A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 30

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 30
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. Now in my prosperity I said, “I shall never be moved.” Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face, and I was troubled. I cried out to You, O Lord; And to the Lord I made supplication: “What profit is there in my blood, When I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me; Lord, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever (Psalm 30:1-12).
 
Psalm 30 is filled with reminders that anything in our lives can change at any time, such as;

• What looks like defeat can turn into victory.
• What looks like failure can change into success.
• Sickness can experience healing.
• Death can become life.
• Anger can be replaced by favor.
• Tears can turn into joy.
• Judgment can be replaced by mercy.
• Mourning can be turned into dancing.
• Sadness can be turned into gladness.
• Silence can be exchanged for praise and thanksgiving.

 
Change
Walking through the wilderness—
Barrenness now my home.
Yet, I am not forsaken,
I’ll never be alone.
I lean upon the shoulder
Of He who draws me near.
Who gently reassures me,
“Come rest, and do not fear.”
Under His wings I’m sheltered—
Upon His wings I soar!
I know I’m not abandoned,
My future is secure.
Ahead are greener pastures,
And waters of delight;
In every test and trial
My King will win the fight!

Insight: The God who never changes can change all things, even us.

Restore, Renew and Refresh in the Psalms

Green Pastures. Quiet Waters. Righteous Paths.

meetinginthemeadow.com

 
#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2026 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission, all rights reserved.

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 29

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 29
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

The voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace (Psalm 29:4, 11).

How wonderful it is to recognize and to know the voice of the Lord in our daily walk with Him. Knowing His voice is not a hunch or a guess, but a quiet certainty of what He is saying or asking us to do. He speaks to us in many ways. The main way is from the Scriptures. Another way is by the still small voice of the Holy Spirit to our hearts. His voice is always in agreement with Scripture and with the will of God. Following the Lord’s voice will always strengthen us and place our feet on the pathway of peace.

One day a man was returning home from a long trip overseas. In route, he needed to switch planes for the final leg of his journey. He was weary and couldn’t wait to get home to see his family. While waiting in the terminal to make connections, he heard an announcement over the loudspeaker, “There is a doctor who has just arrived and needs to board this flight. It’s a medical emergency. The flight is full and we need someone who would be willing to give up their seat to the doctor.”

The man quickly dismissed the idea of giving up his seat. A few moments later he heard the still small voice of the Holy Spirit speak to his heart, “Give up your seat.” The man struggled with what he heard and replied, “But Lord, You know how tired I am, how long I’ve been gone, and how I want to be home with my family. There are so many people waiting to get on this flight, could you please ask someone else?”
When he finished speaking, the Lord replied, “I have asked others, but you are the only one who is listening.”

Insight: When the Holy Spirit speaks, He will speak to us in words and in ways that we will understand. He is an excellent communicator!

Insight: God doesn’t need to yell to speak with authority.

Restore, Renew and Refresh in the Psalms

Green Pastures. Quiet Waters. Righteous Paths.

meetinginthemeadow.com

 
#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2026 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission, all rights reserved.

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 28

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 28
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

Save Your people, And bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, And carry them up forever (Psalm 28:9).

The Scriptures tell us that David “was a man after God’s own heart”. That heart was a shepherd’s heart. God wanted His people to be ruled by someone who cared about them, watched over them, and protected them from their enemies.

God is the Great Shepherd who shepherds His sheep. He is not like the hireling who flees from the sheep in times of danger. The hireling flees because he doesn’t care about the sheep. Because God cares for you He will never forsake you, and in times of danger He will never leave you helpless and abandoned. He cares so much about you that He sent His Son, the Good Shepherd, to lay down His life for you so you could become the sheep of His pasture.

David ends this psalm with a prayer for God’s sheep. It is a prayer that could only be prayed by someone with a shepherd’s heart. In it we hear the words, ‘carry them up’. David knew sheep daily needed to be led, provided for and protected.

David also knew sheep needed to be carried when they had lost their way and were too scared to move, when they were weak, or when they were hurting due to an injury.

Insight: The last verse in Psalm 28 wouldn’t mean much to a stubborn mule, but it brings great comfort and hope to needy sheep.

Insight: God says to cast all your cares upon Him because He CARES for you…that includes the times when you’re lost, scared, weak, or hurting!

Insight: Come rest with Me in pastures green,
Step into the waters of My healing stream;
Through shadowed valleys and mountains steep
I will never forsake, nor leave my sheep.

Restore, Renew and Refresh in the Psalms

Green Pastures. Quiet Waters. Righteous Paths.

meetinginthemeadow.com

 
#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2026 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by Marina Bromley. Used with permission, all rights reserved.

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 27, Part 2

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 27, Part 2
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1a-b).

There is one more thing I’d like to focus upon in verse one of Psalm 27. David tells us the Lord is not only his light but his salvation. This is an amazing and awesome revelation. Just as light is not a thing but a person, so also salvation is not a thing but a person. If we don’t have the person we do not have light or salvation. David’s light and salvation, and our light and salvation, come from the same source, the Lord!

Jesus is our Light and Salvation.

Salvation is not found in our good deeds, our church attendance, or our religious practices. No one else and nothing else can be our Light or our Salvation.

Insight: Jesus never said, “I have the light” but he did say, “I AM the Light.” He never said, “I have the way, I have the truth, I have the life.” but he did say, “I AM the Way, I AM the Truth, I AM the Life.”

Restore, Renew and Refresh in the Psalms

Green Pastures. Quiet Waters. Righteous Paths.

meetinginthemeadow.com

 
#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2026 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photo by April Mullen. Used with permission, all rights reserved.

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 27, Part 1

A Devotional Journey Through the Psalms: Psalm 27, Part 1
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1a)

The winter solstice brings a smile. It’s the beginning of more daylight. I wouldn’t choose Svalbard, Norway as a place to retire. I doubt it shows up on many people’s bucket list. The reason? It’s one of the darkest places on earth. Months go by without any sunshine. What a blessing light is! Its benefits are amazing, especially to the health and well-being of our minds and bodies.

There is another light that is far more important to us than sunlight, and that is Sonlight. Sonlight is light that comes from a person. Psalm 27 identifies that person as The Lord. Who is the Lord? God is. God doesn’t have light, He IS light. There is no darkness in Him.

In the tabernacle God told Moses to build there were three sources of light. The first was natural sunlight, it illuminated the outer court. The second was candlelight (the menorah), it illuminated the holy place inside the tabernacle. The third was glory light, it illuminated the Holy of Holies. The source of glory light came from God’s presence.

Wherever God’s presence is, no other source of light is needed!

In Psalm 27, David made the light of God personal. He said the Lord is “my” light! And, because the Light of the Lord is a person, He can be our light too.

Insight: Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world.” Only God could say that. That means Jesus is God. And that means Jesus can be our light too!

Insight: Jesus—the morning light, the night light, and the highlight of each new day!

Restore, Renew and Refresh in the Psalms

Green Pastures. Quiet Waters. Righteous Paths.

meetinginthemeadow.com

 
#psalms #devotional #devotion #roylessin #meetinginthemeadow

©2026 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Photos by Marina Bromley. Used with permission, all rights reserved.