It is so unfair!

 I had a conversation this week with some friends in which we were lamenting the increased dishonesty in our society, dishonesty that is known and accepted with nothing being done (so it seems) about it.  Honesty no longer seems to be the best policy.  Consequently, in some settings, hones people are a great disadvantage.  This has been the case for a long time, we all know, but it seems like in recent years it has become more "acceptable."  It is frustrating to the one who is trying to live a godly, Christlike life to be thwarted in your effort to be honest, but that is increasingly often the case.

This morning when I read Psalm 141, I immediately thought of that conversation.

Psalm 141:5 yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

David had a lot of trouble that came from wicked people who for one reason or another wanted to harm him and destroy the good he had done or was trying to do.  He was determined to not become like them.  His prayer often included words such as found earlier in this psalm (verse 4): “Do not let me incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!”  In fact, not only did David pray for his own spiritual protection, he went so far as to pray against the evil deeds going on around him.  I thought of a conversation I had yesterday with some friends about the unfairness we see in our own 2021 society where being honest in one’s dealing so often put you at a great disadvantage.  It is hard to remain honest when you see those who are dishonest gain what looks like the advantage, and nothing is done about it.  How can a Christian manage in such a situation?  I think I see at least a partial answer to that question in this psalm.,  You pray two things regularly: 1) pray that you will not compromise what you know God wants you to be and do as a child of His to be a good example to those around you, and 2) you pray that He will thwart the efforts of those who are dishonest.  We cannot control what others do like we can control our own actions, so we do what we can and leave the rest in God’s hands, just as David did in Psalm 141, we pray against the evil deeds of those around us while we pray for their spiritual renewal.

My birth certificate

Psalm 87:6 The Lord records as he registers the people, “This one was born there.”

When I read this verse I immediately thought of my birth certificate.  When I was born, the certificate was filled out and signed by the doctor, recording the time and place I was born.  It has been my proof of citizenship for my entire life, even though I cannot personally remember the event.  

So it is with my relationship to God.  At the time of my salvation, the Lord recorded my “birth” and now He can look back, so to speak, and be reminded that on that specific date, at that specific time and in that specific location I gave my life to Him and was born again.  It is recorded and even though I cannot tell you the specifics, He knows, and that is what is important. 

I have my “birth certificate” and it is my proof that I am His child.

Befriend faithfulness

Psalm 37:3b … befriend faithfulness.

I do not know how I missed this phrase in the past!  It is so picturesque and eye-opening as to how I can “run after” God.  I am to befriend faithfulness … “to become friendly with,” “to act as a friend to,” faithfulness.  I do not see faithfulness of any kind displayed in the world around me very much these days, so it is not going to come naturally for the most part as a response to life in general, nor spiritually.  When I looked up the synonyms of “befriend” I saw many word pictures of my pursuit of faithfulness; for example:

*welcome: faithfulness is something I must want in order to have.

*get chummy with, take up with: faithfulness is something I have to decide to exemplify as a part of how I live.  It is my choice.

*encourage: with God’s help, I encourage faithfulness in my life.  I do what I can to develop it and keep it active.

*side with: this is another picture of the role I play in my faithfulness development.

I want to welcome faithfulness, take up with faithfulness, encourage faithfulness, and side with faithfulness… I want to befriend faithfulness.

Confident prayer

Psalm 86  David’s Confident Prayer  

    His Request                                               His Reason for Confidence

Incline Your ear and answer            v.1            I am poor and needy

Preserve my life                               v.2            I am godly

Save me                                            v.2            I trust in You

Be gracious to me                             v.3            I cry to You

Answer my prayer                            v.6            I call on You

Teach me Your way                         v.11           I want to walk right

I give thanks to You                         v.12-13     Your love is great, and,

                                                                           You have delivered me

David prayed confidently expecting answers because he knew why he could ask God for these requests, proven by the reasons he included in his prayer.  In fact, at the end of the prayer, in v.17, he says he knows that those who hate him and wish him ill will see God’s answers and be put to shame.  He did not yet know how that would happen but he was confident that it would.  I want to pray as confidently as he did.

Desert turned into pool

Psalm 107:35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.

This verse is such a beautiful picture of what God desires to do in my life.  When I read this verse, my mind immediately went to two other scriptures that support this claim of what God does for the believer.  The first one is Psalm 1:3 when the psalmist says that the person who walks with God is like a tree planted by streams of water.  Such a person does not wither.  I am planted in a desert-turned-pool, so as I walk with God, I will be fruitful and flourishing.  Then I thought of my life verse in Isaiah 58:11 where my promise from God is that not only will He guide me, but I will be like a well-watered garden with an unending spring.  God has turned the desert of my life into a pool of water that produces a green and fruitful life.  This is my promise from God and what an encouragement it is, keeping me walking with Him.

Mine!

Psalm 18:1 I love you, O Lord, my strength.

As I was reading this psalm today, I was struck by all the descriptions of God’s character and actions on behalf of His loved ones.  It started right way from the very first verse~ (Here comes another top ten list … well, actually a top nine list this time!)

     1. My strength (v.1) … v.20 says that by Him I can run against a troop and leap over a wall and v.34 says He trains my hands for war.  Now THAT is strength!

     2. My rock (v.2) … v.22 says He set me secure on the heights, and in v.26 He gave a wide place for my steps so I don’t slip.  Mighty secure, I would say!

     3.  My fortress … and in v.43 David says that God delivered him and made him the heard of the nations and his enemies lost heart and came out of their own fortresses because of what God did for David.

     4.  My deliverer … vv.6-15 five a very picturesque description of how much God did to rescue David from his enemies when David called out for help.  God’s answer included smoke, fire, darkness, hailstones, arrows and lightning – all in response to the desperation David had.  God really DID love His child!

     5. My God … v.6 says that David’s voice reached God’s ears and solicited a quick response that showed His power.

     6. My shield … v.36 says God gave David a shield of salvation against his enemies.

     7. The horn of my salvation …. In v.40, David says his enemies turned their backs to him, i.e., they actually ran away from him!

     8. My stronghold … v.44 says that David’s enemies obeyed him and came cringing to him.  There was nothing but fear and awe once God gave David clear victory.

     9. My support (v.18)... I really love this title!  V. 24 says the Lord rewarded David for his commitment to obedience and humility (see v.17 also).

What great reminders of all God can be for me, just as He was for David.

In the shadow of God's wings

Psalm 17:3b I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

In the Bible I am currently using for my devotions, each psalm has been given a title by the publisher/editor, and the title of this psalm is “In the Shadow of Your Wings.”  As I read through the fifteen verses this morning, I noticed numerous ways “another “top ten list is coming!) in which the one who lives in the shadow of His wings displays that way of living.  My prayer is that my life will reflect these same characteristics.

            1. Living free of deceit (v. 1b)

            2. Determination to not sin (v.3b)

            3. Avoiding sinful ways (v.4b)

            4. Carefully obeying God (v.5)

            5. Praying regularly (v.6)

            6. Experiencing God’s love (v.7)

            7. Protection by God (v.8)

            8. Deliverance from the wickedness around me (v.13)

            9. Seeing God work (v.15a)

            10. Finding satisfaction in God (v.15b)

Understanding

Psalm 119:100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.

Knowing and obeying God’s Word has many benefits but I think the understanding it gives me is close to, if not THE, most beneficial and most useful.  Understanding is no respecter of persons.  It can be a quality of the lowest of the low, or of the greatest of leaders.  This verse is in the middle of a group of verses describing the benefits of knowing, loving and obeying the Word:

1. Wisdom makes me wiser than [even] my enemies (v.98);
2. insight (v. 99);
3. understanding (v.100);
4. purity (v. 101, 104);
5. knowledge (v.102). 

In other words, there is immeasurable personal and spiritual benefit from knowing and obeying God’s Word.  I am so thankful, and actually quite overwhelmed, by the strong influence that memorizing verses has had on my own personal walk with God through the years since I began memorizing under the Bible Memory Association back in 1957.  It has given me insight and understanding that I may not have had any other way.

Staying faithful

Psalm 119:74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.

We Christians talk a lot about our need to live in such a way as to be a good testimony of God’s love and grace to unbelievers, but this verse remind me of the importance of my good testimony to other believers.  The example of my hope in God and His Word should be an encouragement to other believers to do the same.  When other Christians see my response to the call to obedience, they should be challenged and/or encouraged to also obey.  When they see my faith, they should find an example to follow and an example of the good results of being faithful to God’s call to holiness.  My life should bring joy to them as they see God at work in me.

I am "hemmed in"

Psalm 139:5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.

My first thought about being hemmed in is a negative one but in this verse the sense is more of protection and assurance for me.  As I have thought about this concept of being hemmed in on all sides (“behind and before”), several things come to mind:

1. "YOU hem me in" speaks of God and His powerful and security-enhancing presence.
2. Friends (Godly men and women) that I have can be a wall of protection as well.  “They [David’s men] were a wall around us all the time we were herding our sheep near them.” (I Samuel 25:16)
3. “[God’s] unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him.” (Psalm 32:10)
4. “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him…” (Psalm 34:7)
5. “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people…” (Psalm 125:2)
6. We are “surrounded by … a great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1)

In other words, being hemmed in on all sides is a very good thing!

Higher than the heavens

Psalm 108:4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

“Higher than the heavens” and “reaches to the skies” are both phrases that we would use to depict the magnitude of something.  That is exactly what David was doing in the verse also… trying to describe the magnitude of God’s love and faithfulness.  Our human, mortal language cannot do justice to any explanation or description of God or His character.  But David wanted to describe what he had experienced of God in his own life circumstances, and this was his best effort.  He had been the focus of a lot of troubles and dangers from his enemies, yet each time he had seen how God delivered him in sometimes miraculous ways.  The more we experience God’s deliverance, the more we will understand His love and faithfulness.

Equity and justice

Psalm 98:9b; 99:4a He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity … The King is mighty, he loves justice – you have established equity; …

There is so much talk in our society and in our day and age about equality and justice, and from what we read in the Bible we know that these are qualities of God and therefore qualities to be sought after.  But we seem to fail so miserably so often that I have sometimes wondered if we will ever be able to attain them in my lifetime.  I think the answer is “no.”  The reason societies in our world will not see the attainment of true equality or justice is because of the third quality of God who, in these verses, is the source of equity and justice, that being the quality of righteousness.  Without righteousness I do not think we can find true justice and without true (righteous) justice, equity will not be possible.  The recognition of God as the only sufficient source of these qualities is the only path to attainment.

He speaks once, I hear two things

Psalm 62:11-12 One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.

There are two things we can know without a doubt about God.  There is a lot we don’t know or don’t comprehend or don’t understand about God because He is too eternal and too holy and too great.  But David put it very well, no matter how our understanding or knowledge about God may be limited, we can know that He is strong and that He is loving.  We have lots of evidence of those two things in our lives.  As I think about it, those are the two things that I want to see in my own life most.  If God is strong, I want to see His loving-ness, and if He is loving, I want to see evidence of His strength.  His strength brings courage to me and His loving-ness gives me comfort.  These two things help me face just about anything that may come my way.

Encouragement

Psalm 3:3 But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

I love the word pictures in this verse of what God does for me, even in the middle of difficult of uncertain circumstances.  First, David says that God is around him, shielding him.  If I am able to understand that I am protected even if bad things are happening, that gives me strength and courage to face those difficulties in a way I could not do on my own.  Then, I especially like the picture of God lifting up my head.  I picture someone down in the dumps or discouraged or feeling defeated as one whose head is bowed down.  But God lifts up my head, a sign of courage and a positive outlook, if you will, as you look up instead of down.  That is what happens when I get a renewed vision of being surrounded by the Lord.  His presence brings encouragement.

The important role of giving thanks

Psalm 50:23 He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.

In this psalm, God has declared that He does not need sacrifices because He owns the earth and has no need of being provided with food (v.7-13), but when they made thank offerings to God they would be honoring Him and He would provide deliverance (v.15) and salvation (v.23).  From this I see how closely related thanksgiving is to 1) honoring the Lord, and 2) finding salvation and deliverance from troubles.  As I learn to be more and more thankful, I will experience more spiritual growth and more deliverance from what weighs me down.  How telling of our society that Thanksgiving is a holiday being pushed out of the way for other holidays!  Could that be a sign of a much deeper spiritual problem?

I already have it!

Psalm 29:11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

I noticed that this verse does not say that strength and peace are “available” to the Lord’s people.  It says they have those two spiritual commodities!  I do not have to ask the Lord for strength or for peace … they are already in me to put to use.  I think this is a profound truth that most of us who are God’s children have missed.  We are constantly asking the Lord for strength or for peace when we should actually be asking the Lord to help us use them in our lives.  I should be asking God to help me learn to put them to use, to appropriate their power in my circumstances, whatever they may be at any given time.  My prayer is that I will grow into this truth as I mature spiritually.

No more burden-bearing

Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. 

This verse is a great reminder to me that God is a personal, “everyday” God, One who is not distant and removed from me or my circumstances.  Every day He is ready to bear my burdens.  Even though I am one of millions of people currently on the earth who love God and try to live for Him, He is my Lord, my God, my Savior, and is bearing my burdens!  This psalm talks about God leading a victorious, joyful procession of rescued people, which tells me that I can be freed from my burdens because He is bearing them.  The psalm ends on that victorious, freedom-filled note: “the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.”  When I am free of my burdens I have power and strength to use on things other than burden-bearing.

Crying out to God

Psalm 107:27b-28 They were at their wits’ end.  Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.

This psalm recounts numerous scenarios in which people found themselves in trouble, distress, or turmoil (mostly of their own making) yet when they cried out to the Lord, He came to their aid in one way or another.  In each situation, God met them, and they were challenged to give thanks to God.  It is all summed up in the verses at the beginning of the psalm: “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story…” and then at the conclusion of the psalm as well: “…let the one who is wise … ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.”  And what is it He has done?  He led them to peace and security (v.7), He gave them freedom (v.14), He healed them (v.20), He gave them peace and guidance (v.30).  As I look back over my life, I can see ways in which God has done this for me, even though at times I had wandered away from diligently following Him.  I have found peace and security even when I faced potential kidnapping in war-torn Beirut.  God gave me freedom to choose a library career after my time overseas.  He healed me when I was suffering from a penicillin reaction just days before my wedding.  He gave me peace and guidance as I sought to follow His direction for my life when considering big steps such as marriage, my promotion to Library Director, and my involvement in leadership in the Association of Christian Librarians.  I have had great blessing in seeing God lead my and meet my needs at every step.

God's blessing

This is one of my favorite photographs from one of our visits to Swan Lake in Sumter SC, and I thought of it immediately when I read my devotional passage today from Psalm 133.

Psalm 133:1, 3b How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! … For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

I never quite saw this thought pattern in this psalm before as I did today – the first verse and the last combined in this recognition of the blessing of the Lord as a direct result of God’s people living in unity.  The other verses of the psalm describe that blessing, but the fact of His blessing being the result of living in unity with other believers is a powerful yet challenging thought.  If we truly get a grasp on this reality, it could make a big difference in how we view our differences with other believers, that His blessing comes on us if we are in unity.  The implication, of course, is that if I am not in unity with my fellow believers, I will miss out on the full blessing of God on my life.  I pray that this insight will remind me to be more tolerant and less critical when differences or disagreements come along.

God-ordained leadership

Psalm 78:72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. 

This is one of my favorite descriptions of godly leadership.  One reason is the words used to describe the job David had a king of Israel: 1) shepherding the people, and 2) leading them.  The words do no include anything like “forced” or “coerced” but indicate a respect for those under his care.  “Shepherded” and “led” are much gentler terms, which tells me he was kind in his leadership.  The “withs” are equally meaningful: 1) with integrity of heart and 2) with skillful hands.  As king, David did not rule “mistake-lessly,” but he had integrity of heart, indicating that he tried to be honest and sincere.  However, he was also skillful in his leadership.  God had given him the leadership ability he needed for his job.  No wonder David has been considered one of the greatest kings who ruled over Israel.  As I pondered this in terms of the implications for my own life, I was reminded of the New Testament passage in I Corinthians 12:4-11 when the Apostle Paul talks about spiritual gifts, emphasizing that all our abilities that God has gifted us with for service are all just that: gifts from God and for His service.  I am also reminded of the story of the building of the tabernacle in the Old Testament, where it says God chose men to work on the various aspects of the tabernacle and specially gifted them to do certain tasks.  This is what David had and it is how God wants to empower me for whatever He has for me to do.  It is humbling and empowering at the same time.