Orienting Our Lives Around the God Who Makes Water Gush From Desert Rocks

January 4. Decorations are coming down, our jobs and schools are firing back up, and we’re slowly returning to our everyday rhythms and routines. How can we make the most of this fresh start? Many of us felt a measure of momentum as the calendar turned from December 2022 to January 2023, but how can we keep that momentum going? As the resolution talk gets put to the test of actually walking the walk, what really matters as life kicks back into high gear?

Maybe the first five verses of Psalm 105 are exactly what I need to hear today.

Give thanks to the LORD. Take the time, every day, to say “Thank you” to the Giver of every good and perfect gift.

Call upon his name. His hand is mighty. Regularly humble yourself beneath it, casting all your anxieties on him. Why? Because he cares for you.

Make known his deeds among the peoples. More than mathematics, chemistry, or a foreign language, the generations behind you need to be taught the glorious deeds of the LORD, his might, and the wonders that he has done.

Sing praises to him. Make worship a priority. Treat Sunday as the best day of the week, orienting everything else around the Lord.

Tell of all his wondrous works. All around us, the fields are white for harvest. Where’s the next person I can tell just how much God has done for me?

Glory in his holy name. It’s not about me; it’s all about him.

Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. We are his and he is ours.

Seek the LORD. Above and beyond status and strength and riches, what matters most is understanding and knowing my Creator.

Seek the LORD’s strength. He has provided the armor we need to stand against the schemes of the devil. Let’s put it on and stand strong in the strength of his might.

Seek the LORD’s presence continually. O God, you are my God. Earnestly I seek you. My soul thirsts for you because I believe your steadfast love is better than life.

Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered. That’s the call of Psalm 105–to recognize that the God who provided manna in the wilderness and made water to gush out of desert rocks has promised his children, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The LORD remembered his holy promises. Psalm 105 calls people of all generations to remember…

…that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD! (105:45)

As life kicks back into high gear and we slowly return to the hustle and bustle of our everyday rhythms and routines, Psalm 105 is priceless, God-given fuel for the long journey that stretches before us in the coming year.