Friday, June 7, 2013

How Does God Decide?

This morning in my prayer time I was talking to God about how He selects people to do different tasks. My reading lead me to Psalms 86. I was curious that the psalmist claimed to be holy, but later said things about God’s forgiveness and also asked God to make his heart singular or one. For me, I know that while I try to be holy, I struggle to not make mistakes. So what did the psalmist mean, and what does that have to do with God deciding to use us to do something?

The more I read this Psalm, the more I realized that the psalmist was really referring to the attempt of holiness, not the attainment. He was crying out to God to say, “Here I am. I am doing all I can to keep Your commands and statutes. Please forgive me when I do not, and help me get my heart in the right place to be united with only You.” That is something that any one of us can actually do. We can acknowledge where we are and are not doing what God asks, ask for forgiveness, and ask for God to help us with our heart. In the end, in verse 17, the psalmist asks God to show up in his life in a way that is a sign to those that would oppress him, that they might be ashamed, because it really was God that comforted him all along. Yep. That’s what I want. Sign me up.

Prayer
Father, we are so glad You are the King. We praise You and thank You for Your loving kindness toward us and for Your forgiveness. We are but dust, but You raise us up. Please unite our hearts with You. Please help make our hearts to be holy unto You. Please make us a sign for good. In Jesus name. Amen.