Attitude Is Everything

Psalm 9:1-3 and 19-20 -  I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.  I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.  My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.
Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.  Strike them with terror, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. "Selah"


David’s beautiful words of pure joy are wonderful to hear amidst the many cries of pain and grief David recorded in many of the Psalms. These great words may have been written after a victory over the Philistine army…so says my Life Application Bible Commentary. His heart was so full of thanks to God for the victory over an army that mocked God’s name unmercifully.  He was so proud to be called a follower of God …the pride he felt from God’s act of justice ….overflowing in what had to be a huge smile that lasted for weeks.


The victory God provided that day…gave him confirmation of the mission God had given him to do. Every trouble he may have had before the battle disappeared somewhere in the feelings of joy he experienced.  All sadness melted away as the spark of joy multiplied inside his heart…and bubbled over into a full blown celebration of God’s glory and protection that comes when we let him hold the reins to our decisions.


David’s praise shows his motives for loving God in the first place.  He gave all the praise to God….telling everyone in that moment who wouldn’t run away from his voice… that God was his strength and victor. He told them all to call on God for the help that they needed…and wait on him to provide a great victory for them when the time was right.


We have to be careful….not to let our motive be saving ourself.  Those promises we sometimes make when things are at their worst….those deals we make with God because we don’t see another way out…mean we have sold out to the world.  I have news for you…God doesn’t make deals…that is the way satan works.  God expects us to have faith…and trust…and feel the hope he plants in our hearts and souls grow into a full relationship with him.


The truth is that we are all just puny men. David told us that already. David’s last words from this chapter describe the two choices we have when we realize the truth of this knowledge. I loved the way my Life Application Bible commentary put it.... puny men who love God become mighty…victorious men of a great God….but puny men who allow the world to trick them into staying sinners are just puny men.


Father…thank you for these great words from David’s Psalms.  Help me to never settle for being just a puny man ever again.  Help me to find the strength and faith to become a mighty woman of God’s work…so I can feel the inner strength and joy that David felt in this moment. Clarify the work you have put me here to do….help me to walk the right direction so I can stumble on your path for me a quickly as possible.  Let the joy that overflows from my heart be a constant witness to the healing power of your love for all of us.  Amen.

God Is The Most Excellent Thing In All The Earth

Psalm 8:1-5 -  O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!   who hast set thy glory above the heavens.    Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.   When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;   What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that thou visitest him?   For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

 

It amazes me to read some of the words of David…written at one of the dismal times of his life. Every time I read one of David’s Psalms…I can’t help but visualize him sitting in a dark cave…hiding…fearful of what was to come of him each day.  But I think this one might have been written at night….as he reminisced of his childhood…thinking perhaps of the sheep he cared for as a boy. 

 

These words speak of the glory of a majestic God…and his love of the things he created…all of it. From the conception of a small baby…to the last breath all of us eventually take…we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  God’s existence and glory doesn’t negate a need for man…it is completed in the love he had in his heart when he made us.

 

One has just to think on one thing if they doubt David’s words of truth.  John 3:16 says… “For God so loved the world,  that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  God loved us …all of us…so much that he sent his only son to die on a cross….so that we might be able to join him some day in Heaven.  That thought never ceases to amaze me.

 

Father…I thank you that you love me…and care for me…and made me just a little lower than the angels …so I could have a relationship with you…and experience the great love that overflows form your heart to everything you made.  Like David…I am amazed that you loved any man enough to never give up on us…and the way we drift toward our selfish flesh each day. Help me to always remember that the love you planted in my heart the day I asked you to be my savior…needs to be nurtured so it will overflow to others around me…so I can love the way you loved me. Amen.

In God I Trust...Singing Praises All The While

Psalm 7:1-2 and 17 -  O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust:  save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:   Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.  

I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness:  and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.  

 

David…hiding in caves…running for his life…had to be completely overwhelmed with why God would have allowed him to be so persecuted if he had chosen him to be king.  He could have at any moment taken off in a vengeful spree of killing …trying to rid himself of the problems that had him hiding in those caves.

 

But the key to David’s strength was the fact that he was trusting in God…even though he had no clue what God was doing and why.  Instead of acting on impulse and trying to fix his own problem …David chose to cry out to God and wait for God to fix it in his own time.

 

Here’s the most amazing thing….David was thankful through this whole ordeal. In the midst of all the junk he was having to deal with…he found time to tack a “thank you” on to his prayer. And what is even more amazing to me is that his thank you was not just mere words…he meant it with his whole heart.  And because God knows every thought that slips out of our mind…he knew David’s humble thanks was real.

 

It is a great reminder to me…this Thanksgiving Day…2013…to make sure I stop and say “Thank You” to God for all he has done.  Even with all my losses in the last few years…I am blessed to be gathered with my family this day.  I woke to the great smell of roasted turkey that had baked all night in mom’s oven. Nerf bullets from my nephew’s guns are flying around me as I try to process the great chapter of Psalms that I read last night.  You can’t see the smile on my face as I write…but God does...and the warmth of the smile he has on his face is what powers me through the days that are not so sweet as this one.

 

That must be the way David felt…hunkered down in that dark …damp cave.  It must have been the memories of the good times…the feeling he had when he was anointed as a young boy…that gave him the strength to bear the horrible conditions of his life at this point. Instead of giving up and trying to solve his own problem..he was will to wait on God to fix it for him…no matter how long it took.

 

Father…I thank you for all the good things you have put in my life…and I also thank you for all the bad things you have used to teach me more about your great love.  Help me to always keep an attitude of thanks for everything that happens…so I can be like David…and always remember that no matter how bad it seems…you are weaving some great plan to make it all better. Thank you for one more great Thanksgiving day with family….and feast of food to nourish my physical body. Thank you most of all for the truth of your great Bible…and the love of your son Jesus Christ…that died to save and give me eternal life. Amen.

Prayer Takes You From Fear To Confidence

Psalm 6:2-3 and 9  - Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak. Heal me, LORD, for my body is in agony.  I am sick at heart. How long, O LORD, until you restore me?

The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.

 

David was running from Saul.  He had been living in caves and eating whatever he could find.  His physical body had been worn down to match his emotions.  His human mind just didn’t know how much more he could take. Fear was threatening to take hold of his heart and spiral him into a huge pity party.

 

All David could do is pray…so he cried out to God to save him from the enemies that threatened his life. He cried out to God to strengthen….even heal his weak body.  He cried out to God to restore his battered heart. He cried out for justice to be given to those that chased him.  He prayed for God to help him overcome the feelings of despair and gloom that had taken up residence in his heart.

 

I love the end of his prayer the best. David knew…even in his horrible emotional state…that God was there watching over him…and had heard every word he had cried out.  God had heard him and would answer him….at some point. God would not leave him in this condition forever.

 

It was David’s persistence in prayer that turned his fear of the world’s catastrophes… into confidence in God’s providence over whatever the world could dish out. His pity party was replaced with strength and confidence in God’s love and mercy.  His cries of physical pain and his heartfelt groans of overloaded emotions brought him right smack into God’s presence …so God could calm him and assure him that this time of grief and physical pain would pass. ..when the time was right.

 

Father….thank you for the reminder that prayer is the answer to every problem I face in this crazy world. Help me to be persistent and cry out to you all that is bothering me…like David….so I can enter into such a deep relationship with you that I feel you even when things are rough.  Help me know that you are near to me all the time…so I can throw off the feelings of sadness that come about to steal my joy and  delay me in doing your will.  Amen.

Wake Up With God...And Hold His Hand All Day

Psalm 5:1-3-  Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my sighing.  Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.  In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.

 

David woke every morning with God on his heart and mind.  He spent time with him before he did anything else. We are not told if he stayed quietly in bed …or rose to his knees…or stood and called out to God as he gazed at Heaven.  We are just told that David started his day conversing with God….calling out his needs…then quietly listening for answers.

 

Regular communication with God is a must if we are to grow and learn how to live a life he is pleased with.  Paul says in Phillipians 4:6… “ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Daniel pushed the concept to three times a day in Daniel 6:10 … “Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.”  And Jesus disappeared into the mountains on a regular basis to talk with his father.

 

I’m still working on the constant attitude of prayer….but I will testify that my time with him in the mornings has become one of my favorite times of the day. It is hard to put in to words the feeling of comfort and peace that comes with the talks we have each morning as I write. I call out to him to come help me process the scripture I read the night before…and pause in silence as he feeds me the ideas and words to string together in my post. Some mornings it bubbles out quickly and confidently…and others it oozes out slow and unsure…but he has always met me…without fail for the last three years…every morning.

 

The time I spend with him has given me peace…confidence to move on…and helped me to grow in new understanding of his scripture.  God’s love has consoled me ….defended me…and shielded me….exactly when God knew I needed each manifestation of his love and care. That’s what David felt in verses 10 -12… “ Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.  But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.  For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.”

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to maintain a constant attitude of prayer and communication with you.  Help me to increase the time I spend with you…and model for others as Daniel did how important my relationship with you is.  Thank you for the time you spend with me each morning…and teaching me how to listen to your spirit guide and teach my soul.  Thank you for helping me to understand the great wisdom you left for us to guide our lives.  Show me how to apply what you have taught me to the situations you allow me to walk through every day…so I can model your love for others.  Amen.

Internalize Joy...And It Will Last Forever

Psalm 4:6-8 -  Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?" Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.  You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.  I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

 

David….running from his enemies…hiding in caves….at one of the lowest points in his life…wrote this great truth about God. Even though his life was an Earthly mess….God had filled his soul with a Heavenly joy that no man could take away. David was ready to trade any Earthly comfort and wealth he had ever known….to stay close to the light of God’s face.

 

David had learned to internalize the love of God and let it set up house in his heart.  Even though his life was a mess….his family had gone crazy…and his wealth was far away in the palace….he could lay his head down and fall asleep a happy content man.  His joy came from an internal reservoir of love from God…not the wealth God had blessed him with in his lifetime.

 

Happiness that comes from material possessions will never last. It is temporary…and will eventually fade as the newness of the possession fades away with time. This kind of happiness requires a bigger house….a newer car.  It tricks us into giving up on marriages and looking for someone that might be a better fit.  It tricks us into thinking that something big enough…or new enough…can give us the same internal joy that only comes from God.

 

The truth is that only God’s love will plant itself in our heart permanently.  It comes only through salvation in Christ Jesus….and is cultivated by daily prayer and Bible study.  The deeper the roots of his love grow down into our souls...the harder it is for satan to try and steal it from us. Jesus told his disciples in John 16:22…just before he ascended into Heaven…  “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”

 

Father…thank you for reminding me that you have planted a lasting joy in my heart. Help me to cultivate the seed of joy that you gave me into an overflowing spring for others to see. Give me the courage and peace to know that no matter what…you are just a call away…listening…waiting to return.  Help me to remember that no blessing you have given me on Earth is even close to the splendor and glory I will see when I meet you face to face someday.  Amen.

Hope Gives Us Courage To Find Peace

Psalm3:3-5 -  But you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.  To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. "Selah"  I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

 

David had been attacked by many enemies in his lifetime…but this Psalm was written while he was running from his own son. Absalom had turned on his father and hunted him down like a wild animal.  David found himself hiding in caves with just a few of the most faithful and loyal of his men.

 

I can’t imagine the anguish that must have churned in David’s heart and mind. But somehow he managed to cling to God and his promises and spoke these courageous words.  He found a small silver of hope in God and turned it into the courage he needed to find peace and joy.

 

When we lose hope….despair takes its place.  And once despair takes root it is very hard to clean completely out of our lives. It grows its lies and tricks of the heart around everything we hold dear in our hearts…and twists it into a darkness that seems endless around us.

 

But when we find the hope that David found…it allows us to cling to those things we hold dear and see them as ropes out of our darkness.  Peace and joy begins to flood the places where darkness once caused us to fear. Hope is the weapon that gives the heart the courage to fight through the storm.

 

That hope is only found in the salvation that God offers us.  He gave his only son to save us from our sins...and give us new hope with him forever in Heaven.  David knew to cry out to the father and let him take over in that dark cave of despair he felt.  It gave him the peace to sleep and rest…cause he knew God was going to make it okay…in his way…in his time.

 

Father…thank you for reminding me that darkness can only be overcome by the hope that you give me in the gift of salvation from your son Jesus. Help me to be like David….and cling to your hope that can give me peace and rest from the worries and fears of the world. Show me  how to cry out to you to be my shield and the lifter up of my head….so that I can wait out the storms around me and wait for you to answer me from your holy hill.  Amen.

Kiss The Son...And Be Humble

Psalm 2:4-8 -  The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.  Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill."  I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father.  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

 

David wrote this reflective Psalm for the kings God chose to anoint in a time of turbulence and fighting. His prophetic message of a Messiah to come was meant to give the new king strength and courage to stand strong on God’s laws and be obedient to his word. It was meant to strike confidence in whomever took over as king until the Messiah came to take his place.

 

The message is really no different for us today.  Our world is still full of fighting and kings and rulers who don’t believe in God…despite the son he sent to save the world. He installed Jesus on the right hand side of the father in Heaven until he comes in glory to set up his kingdom here on Earth. Then he made all of us who do believe sons and daughters of his love….to try and spread the truth about his victory over death while we are here on Earth.

 

What David is really talking about here is submission. He says in verses 11-12… “ Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” That kiss shows God and his son Jesus that we know who is in charge…and we accept him as the master and Lord of our lives. 

 

That admission of humility gives us a new power over the weaknesses satan had used against us in the past. We find a new freedom through our salvation in Christ that allows his love and grace to overcome the chains that bound us to the ways of the world.  God’s peace that passes all understanding begins to power our thoughts and actions each day…and we become tools of his love.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I must always be submissive to you.  Help me to recognize when I have let the world creep into my head and hide the truth from my heart.  Show me how to come to you daily and kiss your feet…and admit that I have no freedom apart from the grace and love you give. Help me to be obedient to your will in my life and always seek you in all that I do. Amen.

Is Your Relationship With God Superficial?

Psalms 1:1-3 -  Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

 

The book of Psalms starts with a great truth. We are never truly blessed until we delight in the Lord so much that we take the time to study his word.  The wisdom God is able to pour into our hearts during our conscious times of study…day and night…will give us the deep roots we need to flourish and produce the fruit that God always intended in our lives.

 

Dedicated Bible study builds a deep relationship with God…one that prods us to examine our ways and change them if they are not pleasing to God. Taking the time to reflect on the word we have read…allows God to help us see what we might need to change in our lives…for none of us have reached that ‘perfect level’ ….and have something that needs rearranging in our hearts.

 

Bible study helps to identify the good in our lives as well. As we read…we confirm that we have chosen the right path …and allow God to blow away even more ‘chaf’ from our lives.  The joy in our heart increases as we confirm that he is working good in our lives and the peace of Christ begins to cover the things we still don’t understand.

 

I will testify that nothing else in my life has given me more strength than reading the Bible each night.  I only read one chapter…but I do not sleep until I have opened his great book of wisdom and let the words speak to my heart. He helps me process it even further in the mornings as I sit to write…and let the words sink deep into my soul…so I can hear God tell me what to do with them.

 

I will also admit that the task sometimes becomes a routine…and I have to think about whether I am seeking him with passion and not just reading words.  I never want to think that what I do is enough….always seeking to deepen my relationship with God …never just accepting what I have as enough.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that I must always seek a deeper relationship with you in all that I do.  Help me to never accept the present as the best it can be…but envision even more time with you studying and meditating on the great Bible you left here on Earth for us to live our lives by.  Help me to process just the part of it I need to change the things that you are not pleased with yet…and build a deep relationship with you that will help me fight off the temptations of satan. Amen.

Swallow Your Pride And Forgive

Job 42: 8-9 - So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has."  So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job's prayer.  

 

God completed his talk with Job…chastising him only for trying to understand things he was never meant to understand. Then he turned his anger to the friends who had counseled Job so harshly…and accused him of sins he had not committed. He told them to offer sacrifices and repent of their sin…and have Job pray over them…so he could forgive them for speaking wrongly of God’s ways.

 

Job had no problem following the words of God. I can just imagine his prayer for the friends….full of words of forgiveness and restoration of the relationship they once had together.  It must have been a really good one…for God accepted it…and forgave all of them. 

 

Job had to swallow his pride to forgive these men…so he could do the job God gave him to do.  He couldn’t harbor any more anger or bitterness over what had happened...God would have seen it in his heart when he prayed.  Job had to turn all his anger and bitterness over to God…and allow him to wash away the hate that had built up for these friends.  Job had to let God replace the hurt feelings with God’s grace and love….that covers all sins.

 

Amazing to me that Job forgave so quickly without the model of Jesus on the cross.  In Luke 23:34 Jesus spoke these painful words of love … “Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” He allowed men to spit….beat…mock and nail him to a cross….with not a thought of hate or revenge.  He turned his thoughts totally on the father...so that even the ones who murdered him could receive the father’s forgiveness for their sin.

 

Perhaps some of Job’s strength came from the words of Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” Maybe he even used it in the prayer of forgiveness for his friends.

 

Thank you Lord for the reminder that I must forgive…even when it is hard.  Help me to be more like Jesus…and trust in my heart that everyone deserves the love of God.  Show me how to pray like Job…and internalize your love so strongly that I can forgive anyone who ever hurt me in any way. Amen.

All We Have Is God's

Job 41:9-11 -  Any hope of subduing him is false; the mere sight of him is overpowering. No one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand against me?  Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

 

God continues to speak to Job…describing one of his mightiest creations…the leviathan. He spoke of its strength…the scales that overlapped to protect it...the fire that came from its mouth…and the fear that was roused in anyone who looked upon it. He said a battle was useless with this creature…just as a battle with God would do Job no good. God owed Job no answers to any of his questions.

 

King David wrote about this truth in Psalms 24:1-2 …. “ The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;  for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” Paul was reminded of this fact in the vision God gave him in 1 Corinthians 10:26 … “for, The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." Or just read Colossians 1:16  … “ For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”

 

Everything we have and will ever touch our human fingers belongs to God.  It is simply on loan to us to use to gather his people together and do his work. Everything he has blessed us with in our lifetime was to help us to understand his love and carry out the great commission. God does not owe us anything… we owe everything to God.

 

Father…I thank you for the reminder that all I have is yours…on loan to do the work you put me here to do.  Help me to listen really closely to what you want me to do with all that you have placed in my hands…so that I will use it to help you save others…instead of waste it selfishly on myself. Amen.

Cover Your Mouth...And Listen To God

Job 40:1-5 -  The LORD said to Job:  "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!"  Then Job answered the LORD:  "I am unworthy--how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.  I spoke once, but I have no answer-- twice, but I will say no more."

 

God continued to talk to Job…sounding just a bit ‘put out’ with this man he had chosen to show off to satan.  He brought his first set of questions to a close and asked Job if he had any of the answers. Job spoke only to let God know he could not…and was truly unworthy to even try. Then he covered his mouth to prevent any words from slipping out…humbled…ready to listen to anything God had to say to him.

 

Job was experiencing the same emotions that caused Paul to pen the great words of 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 - For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

 

God’s grace is a powerful tool…..once we learn to accept it.  God’s grace humbles us just enough to allow us to forgive ourselves for the years of sin we let creep into our lives. God’s grace gives us the power to keep going when we can’t see the next section of road.  God’s grace keeps our hearts in a state of readiness….so he can use us to help others.

 

God wants to give us all …just the perfect dose of humility…that will allow God’s grace to totally transform our lives like it did Paul. He might knock us off a horse and blind us for a few days like Paul…or let a huge whale swallow us so we have time to rethink what we did like Jonah.  God will do what it takes to grab hold of our hearts and help us realize who is in charge….him.

 

I will admit…I am not one who naturally closes her mouth and listens…so maybe the lesson this morning for me is to cover my mouth more…so I can hear the powerful words God wants to speak to me. Perhaps if I listened more to the still small voice of God….I would be more help to him.  I do admit that I am nothing…and will never accomplish anything with God’s powerful grace to help me.

 

Father… thank you for reminding me that I am nothing apart from your love and grace that saved me.  Help me to internalize the great words of Job….and cover my mouth more…so I can hear what you have to say. Teach me how to listen and be quiet…so you can feed me with your love and power to go out and do the work you need me to do.  Amen.

Give me Strength...And Clothe Me With Power

Job 39:19-22  -  "Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?  Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?  He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray.  He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword.

 

God continues to speak a multitude of questions to Job…using the animal world as his base.  He speaks of the mystery of a goat birth…the natural resourcefulness of a deer…the freedom of a wild donkey…and the rebellious nature of a wild ox. His questions are halted but just a moment while he describes the timid nature of an ostrich and the courageous personality he gave to the horse.

 

Job’s silence helped reinforce to my heart that the world God created is more intricate than Job… his friends ….or I would ever be able to explain in human terms. I couldn’t help but see myself in the ostrich he described. I was born a timid….overly extroverted person….who is inclined to bury her head in the sand when things get rough.  I do things without thinking of the responsibility involved in my commitments…and am driven internally to give up way too easy on things that are not flourishing within the parameters that my head sets.

 

I have always wanted to be more like the horse he described…courageous…strong….powerful….running into the confrontations of life with determination to win the battle around him. So far…I have only learned to do a fair impression of the vocal skills of the horse….my snort and whinny are quite convincing. But the ability to talk like a horse doesn’t impart to me the courage to finish the task…and laugh at fear…or face every sword that satan tries to battle me with.

 

I need to pray for some of that wisdom I am missing….and open my eyes and ears to the sound of the master….so he can help me to learn the ways of the mighty horse.  I need to pray that God give me a portion of his strength and courage…and ask God to place a bit in my mouth…so he can control my every movement.

 

Father…I thank you for the great reminders you have hidden in your word for me.  I ask you this day to help me move out of the natural sinful self that satan so easily controls…into the humble creature that you need me to be.  Show me how to tap into the wisdom you gave Solomon….and the courage you gave David…and the faith you gave Job. Empty me of the timidness that was born in me…and use your great power to transform the natural abilities you gave me into instruments to spread your words and truth to the world.  Amen.

Listen To God's Questions....To Answer Your Own Questions

Job 38:1-4 -  Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,  Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?   Gird up now thy loins like a man;  for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Declare, if thou hast understanding.

 

It was the Lord’s turn to speak. His voice came out of a mighty whirlwind…the pure force of his majesty thundering as the words took form in human sound. He began a long series of questions …directed straight at Job….beginning with why he was using his ignorance to deny God’s providence. 

 

It was a long list….the ultimate who…where….why….what list prepared by the master teacher. God thundered them off as they all sat in silence....their eyes and ears overloaded with God’s poetic description of the world’s complexity…so intricate that only the God who created it could explain it.

 

God’s questions to Job included a few “can you’s” too.  Each one intended to force Job and his friends to admit that none of them had all the answers…or any power….except God.  God knew that Job would be overwhelmed…completely drained of any more complaints or questions of his own. He used Job’s ignorance of Earth’s order to help him understand his need to accept that God’s moral order was truly incomprehensible without a touch of God’s great love and grace.

 

God knew that Job would not be able to answer any of them.   Job failed the test with a big fat goose egg…but his inadequate silence allowed him to hear every word that God spoke.  It had to have been one of those rare retrospective moments for Job…where the epiphany that emerges in our brain…comes at the exact moment our heart is overwhelmed that God even takes the time to bother with our disobedient…selfish …and prideful hearts.

 

Maybe it is just me….but I think that it is so ironic that God uses questions to begin to answer Job’s many questions. God’s questions humble Job…and do a sort of housecleaning in his mind and heart.  God empty’s Job of all human understanding…so he can begin to fill it up with the pure knowledge of God….so Job can begin to see the purpose for the long days of pain and suffering he was asked to endure. What a great comfort to know that God can even use my ignorance of his ways…to begin to help me understand the perfect pathway he has chosen for me in life.

 

Father…thank you for this reminder that only you understand the complete workings of the world that you made.  Help me to be silent more often…so that I can hear you question me as you did Job.  Confirm for me my ignorance of the world you made …and build a humility in my heart that keeps me from questioning why you have allowed pain in my life…so that you can teach me how to use it to understand who you truly are.  Amen.

Every Storm Can Be Quited By God...Just Ask

Job 37: 1-5 -  At this also my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place.    Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth.    He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.    After it a voice roareth:  he thundereth with the voice of his excellency;  and he will not stay them when his voice is heard.    God thundereth marvellously with his voice;  great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.  

 

Elihu talks just a while longer with Job. His attention turns to the majesty and sovereignty of God. He tells Job to listen closely….to even fear the voice of God. He tells Job that God uses his voice to control everything that he created under the Heavens.  He tells Job that the lightening …and the rain….and the snow... and the storms that are stirred up on the Earth all obey the mighty voice of God.

 

His speech was so poetic and profound….so beautiful...so dead on true. God in all his splendor is just too much for our human brain…his glory incomprehensible to our human heart until we make a conscious choice to let him live inside us.  And even then…we don’t ever understand everything about God.  Our hearts get to know his voice….firm and chiding when we stray from the path he wants us to follow...sweet and tender when we need his comfort and love to ease the pain and worries of life.

 

I thought of that story in Mark 4….when the disciples had been sent on ahead in a boat…and a mighty storm had caused fear to rise in their hearts.  He had gone down to the cargo area to take a nap…and they awoke him…so afraid of the storm that they would perish in its turmoil. Jesus just calmly rebuked the wind…told it to stop…then chided them for their lack of faith. He said in Mark 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still.   And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

 

I have to admit that I am so like those disciples.  My reserve of faith is limited by my small understanding of God and his power. Maybe part of the reason we have such little faith is because we allow satan to dilute what little we manage to grasp in our tiny human hands.  I am picturing one of those wind machines…that thousands of dollars in cash are blowing around in. You get so many seconds to grab as much as you can…but the ratio of what we actually grab to the amount that is blowing around in there is very small.

 

The truth is that God’s power is unlimited…we just have to plug into it like Jesus did.  He prayed and talked with his father…he studied the scriptures as a child till he memorized everything available. He knew more at 13 that most of us learn our whole lifetime. Job knew in his heart that God was not going to leave him in the mess he was in…and was holding on until he showed up. But most of us are like Elhu…we think we know more that we do…and we can sound all good….but when it comes down to it….we just don’t have the passion that Jesus did to know his father on all levels.

 

Father...thank you for the reminder that I am not anywhere close to knowing you deeply enough to understand the full measure of the faith you can embed in my heart.  Help me to study more…pray more…and listen for your voice to tell me what you need me to do.  Thank you for loving me in spite of the haphazard way I have loved you in the past…and showing up to help me through the darkest struggles…even though I don’t deserve it. Help me to be more passionate about my walk with you… listen and look for you everywhere I go. Amen.

We Are Not meant To Know Everything About God...Just Yet

Job 36:26-30 -  How great is God--beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.  "He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams;  the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind. Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion?  See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea.

 

Elihu is still talking…he thinks he has to defend God to Job…he thinks he has to convince the one man God picked to show off to satan of God’s majesty and greatness.  The more he talks…the more puffed up in himself he becomes.  This one who says he speaks from ‘a perfect understanding of God’ … may  understand some things about God…but his knowledge is far from perfect.

 

None of us will ever know everything there is to know about God because none of us are God. According to 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 … “ for we know in part and we prophesy in part,  but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” I am pretty sure…since I have to admit I don’t know everything…that perfection will come when I cross to the other side and see Jesus and his father face to face in Heaven.

 

Elihu spends a passionate moment explaining to Job that he needed to admit he was a sinner for God to let up on his suffering…and even spews a well thought out argument about how God uses natural disasters to punish his people.  But Elihu was wrong on these two points.  Job had already been justified by God himself to satan and since he used this same reasoning… he was wrong in thinking that God causes all natural disasters. 

 

Maybe ...just a theory…a feeling based on I Corinthians 10:13… “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” God knew exactly what Job could handle…and was ready to step in as soon as he had reached his limit.

 

Elihu was dead on about the majesty of God.  His passionate description of the incomprehensible nature of God is a beautiful reminder that we are not supposed to understand everything that happens…nor are we supposed to spend the majority of our time trying to figure out the mysteries that God has deemed off limits to our human hearts and minds. Our humanness simply can’t digest all of God’s great wisdom…so he gives it to us in small doses…as we seek him out and search for a deeper understanding of who he is….not what we can get from knowing who he is. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says… “ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

 

Most of us are a little like Elihu…thinking we have all the answers.  But when we think like him we run the danger of blaming God for our pain…and letting our suffering drive us away from God…into a world of self-pity and stagnation. Job was fixing to get a great lesson from God...he was going to stretch his understanding of suffering big time. He was getting ready to reveal to Job that his suffering was so he could prove to satan just how faithful Job was…no matter how bad it got.  Job was going to get a whole new opportunity to glorify God and use his pain to teach others about God’s unending love and mercy.

 

Father…I thank you for this reminder that you are in control…and you have hidden from me the things I can’t understand yet.  Help me to seek you and continue to search for you….so I can understand the next piece of wisdom I need to follow your perfect will.  I acknowledge in this moment your perfect understanding…and pray that you continue to stretch my understanding of your word… at just the right moment to recognize the purpose that you placed me here on Earth. Go with me and bring to my mind the perfect verse that you have already revealed to me for each and every situation I will face today.  Amen.

A Breakthrough Is Closer Than You Think

Job 35:4-7 -  "I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you.  Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you.  If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him?  If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand?

 

Elihu continues his response to Job and his friends with a string of questions.  He wanted Job to look up in the sky and see just how far away from Earth God resided in Heaven.  He saw the clouds and space as a great barrier to the majesty of God.  He tried to tell Job that God wasn’t listening to his cries of help…because he thought Job was hiding sin in his life.

 

Elihu couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Had he not read the words of the great prophet …who recorded these words in Jeremiah 33:3… “ Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” How could he have come to this conclusion if he had read the passionate words of David in Psalms 55:16-17… “ As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.”

 

Job was closer to a breakthrough than he knew…and was right to call upon God in his pain.  He knew in his heart that there had to be some reason God would remain silent for so long.  He knew in his heart that God heard every word he had uttered to him.  He was ready to die thinking that God was going to save him…rather than give up hope in God’s love.

 

I couldn’t help but think of that silly elephant Horton… in Dr. Seuss's book … “Horton.” That crazy bird convinced him to sit on her eggs while she went off on vacation…and all kinds of things happened to try and keep him from fulfilling his promise. Horton always replied to them ….” An elephant’s faithful…one hundred percent.”  He would not give in to any disaster that tried to take his attention off that nest.  Just like Job…who was simply going to hold on to God…no matter how long it took for him to answer him.

 

God hears every cry we utter to him…it says so in 1 John 5:14-15 … “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He hears us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” We need to stop thinking like Elihu…who saw the skies between Earth and Heaven as a great barrier to the father….and begin to think like Job...who held on to the hope that God was listening to every word of confusion that came from his mouth.  Job believed his breakthrough was coming…and was willing to wait as long as God deemed necessary for his answers.

 

Father…thank you for the reminder that you are listening to my prayers of help for myself and for others.  Thank you for allowing my weak words  of prayer to span the great distance between Heaven and Earth.  Show me how to hold on tight…when you choose to let me wait.  Show me how to know that you are standing nearby…ready to give all who pray to you the breakthrough we need to move forward and understand your will in each situation. Amen.

God's Choices...In God's Timing

Job 34:1-4 - Then Elihu said:  "Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you men of learning.  For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food.  Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.”

 

Elihu continued his harsh words to Job.  He continued to condemn him for his desperate cries for answers to why no one would believe his innocence. Elihu heard Job’s insistent pleas as blasphemy…rebellion…and arrogance to God. Elihu clung to the narrow minded views of man that all tragedy befalling man was the result of some sin in their life….therefore Job must be hiding some sin.

 

Elihu had one correct point…we do need to listen…and discern for ourselves what is right.  But Elihu was depending on man’s understanding of what the word ‘right’ meant.  He dealt in generalities…never even entertaining in his heart that Job might just be telling the truth. He thought he was wise…but he did not stop once to ask God for guidance and wisdom to share with Job.

 

God had simply not revealed to man in this time that everything bad that happens to us is not always the result of sin in our life.  Even the leaders of the Israelites in later time clung to this misconception. John 9:3 clearly records Jesus’ words…when the disciples asked the son of man…and he replied… "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

 

Oh what comfort it would have brought to Job’s heart if God had chosen this time to reveal the great truth he allowed Jesus to reveal to the disciples.  But it was not the right time for God to reveal this yet….and Job could merely cling to the feeling in his heart that God was somewhere close by…and was still making choices for his life. Job wasn’t being rebellious by simply asking God to help him understand. Job was not in the wrong to cry out for answers to his pain. What Elihu perceived as blaspheme and arrogance…were just desperate cries of faith to God…from a heart that wanted to understand the purpose for his pain.

 

Perhaps the thread that kept Job from falling completely as he suffered were the words of David in Psalms 145:17-18 …. “The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.  The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”  He knew God wasn’t gone from his life…even as he felt the emptiness around him.  He knew that God had made some choice he couldn’t understand…and like Jacob in Genesis 32…he was not going to let go until God finally saw fit to explain it to him.

 

Father…thank you for reminding me that you never leave our side….all I have to do is look down to see the second set of footprints walking next to mine to see you. Help me to accept all the choices you have made for me in life…and see them as opportunities to learn about you.  Help me to see the things that cause me pain like Job …as ways to grow closer to your perfect will for my life.   Teach me the true meaning of ‘right’ and ‘good’…so I can always have your definition in my head and heart to help me make the choices that you would have me make. Amen.

God's Silence Will Not Be Forever

Job 33:13-18 -   Why do you complain to him that he answers none of man's words?  For God does speak--now one way, now another-- though man may not perceive it.  In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, to turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword.

 

This fourth friend who had waited so respectfully to the words exchanged between Job and the other 3 friends…thought he could convince Job where the others had failed.  He assumed that Job’s declaration of innocence was not possible…and accused Job of not listening …for God’s message that revealed the sin that caused his problems.  Elihu’s words are poetic…wise and true…for all of us except Job.

 

Sometimes God does speak to us in dreams and visions. Sometimes God sends someone in person to reveal a truth to our heart and set us on the right path.  Sometimes God uses the Bible…or the inspired words of current authors like Max Lucado…or TD Jakes. Sometimes he simply sends his Holy Spirit to convict us and lead us and guide us to where we need to be.

 

But what Elihu did not know to tell Job…was that sometimes God stays silent. God simply does not give us all the answers to every question we ask….in the timing of Earth. Revelation 21:4-5 explains it this way…. “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Just like Job….we have to wait sometimes… for God to work his great plan.

 

Job had the right idea….he was following the advice of David in Psalms 55:22 …which says… “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.”  God was there…holding Job in his arms….letting his faith shine strong to satan. His faith was shining strong to his friends too…but they were too blinded by the old order of things…to wrapped up in the old to see the possibility that Job could be telling the truth.

 

Father…thank you for reminding me that I am not supposed to have the answers to all my questions until you decide I am ready.  Help me to be like Job….and cast my cares upon you…so that you can sustain me…and give me the strength and courage to keep seeking you…even when the path is dark and scary to my human eyes. Thank you for the promise that someday I will have all the answers to every question I have let come from my mouth…as I step into that wonderful world you have been preparing for all who have called on you to be their Savior.  Hold me in your arms and give me strength to endure whatever challenge is ahead…as you teach me your wisdom…and show me how to share your love with others.  Amen.