The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Psalm 42:6-11, “O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.

8 The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life.

9 I will say to God my rock, ‘Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?’

10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’

11 Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”

The Psalms are indeed a rich treasure! With long hours of tending sheep, shepherd David doubtlessly had enormous time to think and to pray. Not all of his days were tireless, however, for wild animals had to be discouraged from attacking the sheep he protected.

At times (probably more than we could imagine), David felt alone. And in these times, he turned to prayer and devotional thought regarding the LORD, whom he clearly adored. He would never have entertained the slightest thought that we would be reading his words over this distance of time.

David speaks of the LORD as his “rock,” a form of the Hebrew word meaning “divine origin.” What an encouragement! We would do well to think of that and how our words might affect others. Our words would undoubtedly do more for others were we more careful in their use. What might seem innocuous to us might actually be injurious to someone else. Without question, it is the LORD’s will that we speak to others in a kind, thoughtful, loving manner. Who knows who may one day read our words?

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need, until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom