the meditations of our hearts--the deep inward groaning and contemplation that we may not know how to frame in words—He knows the meaning, even when we, like my infant son, don’t

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D A Y T W O P S A L M 5 know how to voice it (Romans 8:27).

When I read through Psalm 5, I hear David whispering, crying out, and beseeching God for His presence and for answers to the problems that he was facing. David is calling out to God in the language of his heart, knowing that He hears, and then waiting for God to respond to his needs from His sovereign abundance. Let’s bring our hearts to God. 

Let’s tell Him that we love Him. Let’s cry out in despair. Let’s rail against our enemies and the injustice around us. Let’s tell Him that we are content, delighted, bored, hungry, afraid, tired, angry...Let’s bring all of our experiences to Him and wait for Him and with Him.

David ends this Psalm with a reflection of his quiet confidence in the presence of and protection of his King.  He remembers that God covers him with favor as a shield. This shield is the wrap-around shield that only Jesus can place around us by His blood and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Let’s sink into that presence and know that we are seen, known, and loved in all of our experiences.

David Davenport

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ilious and bloated, they gas, “God is gone.” Their words are poison gas, fouling the air; they poison rivers and skies; thistles are their cash crop. (Psalm 14:1, MSG)

The way 2020 has gone, it can be very tempting to do what that verse says--declare that God is gone and curse this life. Yet, it’s at times like these, we should do the complete opposite.

Psalm 14:5 NIV reminds us, “There they are overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous.”

“Righteous…” Righteous, has a cool meaning, that refers to our being free from sin. Yet, being human, we still sin, so is anyone truly righteous? Well, let’s dig a little deeper! You see, when one pursues God with all that they are, they become righteous. Through the grace of Jesus, He frees us from our sin, and we become more like Him. By faith, we are made righteous (Romans 3:22).

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D A Y T H R E E P S A L M 1 4 When we feel overwhelmed with life and all that needs to be done, remember God is with us. Despite what we face, the Lord is our refuge--a safe place of peace for all the righteous. He is our salvation and will restore our hearts and spirits despite what this (or any) year throws at us. We can be glad about that! 

So friends, we may want to say that “God is gone,” but know that He is not. Every single day He continues to pursue you. From sunrises to sunsets, or waves hitting the shoreline, to hearing your child belly laugh in the living room, or someone simply holding the door open for you, realize that those are little ways of God showing you His love. 

Lorianne Collins

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ave you ever read the requirements for a certain position you wanted and immediately felt disqualified? That seems to be the general feeling after reading Psalm 15. David asks , “Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?” David is not inquiring who can simply enter into these physical places, but he is asking who is qualified to dwell in the holy presence of God. 

The tabernacle and the holy hill were the places where only specific individuals could go into God’s presence. Access into His holy presence was intensely exclusive and the requirements to get in were strict. Let’s read those requirements and see who makes it, shall we?

Someone whose walk is blameless. Someone who does what is right. Someone who speaks truth from their heart. Someone whose tongue utters no slander. Someone who does no wrong to a neighbor. Someone who casts no slurs on others. Someone who despises a vile person, but honors those who fear the Lord. Someone who keeps an oath even when it hurts and does not

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D A Y F O U R P S A L M 1 5 change their mind. Someone who lends money to the poor without interest. Someone who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. 

How did you do? Did you meet all the qualifications? I sure didn’t! 

As soon as I read the first one, I was already out of the running. God’s presence requires righteousness and the truth is, when we miss just one of these requirements, we are immediately disqualified. Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Oh, but my friends, this is not the end! 

By our own merits and our own good deeds, we do not make the cut. But there is good news! There is one who met all of these requirements and sacrificed His life so that we might be reconciled with God and have access to His presence. His name is Christ Jesus. 

Friends, when Christ died on the cross, the veil that separated us from God’s presence ripped in half. When we pursue Christ with our whole heart, not only do we have our own access into God’s presence, but through the work of the Holy Spirit, He makes us righteous and holy. We need only to seek Christ, and Christ alone, and He will take care of the rest.

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security, joy, peace, understanding and life’s compass all came from a resolute and laser focus on God.

The World today encourages us to be open minded, allowing for new thought, new paths, new concepts, new influences, new, new, new…  If only the World knew!  David understood and wrote about his reliance on the ‘holy people’ that God had placed in his life in verse 3; “I say to the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is my delight.”  I believe that this should be attributed today to the Church and our local church family. There is delight as we, like David, “keep our eyes always on the Lord” (v. 8).  

I write the word ‘reliance’ numerous times in this devotional because David wrote and recognized within whom he relied.  Jesus invites you to a place of peace and joy that comes from surrender to and reliance in the One who created you.  Leave the hamster-wheel of frivolous pursuit behind and focus your heart and mind solely on your Heavenly Daddy who loves you with immeasurable love and longs to wrap you in His arms of warmth and protection.

Myron Mullins

recently read about a little boy here in Tennessee that was lost in the woods for two days with nothing to eat.  His only shelter was a tarp that he found and used to shield him at night from the elements.  There was much distress, concern and “racing against the clock” by those searching for him.  When found the 9 year-old boy was “remarkably calm and in good shape” according to his rescuers.  His father (daddy) said ‘he knew to stay in one place and we would find him.’  What a beautiful statement from a father who had trained his son well and remarkable faithful obedience by a boy in his father/family.  He knew he would be found and never lost hope because of this assurance.

Psalm 16 beautifully illustrates David’s absolute reliance on God as his father, protector, guiding light, counselor and giver of peace.  David’s reliance on God and more importantly, his recognition of his reliance on God, creates a simple approach to his life that was; “I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” (Psalm 16: 2 NIV)  Arguably at the time, David was one of the most powerful men of the known world, yet recognized that his

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ome and get me!” my son calls when he wants to play. He loves to be chased. I’m not particularly fast, but he has shorter legs. The game ends when I suddenly catch him, tickle him until he can’t breathe, and he begs to be set free. Then it starts all over: “Come and get me!”

I’m not sure that we ever grow out of our want to be chased. Whether it’s for a job, for love, or for a quick hug from a friend at the end of church, it feels good to be pursued—so long as getting caught is a good thing.

King David understood the feeling of being chased. He spent decades glancing over his shoulder as Saul pursued him. In Psalm 18 he recounts feeling that his game of chase was coming to an end, and it was not looking good. Then “suddenly the brilliance of His presence broke through” (Psalm 18:12)! The tables flipped abruptly as God swooped in at the eleventh hour! At least it felt that way at the time.

Psalm 18 is written after the battle is done, and as David recounts his

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experience. His hindsight recognizes what he couldn’t see in the moment. David says he cried out to God, and God turned his face toward him, immediately setting out to rescuing him. What David experienced as a “suddenly” was actually the end of a long pursuit of the Father. 

The key for David’s suddenly was in his choice to worship God. David couldn’t control Saul or his men, but he could choose to give his attention to his enemy or to his Rescuer. He sang praises, and his spirit felt “safe and sound” (Ps 18:3). He saw God’s presence when “all at once you turned on a floodlight for me!” (Ps 18:28). 

Worship not only gave David a perspective shift, it put him on the offensive. “You’ve trained me with the weapons of warfare--worship; now I’ll descend into battle with power” (Ps 18:34). As we know, David was always the target of some enemy—including The Enemy. Nevertheless, David didn’t live in fear of being caught. He knew that his enemies were not the only ones pursuing him. When he needed to remember that, he turned to his Father and said, “Come and get me!” And God always did.

Chera Meredith

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ave you ever sat and examined the words that you speak or the status of your heart? In the age of technology, verse 4 speaks loudly stating "their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world." What an impact we can have at the push of a button as we release words into digital spaces.  

When doing this, do we pause to check the status of our hearts? Are we meditating on His word daily or letting the concerns of this world cloud our thinking? The Bible states that out of the heart the mouth speaks. Our words can bring life or death, so we are called to use them wisely (Prov. 18:21).

As we are in God’s presence through scripture, we see the law of the Lord is perfect. He is sure. He is right.  He is pure. He is true. Nowhere else in this broken world can we find such life. We strive in this life for all the things that don't truly satisfy our souls. Yet in Christ we have direction, hope and purpose as we desire His word and truth.

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We are to abide in Jesus daily and not wander from this. As we pursue Him, God deeper into sanctified lives to become more like Him. We can trust Him to be our rock when our lives are in the valley, where all we can see are crumbles, or the mountain top, when we see the beauty of the strength He bestows in our lives.    God is our redeemer--the one who sets us up for a life of freedom in Him. Let His word renew your heart so that what comes spilling out is like sweet honey. Your voice has power to breathe life. May it be heard in a way that glorifies God, as He deserves our worship. 

May those around you ask what it is that creates the beautiful difference. That they too desire a relationship that is more precious than gold, that they may one day walk the streets of gold. 

Liz Ford

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ike most parents, I sometimes find myself commenting to my kids about how much better they have it now compared to when I was growing up. Technological advancements have generally made life a bit easier or more comfortable for most of us. However, those advancements have also created a greater opportunity for us to be distracted from our focus on God and instead become focused on obtaining the latest and greatest ‘thing’. It’s human nature to want to be happy and even to want ‘things’. The problem happens when we equate having more ‘things’ with being happy.

The Declaration of Independence states that humans are “. . . endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This was originally intended to say “Life, Liberty and Property”, but “pursuit of Happiness” was used instead because “Property” was believed to be too narrow a notion. While our founding fathers recognized that God had created us with an inalienable right to own ‘things’, they also realized that happiness includes much more than just owning things.

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D A Y E I G H T P S A L M 2 4 Psalm 24:1 tells us that God already owns everything in the world. He created the world and it belongs to Him, including all the ‘things’ in it. Thus, it is foolish for us to put our focus on the pursuit of ‘things’ rather than on the pursuit of God. Psalm 24:3 asks “Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?” In other words, who may seek or pursue God. This same verse then tells us that those who do not “worship idols” are able to pursue God. 

Unfortunately, the greater comforts of life that are now available to us may also create an opportunity to establish a false idol that we worship. Specifically, the pursuit of more and more ‘stuff’. Are earthly, material ‘things’ an idol to you? Do you spend more time pursuing them rather than pursuing God? Those can be hard questions for us to ask ourselves, but the answer is really important. I pray that God keeps our focus on Him and that we make the pursuit of Him our top priority.

Terry Neal

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ho is the King of Glory?  Everything in this world belongs to God. His presence can be felt everywhere. In the changing colors of the leaves, the smell of salt in the ocean breeze, the cries of laughter from children, and even in our daily struggles. The challenge we often face is learning how to be aware of and how to pursue His presence. 

These are the times we need to stop what we’re doing and get away, leaving the noise and distractions of our daily routine to draw near to God.   “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8.  Learn how to be aware of His presence.  Aware of the wind as it blows across our skin and we realize there’s a chill in the air. Aware of the early morning sounds as the woods are waking up to a new day.  Aware of all the ways God is ever-present. God created us so that we would pursue and know him. Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." God asks us to seek Him, and He longs to be found.  So take the time every day to pursue your awareness of God’s presence.

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D A Y E I G H T C O N T I N U E D P S A L M 2 4 Who can stand with Him?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.  Recognizing that our hands are not clean enough and our hearts not pure enough to stand in the presence of God, we turn to Jesus.  This psalm points us directly to Jesus who was the only person who truly did have clean hands and a pure heart, but “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Cor. 5:21.  

When we struggle with feelings of inadequacy, fearing that we’ll never be good enough, righteous enough to stand before God, we take comfort in remembering that the King of Glory loves us and sent His son so that we can stand in His presence forevermore.

Jeff Coughlin

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f there’s anything that can be said of life on this side of Heaven, it can be said that it is full of trouble. Ever since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve chose to listen to the voice that they didn’t know instead of the voice that they did know, we have been forced to deal with all the things of the world that were never meant for us. The good news is that God, in His limitless mercy, has never left us. In Psalm 27, David proclaims that even though there is darkness, and his enemies surround him, and even though his parents forsake him, he will continue to look to God for strength and refuge. He acknowledges that in the battlefield of life, God places his feet high up on a rock, which is a place of military advantage (verse 5-6).

In verse 4, David declares, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and seek him in his temple.” Of all of the things that David could ask for, his ultimate desire is to be close to the Lord.

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D A Y N I N E P S A L M 2 7 He doesn’t ask for God to make all of his trouble and drama go away. Instead, he declares that he will not take his eyes off of the Lord, and that in the steadfast, faithful pursuit of the presence of the Father, he will get to watch God do miraculous things in his life. This is what walking in the fullness of the Lord looks like! Let it be said that there is nothing wrong with asking God to take us out of a bad situation. There are plenty of psalms about that very thing! But here, David has chosen to minimize the presence of all of his problems, and maximize the power that comes with walking in God’s presence. We will always have trouble in this life, so learning to seek God in ALL things is paramount to walking out our faith in real time. In what area of your life do you need to maximize His presence?

Debbie McChesney

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salm 31 shows us a man who trusts in God. He isn’t trusting in God because he is problem free. In fact He communicates in the psalm that fear is on every side; he is slandered; he is in trouble; and he is grieving deeply. In spite of that, David communicates how he is approaching the things with which he is dealing. We see him saying:  

• In you o Lord I put my trust (v. 1)

• I will be glad and trust in your mercy (v. 7)

• But as for me I trust in You, O Lord. I say you are my God. (v. 14)

• ...my times are in your hands (v. 15)

David is trusting God, not because of WHAT he sees around him, but because of who he sees around him! He sees the one who pursued him!

The Bible says that we love God because he first loved us (1John 4:19). I think David understood this. He was a shepherd boy when Samuel the prophet showed up at his father’s house. The prophet was going to anoint a king from

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D A Y T E N P S A L M 3 1 among Jesse’s house. David was not trying to become a king. He was not notable. In fact he wasn’t even in the line. But, God found him.

Samuel said “Are all the young men here and Jesse said there remains yet the youngest and there he is keeping the sheep. EVERYONE OF US WAS PURSUED. We see this is the heart of God in Luke 15 with the story of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.

I tried to please God for forty years and failed miserably. I tried to “be better” and got worse. But, I never tried to pursue God because I didn’t know him as a father. I only knew Him as a judge. My pursuit of God began when I was forty years old. I am now 75.

My counsel is this:  Accept that you are loved and your father wants to spend time with you. You will become a pursuer of God. You will find yourself echoing David’s words in verse 19.

“How great is your goodness which you have laid upon those who fear you which you have prepared for those that love you”

John Cope

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salm 37 reminds us that the experience of our lives on Earth is a temporary one. It reassures us that although evil may flourish in front of us for a time it will soon “wither and die away”. In my personal experience, evil becomes more clear as I chase the heart and will of God for myself and my family. Verse 7 reminds us to “be patient”, this is often a difficult task, but the necessity and promise is made clear by verse 9 and this theme is continued throughout the Psalm. 

As we pursue the Holy Spirit in our day to day lives, we are told time and time again to choose the wisdom of God over the worry of the things of this world. Charles Spurgeon has been quoted as saying that Psalm 37 was “the great riddle of the prosperity of the wicked and the affliction of the righteous”. Christianity, in my lifetime, has always been an “against the grain” experience, when the world is choosing sin and death, we as Christians are chasing after the heart of God and called to a life of righteousness and generosity.

It’s one thing to read this, but another to fully believe it. Regardless of what

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D A Y E L E V E N P S A L M 3 7 stage we are in our walk to pursue God, we have to fully trust in the word. To do this we must first be willing, we have to accept that we cannot trust in our own understanding, that willingness and trust is our hope and our faith combined. No matter how you feel today, you HAVE to be willing to let go, ask for help in the Lord and choose to hold on. 

One gift this psalm gives us is the ability to be sensitive to this, it will cause our hearts to be broken to those lost in the things of this world, those that don’t even know that their own actions are evil. As Christians we know people will let us down, we know we will face trials and tribulations, but we have the promise of our God that we will be delivered from the wicked and our inheritance will endure forever. 

We are reminded in this passage over and over again that evil may win for a time but the righteous will ultimately prevail. Today I challenge you to keep a record of this in your life.

Harry McKinney

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s we walk the journey of our life’s path, we are faced with many temptations. First Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that temptation is common. So, none of us live on an island in this regard. The battle between our physical bodies, spirits, and souls leads to an ongoing struggle for dominance. This is what Paul referred to in Romans 7.

In Psalm 51, we see King David's humble prayer after he yielded to his own temptation. He had taken, Bathsheba, the wife of one of his most honorable soldiers, and committed adultery. To cover his sin, he put her husband, Uriah, in a position to be murdered in battle. 

David was purposely selected, called, and anointed by God to be King. He was a worshipper, the one who praised God to the point of dancing out of His clothes, and he walked in the favor of God. Yet there was a conflict inside of him, as there is in each of us.

When confronted with his sin by the Prophet Nathan, David came to himself.

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D A Y T W E L V E P S A L M 5 1 Being confronted with truth helped him to see the reality of his sin and run to God.  In verse 1, we see David humbling himself to go to His Father. Recognizing that His great compassion is one that desires to reconcile with us no matter how far we have fallen, David appeals to God’s mercy. 

Yielding to temptation is a choice generated by the lust of our own hearts. To be set free, we must get real with God about that (v. 3--5). The Lord is always willing to cleanse our hearts, if we would only ask. He is the restorer that delivers us.

The sins we face may not be the same as David’s, but there are no big or little sins. They are all a violation against God and cause death to be birthed in our lives. But, that’s not the end of the story. We have a Father who is full of grace and mercy that does not condemn us, but calls us to repentance.  If you find yourself stuck in a place of rebellion or struggling with temptation, know God is waiting for you to seek Him. Ask God to search your heart and reveal any area of sin or disobedience then let the Lord liberate you.  

Jowana Dunlap

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hroughout scripture, God invites us to come drink of His living water. In Isaiah, God mentions that it is free. You don’t have to work to get it. But you do have to come. He offers us Himself in our world filled with things that offer satisfaction while never truly hitting the spot. 

When satisfaction is not there, a person will search for what will fill that need.  However, David’s thirst was a longing for more than just physical water; there was a longing deep in his soul that only God Himself could fill.

Psalm 63: 2 says, “I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.”  His whole being thirsted for God because he had his longing fulfilled in the past. An intense desire consumed him.

Pursuing God brings fulfillment. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus assures his audience that if they seek, they will find (Matthew 7:7-8). He also told them, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

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D A Y T H I R T E E N P S A L M 6 3 In Psalm 63: 5-8, David continues: “I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; and singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night (meditation) Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me. ”

God is our satisfaction. God is our help, and because of that, it is hard not to desire to cling to Him. Finding satisfaction with God birthed praise within David. His lips could not help but sing God’s praise. His mind couldn’t stop thinking about the Lord even through the night.

As we are in these days of corporate pursuit, or corporate seeking, be expectant that God will quench our deepest thirst for Himself. Be expecting to experience His power and glory as we seek our God with all we have. Don’t be taken by surprise if praise seems to overtake you at times because of the satisfaction that only He can bring.

Angela Kennedy

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t comes as no surprise by now that King David was a great pursuer of God. The Lord even recognized David as a man after His own heart. Psalm 86 is a wonderful example of David chasing after the Father for preservation, mercy, forgiveness and instruction.

As I read through this psalm there were many things I noticed about David’s relationship with and his expectations from God.  However, what spoke to me the loudest is tucked away near the end of the psalm in Verse 16. Here we see David ask of the Lord, “save the son of Your maidservant.”  

David knew that he was God’s servant (Verse 4) and that God hears him.  Yet, toward the end of his appeal for help, after giving 34 other reasons as to why the Father should answer him, David tops it off with save me for momma’s sake.  As if the one thing that God could not resist was David asking Him to “do it for my mom.”

Oftentimes, we focus on the life of David after Goliath and the faith that he had

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D A Y F O U R T E E N P S A L M 8 6 during his times of testing.  Rarely do we take the time to explore the family system or influences that created the man after God’s heart. At the end of verse 16, David gives us a glimpse of his mother’s faith. Though her name is not mentioned in the Bible, her influence is felt in the relationship of her son to his God. Just from this little passage, it can be reasonably assumed that his mother pursued God in such a deep way that it inspired David to seek a similar depth in God for himself.

Let the same be said of us!  As we pursue God with all our heart, remember that we are not the only ones who benefit. Each of us has a sphere of influence that affords others a front row seat to our life’s journey. As we are transformed by God, let our lives encourage others to go deeper in Him. For, we are often the only window through which they will get a glimpse of God. 

Our pursuit is not just a benefit to us, and an honor to Him, it is also a gift to those around us.

John Chandler

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pursuit of God and His presence always results in blessing. Whether tangible or spiritual, God favors those who seek Him out. These blessings manifest in a variety of ways. But, for a moment, I’d like to focus on the blessing of deliverance. 

Deliverance is especially prominent as you read Psalm 91. In Verse 1, we see deliverance linked to “dwelling in the shelter of the Most High” (Psalm 91:1 ESV). “Dwell” essentially means to live in. But, often, our lives look like we are “renting a room in the shelter of the Most High.” We treat God as a temporary fix for our issues or only go to Him some of the time, rather than every time. Yet, it’s in His shelter that we are positioned to receive His blessings. That means we have to stop taking matters into our own hands. 

As seen in Psalm 91:3--8, we experience deliverance from a plethora of things when we pursue the presence of God. Deliverance from enemies, plagues, fear, destruction, and death are just a few of them! This doesn’t mean we’re invulnerable.

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D A Y F I F T E E N P S A L M 9 1 But, we can find safe places and rest His presence. Above all of the things, these verses speak about a spiritual deliverance. A deliverance from sin, fear, evil ways that corrupt the soul, and from the hands of our enemy.

Psalm 91:14-15 encourages us to call out Jesus’ name. God loves it when we call upon His name! In verse 15, God says, “ When he calls to me, I will answer him” ( Psalm 91:15 ESV). That means every single time we call, He answers. 

I’ve always wondered why God places so much significance on our words. We think our words are meaningless, but God knows differently. Our words have the ability, when intentional, to be an extension of our faith. When we surrender our tongue and cry out to God, it shows that we are cognitively pursuing Him. He answers this surrender every single time and delivers us!

Joel Rickard

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s I think about how to praise the Lord, I ponder how to live from a place of praise. I can be a parent that praises the Lord today. I can post the Lord’s word in my house and pray with my family when we rise and when we lay down. As I go to work, I can do business with integrity and fairness. I can put others' concerns ahead of my own. I can look for ways to praise the Lord’s name in my workplace. As I enjoy free time and hobbies, I can praise the Lord for rest and know He is interested in everything I do.

This psalm captures why God deserves our pursuit of praise. He forgives our sins and rescues us from death. We have never ending lives for eternity. He renews our youth like the eagles. As you may know, Eagles are one of the highest-flying birds. I would speculate an eagle would be the highest-flying bird about which the original audience of this psalm knew. What a wonderful picture of God’s grace on our lives.

Amazingly, this psalm gives insight into the Lord's character as He revealed it to Moses and His chosen people! He is a tender father who is compassionate

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D A Y S I X T E E N P S A L M 1 0 3 and merciful. We can praise God because He loves us without limits. His love for us is as high as the heavens above the Earth. Thinking about how high the heavens are, there is no way to fully comprehend God’s love for us. 

During the day, you can see a blue-sky ceiling when you look up into the sky. In the evening, you see there is no ceiling, no limit to the height of the heavens. The Hubble Telescope was launched in April of 1990 and has given us amazing awareness into how vast the universe is. Think about this, we have the most powerful telescope we can create orbiting the earth peering into deep space and we still cannot see the end of it! How high are the heavens above the earth? We cannot fathom it. That is the picture of how great His love is for you and me.

Today, we can pursue our God with praise for who He is and how He loves us. “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.”  

Shawn Kramer

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ollowing the theme of pursuit, this psalm is all about pursuing God by pursuing his laws. For most of us, pursuing God’s laws is not exactly at the top of the priority list. We much prefer to pursue the more appealing and “spiritual” aspects of our relationship with God such as prayer or worship. 

However,  David was considered to be a man after God’s own heart. David is pursued by God’s heart and soul by loving his law. Despite this, we often leave God’s precious laws behind because they do not fit our ideas of what a fair relationship looks like. These rules and commandments feel unfair and unjust. Sometimes these rules feel like God is bent on keeping us from all the “real fun” of our sinful desires. This could not be further from the truth. 

Our God is a good father. A good father is someone who cares for their child so much that they enforce rules upon their child. These rules are not intended to shield the child from all fun and excitement so they die a slow death of boredom and sadness. Rather, these rules are there to protect the child from hurt and harm. In the same way, God has given us these laws in order to

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D A Y S E V E N T E E N P S A L M 1 1 9 protect us from ourselves. It is also much more than that. It is our firm foundation to stand on when the rest of the world is easily shaken. Verse 25 says, “my soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!”. Oftentimes we pursue fleeting things that turn to dust, leaving us feeling hopeless and alone. Verse 89 teaches us that God’s word is steadfast and never failing because His word is fixed in the heavens! When everything else is falling apart, or doubts come flooding in our minds, or we just feel hopeless, we can count on God’s word as true and never changing. 

As you pray today and throughout the week, pray that God opens your eyes to the beauty of His word and law. Pray that He breaks your heart to fall in love with His commandments. Meditate on these commandments like verse 97 says and see how it changes your life. If you are having trouble finding a place to start, try the greatest commandment of all: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:36-39).

Cody Hubbard

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rust. Faith. Often, I think these are areas I have a great grasp on. But then God says “Wait. Are you really fully trusting me with everything?” I have to then ask myself, “Do I really trust Him?” I know in my head that He knows all of me, but do I walk it? Do I believe it when I have conversations with myself or when I am angry, anxious or fearful?

Psalm 139:4 says “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely Oh Lord.” Verse 7 goes on to say “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” So, if we believe this truth what does it mean for us and for our lives? I believe it means that the Holy Spirit is always available to us. Always! We must just be open and believe. This also means that He knows every part of us and still is present to us. Do we fully trust that enough to believe we have a purpose? 

If we believe what verse 13 says “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Going back to Genesis Do we trust that God knew what He was doing and the Creator decided to make you and me

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D A Y E I G H T E E N P S A L M 1 3 9 because He wanted us? This awareness of God’s purposeful making of me has made all the difference in my faith walk. Verse 16 refers to “All the days…”so God knows every single day. The good, the bad and the ugly. And He still chose to make me. The Creator knows His creation best. He knows us. And His presence is always available. Do you trust that? 

When your days are hard, when circumstances and events are pressing in on your faith…I challenge you to ask God to show you His presence to help you to trust His purpose for creating you. We should trust God enough to allow Him into all the nooks and crannies of our lives and thoughts. The hurt feelings, the fears, the dreams, the challenges. He already knows, but we must decide to daily open the door and welcome Him in as we walk in faith and trust God’s plan.

Silky Kramer

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ave you ever felt like the world was against you? Does it feel like every time you turn around something else has happened and you’re just desperate for God to move? If this is you, then you’re not too far off with how King David felt in Psalm 142. He literally cried out to God and shared his heartache and pain with Him:

God, I’m crying out to you! I lift my voice boldly to beg for your mercy. I spill out my heart to you and tell you all my troubles.  (v.1-2 TPT)

If you look at David’s life and the way he was hunted down and hated by Saul, you wouldn’t think he would one day be the great king of Israel. But in those moments of despair and heartache, he cried out to God. It was the journey that molded him into the powerful leader he one day became.  But, like all leaders, he had to go through the process of becoming one.

During this particular Psalm, our friend David was literally hiding in a CAVE—like it wasn’t safe for him to move about outside. So, his life was literally a mess.

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D A Y N I N E T E E N P S A L M 6 3 Reading Verses 3-4, it kind of sounds like he’s starting a pity party. I’m sure some of us can agree and even say he deserved some pity! When life feels hard, it does feel like no one cares, but I think we should take a line from David because he didn’t stay in that place of despair. Instead, he started praising! 

He didn’t stay in the mess. David recognized that nothing about his life at the moment was smelling like roses (literally, dude lived in a cave!). But, he knew his God, and he knew that God would rescue him. So, he asked Him. And you know what? God did it. I don’t know the details of the rescue, but I do know that David went onto Kinghood and ultimately His line was part of the lineage of Jesus. 

So friend, even if life isn’t quite what you were hoping for right now, take heart. There’s something beautiful in the journey and I invite you to ask God how you can partner with Him in this season. Even if it’s painful, ask Him what He’s doing. Tell Him you're hungry, like David, for a rescue, and watch what God does! 

Christin Eastman

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ave you ever thought about the meaning of the word worthy? It is a person of eminent worth, merit or position. Our God is so worthy. He is everything we need and so much more! Being everything we need is not something the Lord tries to be, He just is. For us, He gave all. That is why He is so worthy of our praise. 

Psalm 147 is a song that reminds us of how great our God truly is. No matter what life throws at us, He does not change. I recall so many trials that have tested my faith. Yet, God has been the same through them all. Sure, there were times I had plenty of questions and needed understanding. There were times anxiety overwhelmed me and I felt hopeless. Yet, the Lord was faithful to heal my broken heart and bandage every wound. 

It’s in those seasons that I have often felt closest to Him. Remembering that this same God that knows the number and names to every star (v. 4), knows my name, often takes my mind from my misery to His majesty. That’s what we see David doing in this Psalm. He is praising the Lord and finding joy in lifting up

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D A Y T W E N T Y P S A L M 1 4 7 our Father. When life falls apart--like in 2020--it is so easy to throw the chips in and not give God the glory for everything He has done. It’s easy to sit in a pit wondering, “Why should I even pursue him? Why should I give my all to him?”  

The reason is, because at the end of the day, He is still our great God and mighty in power. He still is the same God that tells the sun and moon to rise and set. He takes care of us no matter what is going on in the world by not only giving us peace but satisfying us. What a great promise we find in Verse 14. 

Even if things do not look the way we hoped, we can trust our God, believe who He is, and give Him praise. He is unchanging and true.

Merrell Van Keuren

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hen I was asked to write this, I reluctantly agreed because my heart was not in a good place on that day, that week, that season. But, as I read Psalm 31 with the intention of writing this devotional, I was overwhelmed by the relevance of the words that God was flooding into me. The cold of my heart in that moment was overtaken by the truth of God’s word.

Isn’t that who God is:  Always present, always with arms open wide, always with a love beyond understanding, always a consistent friend and mentor, always unfailing, always forgiving, always the source of hope.

Verse 2 says “Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.” David understoodthat there were traps set for him at every turn. When he surrendered to temptation and sinned withand against Bathsheba, he proved he was a flawed, sinful human.  Yet, he was

redeemed and called a ‘man after God’s own heart’ because of his repentance from his sin, his open confession and life forward that did not repeat his sin. 

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D A Y T W E N T Y - O N E P S A L M 3 1 God calls us to a forward relationship with Him because He has forgiven and forgotten our past and as David writes in verse 19:  “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all of all, on those who take refuge in you.”

Psalm 31 is a reminder that our joy and peace do not and will not come from

this world but in Christ alone. David reflects and writes of the highs and lows of his life and the disappointments that the world delivers. Then, when at a low, low point, he writes of the rescue, peace, contentment and security thathis relationship and dependence on God delivers. 

God always delivers when we seek and ask. God allows for times of difficulty and despair because He loves us enough to allow us the understanding that in Him alone is our hope. “Praise be to the Lord, for he has showed me the wonders of his love when I was a city under siege.” Psalm 31:21 (NIV)

Megan Mullins

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