It’s time to print out your study guides and read the introduction. . .
If someone asked you to list ten or more reasons why you love God, how would you respond? Why don’t you try it? Then you’ll have your answer ready just in case you would need it. Or perhaps it would be a good thing to use when you’re praying. You might say to the Lord, “I love you, O Lord, because You . . .”
That is exactly what King David did after God had delivered him “from the hand of his enemies and from the hand of Saul”. He wrote a poem which he could use to sing to the Lord. Our crises and challenges, our stresses and pressures, our trials and temptations are not exactly the same as the ones that David faced, but our God is the same. He wants to give you and me strength and security. He wants to be your shield and your Savior. He alone can meet you in the darkest hours and can sustain and support you. The Bible tells us so!
Our Bible study this summer is entitled “I Love You, O Lord”. David beautifully and poetically described his reasons for loving God in Psalm 18 (or II Samuel 22). When you read this Psalm, you will be impressed with the grandeur and powerful way in which he pictured his battles and the ways in which God rescued and protected him. Tucked in among his dramatic prayer are words which describe what the Lord meant to him and the ways in which God had always met his needs and provided for him. It is these descriptive words which we will explore both in the way he expressed them in this Psalm and the way the same concept is used in other passages in Scripture.
I pray that as you do this study and become more aware of just who our God really is and what He desires to do for and through you, your love for Him will deepen and expand. You just might find that there are not just 10, but 20, reasons to love God.
