TESTIFY: A 5-Day Devotional With Rock City Worship

Scriptures: Psalms 139:7-10, Psalms 40:1-3, Ephesians 2:4-9

Testify

When I was down, He picked me up

When I was lost, He turned me around

And from the pit, He pulled me out

He set my feet on solid ground

So just let me testify

Rock bottom. If you’ve never been there, you know someone who has. It feels like you have reached the lowest point possible. Light, hope, peace, happiness…they all seem like illusions, distant memories that will never be real again. At least not for you. 

But I wonder if the term “rock bottom” even does justice to how hopeless and desperate those moments can feel. Rock may be uncomfortable, but at least it’s solid. At least you can get your footing underneath you. Sometimes in life, we can’t even do that. 

That’s why I like the imagery David uses in Psalm 40 when he says that he is in a slimy pit of muddy clay. That’s a new kind of low. There is no getting out of that pit – he doesn’t even have solid ground to stand on. 

David could do nothing but wait and call on the Lord. And that is exactly what he does because David knows that even in the worst moments of our lives, God is with us. In the depths of despair, God is there, He cares, and He will not abandon us (Psalm 139:7-10). 

God responds to David’s cry. He delivers David from the pit and sets him on solid ground, giving him peace and stability. God gives David a “new song,” which is a heartfelt joy so overwhelming that it must be expressed through songs of praise. Psalm 40:3 tells us that this expression of praise is so powerful that other people see it and put their trust in God. 

Whether or not you have experienced “rock bottom” circumstances like David’s, the image in Psalm 40 is a perfect picture of everyone’s spiritual condition apart from Jesus. Ephesians 2:5 says that without Jesus, we are all dead in our sins. What could be a more hopeless condition than that? The only thing we can do to get out of a desperate condition is to call upon the name of Jesus. And as soon as we do, God is faithful to pull us from the pit, turn our lives around, breathe life into our souls, and place us on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. 

That is the testimony of every single follower of Jesus, whether your life has been tragically difficult or relatively smooth. You are a living, breathing miracle and a testament to God’s faithfulness. As a part of your new life in Jesus, God has put a song in your mouth. What else can you do but sing it loudly, to the praise of God’s glorious grace? 

Reflection: 

• Remember a time you felt hopeless, lost, or desperate. How did the Lord show up? How can you thank Him and tell others about His goodness? 
• Reflect on your spiritual condition before Jesus. Meditate on the fact that Jesus pulled you from spiritual death into life abundant and eternal. Spend a few minutes thanking God and consider who you might be able to share your testimony with.

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 4:6, Psalms 78:13-16, Isaiah 55:8-9, Isaiah 46:9-10, Romans 8:28

How Could I Not

You know the end

Call it finished before it begins

What you decree will stand.

The Author of Time, seated on high

It all obeys You

And it’s all in Your hands

The world can appear chaotic at times, like there is no rhyme or reason to anything. Tragedy strikes seemingly out of nowhere. Plans don’t work out the way we think they should. Despite our best efforts, our very lives can feel like they are spinning out of control. 

In those moments, it is easy to wonder…is God really in control? Does He really know what He is doing? Because right now, things look a mess. 

Even in those times, we can rest assured that the events of the world do not play out like the random roll of the dice. Our stories do not unfold by chance or coincidence. Everything in this world is under the watchful eye of our loving Father and sovereign King. He holds everything in His hands, including our very lives. 

Still, being held can only make us feel secure insofar that we trust the One who is holding us, and it can be easy to lose sight of how capable God is of running His universe. So, let’s take a moment to remember who this God is, who reigns from on high. 

• He is powerful enough to command light to shine, and it does. He is gracious enough to shine the light of salvation into the hearts of all sinners who call on His name. (2 Corinthians 4:6) 
• He is a Deliverer who will stop at nothing to save His people, even if that means splitting a sea in two for their freedom. (Psalm 78:13) 
• His wisdom is so far beyond ours that we cannot fathom its depths. (Isaiah 55:8-9) 
• Not only does He know all future events, but His plans for the future cannot be thwarted. He will accomplish everything He sets out to do. (Isaiah 46:10) 
• His plans are for the good of all who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). 

With an all-powerful, all-wise, all-loving God like that reigning over everything He has created, how could we do anything but praise Him?How could we not rest and trust and sing praises to the glory of such a great God? 

When things seem chaotic, may the Lord graciously remind us that everything is under control…just not ours. 

Reflection:

• Reflect on a time when things didn’t turn out the way you wanted, but hindsight showed you that God was really working it out for your good. Remember His goodness and His faithfulness in your life, and thank Him for it. 
• What is something in your life that seems out of control? Take time to hand it over to God. Ask Him to help you trust His wisdom, power, and love for you.

Scriptures: Psalms 19:1, Romans 1:18-20, Romans 5:8

Evidence

Evidence

There’s no other love like this

I can’t deny it

I am reminded

Over and over again

Some say that faith is blind—that to believe in God means shutting off your brain, even to the point of disbelieving the evidence around you. 

Maybe you have struggled with doubt because you believe that faith in Jesus is just blindly leaping into the dark, crossing your fingers, and hoping for the best! 

While faith is indeed an “assurance of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1), nowhere in the Scripture does it suggest that those things are not attested to by evidence. Psalm 19:1 says that the heavens declare the glory of God. Romans 1:18-20 assures us that God has made Himself known through creation. His eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in His creation if we have the humility to accept it. 

If you’ve ever sat under the stars attempting to comprehend the vastness of the celestial landscape, stood overwhelmed on the precipice of the Grand Canyon, or scanned the surface of the sea that seems to extend forever until it reaches the unreachable horizon, you have likely had an internal sense of the eternal power of God. He has left His signature all over the earth, His fingerprint on the heavens. The evidence is all around us if we have the eyes to see. 

Maybe you’ve never really doubted God’s existence, but you have experienced some things that make you question whether or not God actually loves you. He may be a powerful Creator, but does He care about my situation? My life? Maybe He is too big or too busy to bother Himself with my struggles. 

The irrefutable evidence that God loves us is that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to sacrifice Himself for our sins so that we could live forever through faith in Him. He did this while we were still stubborn sinners, rebelling against God’s will and wrestling Him for control over our own lives. Romans 5:8 says that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. 

There is no greater love than that. There is no stronger evidence than that. To believe in a love like that is no blind leap into the dark. 

Reflection:

• Take some time to think about the complexity and vastness of the universe. Meditate on the size and power of a God that could create something as great as our world, and praise Him. 
• Take some time to ponder the depth of Jesus’s love for you. How does this affect your relationship with God and how you live your life for Him? How does it impact how you love others?

Scriptures: John 18:15-18, John 18:25-27, John 21:15-17, 2 Timothy 2:11-13, Psalms 51:1-12

Restore Me

Your promise stays the same

You are faithful God, faithful God

Though I fall away

You restore me

You don’t have to follow Jesus for long before you realize that being saved doesn’t instantly make you perfect. Even if we desperately want to follow Jesus, we still sin, sometimes greatly. We still stray, sometimes far away. 

What we believe about God will determine how we respond in those moments of failure. Do we run from God in shame, believing Him to be a rigid, unforgiving, disappointed Father? Or do we run back to God in humility, believing Him to be a merciful, patient, and loving Father? 

It is an unassailable truth of the gospel that, through faith in Jesus, we are completely forgiven of our sins and never have to worry about incurring the wrath of God for those sins. Jesus already paid for that; praise God! 

However, our sin can still harm our relationship with God. We create distance between us and the Lord whenever we choose sin over honoring Him. In those moments, it’s important to look at the ugliness of our sin only long enough for it to bring to light the beauty of God’s forgiveness and the glory of His faithfulness. 

Keep reminding yourself that there is no sin that the blood of Jesus does not cover. There is no distance that the grace of God cannot close. There is no failure that the faithfulness of God cannot restore. And what’s more, He wants to! 

There is perhaps no greater example of this than the Apostle Peter, who was one of Jesus’s three closest friends. When Jesus was taken to the cross to be executed, Peter found his relationship to Jesus being investigated by curious onlookers, and three times, he denied even knowing Jesus. Of all the sins you can imagine, boldly denying Jesus in His moment of greatest need must be one of the worst. 

Despite this betrayal, when Jesus was raised to life, He went to Peter and asked three times if Peter loved him. Three times Peter said, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” (John 21:15-17). Jesus, in His mercy, gave Peter three opportunities to proclaim His love for Jesus, a powerful reminder that Peter’s three denials were canceled. Peter was fully restored and went on to be one of the most influential followers of Jesus to ever live. 

Remember that God is faithful, even when we are faithless. No matter what you have done or how far you have fallen, keep running back to God.He is always ready to fully restore your relationship with Him. 

Reflection:

• Has your relationship with God felt strained because of sin? Confess your sin to God and ask Him to restore your relationship back to Him. Pray through Psalm 51:1-12. 
• Take some time to ponder the fact that God knew every sin you would ever commit. He saw your worst mistake and your biggest flaws. Still, in His grace, He chose to save you through faith in Christ and to adopt you as His beloved child. How should this affect the way you respond to future mistakes and sins?

Scriptures: Psalms 150:1-6, Isaiah 43:7, Luke 19:37-40, 1 Peter 2:9

Praise the Lord

Let everything that has breath,

Let everything that has breath,

Let everything that has breath,

Praise the Lord!

Why were you created? What is your purpose? How can you live a fulfilling and satisfying life? 

These are questions all of us ask and desperately need to know the answer to. Thankfully, our Designer has provided much of the answer to us in His Word. 

Isaiah 43:7 tells us that we were created for the glory of God. That is, we were made to display and proclaim the greatness and majesty of God. 

Our salvation is meant to serve the same end. We were saved by God in Christ so that we could proclaim the glory of God who saved us. We are meant to tell the world what God has done for us in Christ! (1 Peter 2:9) 

The fact of the matter is, one of the reasons we still have breath in our lungs is so that we can use that breath to praise God. 

When Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that has breath, praise the LORD!” a couple different things are being communicated. The first is an allowance or permission. Don’t let anything or anyone hold you back from praising God! We see an example of this in Luke 19 when Jesus is entering Jerusalem and the people begin to joyfully praise God, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!” 

The Pharisees, likely judging this type of praise to be blasphemous, ask Jesus to rebuke his disciples. Jesus responds by saying that if they were to be quiet, even the rocks would cry out. 

Jesus was giving permission for everyone to praise Him despite the refutation of the religious Pharisees. Even the rocks know it is appropriate to praise Jesus as King, so how much more appropriate is it for those made in God’s image to joyfully praise Him? Never be ashamed to enthusiastically praise God. Even the rocks would, and you have far more to be grateful for than rocks do! 

However, Psalm 150 is more than just encouragement and permission to praise God. It has within it the tone of a command. We are not only allowed to praise God with noisy instruments and shouts of praise, but we ought to praise God with enthusiastic, joyful praise. 

It is only right for the Creator of the Universe, who put breath in our lungs, to receive that same breath back in the form of worship and praise. Beyond that, it is what we were created to do and what we will be doing forever. When we praise God, we are getting a small taste of our eternal inheritance – the gift of bringing glory to God and enjoying His presence forever. The more we praise, the more we are fulfilling our purpose and becoming who we were always destined to be. 

Reflection:

• Take a deep breath. Now, take another. Thank God for the gift of breath and ask Him to show you how you can use that breath to praise Him and point others to His greatness. It doesn’t have to be singing 24/7. It could be something as simple as sharing the gospel at school or giving your testimony to a coworker. 
• What is holding you back from joyfully praising God? Ask the Lord to help you work through whatever it is and to give you the courage to praise Him no matter what.