Psalm 104:14-18 “You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart. The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. In them, the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.” Today's episode continues to look at the majesty of the Lord and His greatness. It looks at how He knows not only our needs but also our wants. God gave us wine to gladden our hearts. How sweet is that? He also gave us bread, which is pretty awesome! God took care of not only our needs, but He made sure the animals and trees also had all they needed. God is so good! Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Psalm 104 The Lord’s Majesty (Part 4)
Psalm 104:14-18 “You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart. The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. In them the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees. The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.”
Today, we are given a window into the flawless design of everything. This, I believe, is what we have been exploring in the previous three parts as well. God's goodness is truly astounding. It is wondrous how He has considered every aspect. Today’s verses not only demonstrate that God's interest is not limited to our necessities, But also that He takes into account our happiness and comfort. This is a powerful reminder of the role of religious texts in inspiring and comforting us, a source of reassurance and upliftment.
The verse begins by talking about how the grass grows for the cattle and other plants grow for people to use to bring forth food from the earth. This is not a one-sided provision, but a comprehensive one. We need the plants to have food to eat, but we also need the cows. The cows provide milk, cheese, and meat for us to eat, and God is making sure we are both fed.
Next, it says He gave us wine to gladden the human heart. I know many people who are happy that we have wine to gladden our hearts. I do think we need to be careful that we don’t turn to this wine to gladden our hearts more than we turn to the Lord. What can start out as a small glass of wine at night to wind down can turn into a few glasses every night just to deal with the stresses of our day-to-day lives. This is when it can become a problem. Do you need to have a glass of wine every night? What if you took a break and fasted from it for a week or even a month? Would you be able to do that? I know someone who gives us wine and all alcohol every Lent. This is a great chance for her to remind herself that although she really likes a glass of wine here and there, she doesn’t need it. She is ok without it.
One reason it is good to take a look at your wine or alcohol consumption is that if you are regularly drinking more than a glass at night, then you might not be feeling your best in the mornings. I follow Rachel Hollis online, and I have read her books. She talked about how she used to have a glass of wine when she got home from work to help her unwind. However, the stresses of life increased, and one glass went to two glasses, and every now and then went to every single night. She said she noticed that every morning, she was waking up and starting her day out at a disadvantage because she wouldn’t feel great. She would feel crappy from the wine she had the night before. I don’t know about you, but if I start each day out feeling crappy, it doesn’t usually get better.
Have you noticed that you feel crappy when you wake up in the mornings? Do you have a headache or a stomachache? Do you just feel drained and worn out? You don’t have to feel this way. God does not want us to feel crappy. Instead of turning to alcohol to help you unwind, maybe put on some praise and worship music and dance it out. Maybe sit and read scripture and talk to the Lord. He is there for you, and He will listen to you for as long as you want to talk. He can even help you in your situation and He can show you a way forward. Alcohol can’t do that. It may feel like it is helping you in the moment but it is not helping in the long run and could even be hurting you.
I am not sure who needed to hear that this morning; that certainly wasn’t what I thought I would be talking about, but the Holy Spirit knew someone listening really needed to hear that. If you are listening to this episode and the Spirit makes you reconsider how much you are drinking, I encourage you to listen to a few episodes of my friend Catherine Cody’s podcast, “Meet Me At The Well.” Catherine is a recovering alcoholic and is real and honest about her struggle in her podcast. She gave her testimony on one of my first few Witness Wednesdays. If you want to hear her incredible story it is episode #236. She is so real and loving and she has a heart for anyone struggling with any addiction. If you need someone to talk to about where you are at please reach out to me, and I can put you in touch with Catherine. Or you can check out her podcast, and she probably has contact info there. If you question whether you drink too much, just listen to her podcast, Meet Me At The Well. What have you got to lose?
Next, the verse says, “Oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart.” Can you believe that God even cares about our faces shining? He also gave us bread to strengthen the human heart. I don’t know about you, but I am more excited about the bread than I am about the wine. I love bread. I also love how bread can be used as a sacrifice. There are many people that do bread and water fasts where that is all they eat for a day, or for a certain period of time. This is a great thing to add to your prayer life. Fasting and prayer are so powerful. If you have a prayer that you have been asking and you have not seen any answers yet, try praying and fasting and see if that helps. It doesn’t have to be a 40-day fast like Jesus did in the desert. It could be one day a week, or it could be fasting from something you really like, or it could be missing one meal a day for a week, or whatever you feel called to do. If you want to try adding fasting to your prayer, ask the Lord how, and He will give you guidance. He will tell you what is best for you. Currently, I am fasting from soda because I love it, and it is becoming an addiction again. Also, I have a prayer request I would like answered sooner rather than later and I am hoping God will look upon my fasting with favor.
Next it says, “The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. In them, the birds build their nests; the stork has its home in the fir trees.” Isn’t it amazing how God takes care of all of his creatures, not just the humans? He created so many creatures and yet He hasn’t lost track of a single one of them. He knows exactly what each one needs.
God created trees to have roots so they can have as much water as they need. Trees are good for so many reasons for us humans. They provide us with shade, fruit, wood for fires, wood for furniture and houses, and also paper. Trees were also used for weapons such as bows and arrows. However, trees are also useful for the animals. The verse talks about how birds build their nests in trees. They are not the only ones. I know squirrels live in trees as well. There are many animals that either live in or spend time in trees. Trees provide protection from many animals.
The verse ends with, “The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.” I have no idea how goats can climb mountains. I have seen goats on mountains, but it makes no sense to me how they stay up there and don’t fall down. It is great of God to make the high mountains for them. I am sure they are protected up there, and they know their way around better than we would. It also says the rocks are a refuge for the coneys. I don’t know about you, but I had no idea what coneys are, so I looked it up. It looks like they are a type of rabbit. So this verse is saying that the rabits can hide for refuge in the rocks. This is great because their natural predators would be large cats, pythons, and eagles. If they can hide in the rocks, that will protect them from most of the animals trying to find them and eat them. God is our protector, and He protects the animals, too!
Dear Heavenly Father, we ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, thank you for looking out for us and for knowing us so well. You anticipated our every need and the needs of all the animals, and you provided for those needs. You are truly amazing, and we love you so much! Lord, I ask you to pour your love into everyone listening and that you help all those who are listening who may be struggling with alcohol use. Lord, help them get help if they need it. We love you, Lord, you are so amazing! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If this podcast has blessed you, please consider making a donation towards the cost of making this podcast. Also, if you could share and leave a review, that would be helpful as well. There is a link to donate below the show notes. I look forward to seeing you all on Monday morning. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed weekend!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My children, I am setting your hearts on me. I am riveting your hearts to my heart. If your heart is set on me, your words and your thoughts will follow.”