Thursday, March 20, 2014
What To Say
Last night before going to bed my wife and I were discussing some psalms. They made me think about how merciful our God is, and how we get to choose our lives’ paths. It would be so much easier if God just programmed us to only do His will. As a father I want my children to do the things I taught them growing up. But my older children are on their own, and I want them to do the right things in life and to live good lives. At some point they have to choose. Our heavenly Father is no different. He wants us to choose the good things that He has shown to us. I saw this in the psalms we were discussing.
Psalms 56:6 They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God.
8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
9 When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.
10 In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word.
God is watching over us. He gives us the power to do good, or not. When we try to walk in His ways and call out to Him, He answers and protects us. He sends us His deliverance. He defeats our enemies.
Psalms 24:4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
We can be that generation that seeks the face of God. It is hard to imagine what it must have been like in the times of Moses, seeing the plagues come upon Egypt, and then finally setting out to the promised land. In the desert and crossing the Red Sea, seeing all that went on is hard to comprehend. Sometimes I wonder if I would have been any different than the children of Israel that doubted. Much of life seems to be a journey around the same mountains, trying to decide if we will really trust our God or not. It seems like it should be easy to trust, but somehow it is not, or at least for me it can be a challenge at times. The times that I have faced the biggest challenges and decided to trust God, I see now they were just that. A choice. They are also something else. They are a declaration of who we really are inside, a statement of what we really believe. God has a word of encouragement for that as well.
Psalms 24:7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.
You see, we are the doors to the kingdom of God for those that do not believe. Our lives are an opportunity for those that do not believe to see what God has in store. The question is, what are we really revealing to those around us with our lives? Do they see God’s kingdom? Do they see Jesus in us? And if we really understand what God has given to us and to those we love and care about, what do we say with our lives and our mouths?
How about just saying thanks?
Prayer
Father, we exalt You as the Most High. We are more blessed than we can understand to have You on our side. Our world has so many distractions in it. It is not easy, Father, to stay on the right path, but it seems like it should be. Please help us to see You and do Your will. Please help us to walk in Your way. Please help us to help those around us find their way and have their needs for healing, deliverance, and provision met. Please send us today, now, Your healing, deliverance, and provision. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.