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Start with great

Psalm 48:1-3, 12-14
Listen to today's devotional

I'll admit to you that I'm the worst photographer in my family. I've always loved snapping photos, but I walk away with more memories than great shots. Still, I've learned something from the real photographers I know. They don't start by aiming a camera. They start by looking for the light.

And since I'm being so honest, I'm only technically a musician. Recently, I was asked to lead worship at this year's Annual Conference. I don't know what they heard about me, but I'm not that kind of musician. All I do is have a little fun with chords and beat on drums. But I do know you start with tuning.

Whether it's photography, music or life, how we start matters. I've known people who've had hard starts, emotionally, spiritually or even just a bad start to a day. It can color how you see everything that comes next. It can make you feel like you're always trying to catch up.

If that's your experience, the good news is you don't have to be stuck where you start. Hear me say that with my preacher voice and know that I've lived it as well.

All that said, Psalm 48 gives us a good starting (or restarting) point. The psalm is a joyous celebration of the city of God. In the midst of a turbulent world, God has established this place forever. So, "let Mount Zion be glad."

But this celebration starts with knowing who and what God is, not just in the blessing of what God has provided. "Great is the Lord," the psalmist says. This perspective shapes how he sees what God has done.



What if we started like that? What if, before we reached for our phones or started scrolling through bad news, we simply said: Great is the Lord.

Before you go to work, drop off the kids or start on that to-do list, whatever you're about to do throughout the day, say it: Great is the Lord.

Now, that won't solve all your problems. But it will change how you see them. Start with God's greatness and see how that light shapes everything else.

Stay blessed...john

 

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