Rest and hope in the Lord

Psalm 131 is a very short psalm--only three verses. I personally had some difficulty with it but as the study was done I learned several things. The psalmist begins stating that Lord that his heart is not proud (haughty, prideful) and he doesn't look down on others (humble) and can't do miracles or things that are beyond his abilities. Then goes on to state BUT he is calm, quiet, like a "weaned" baby with its mother, he is childlike. He then calls for Israel to put their hope in the Lord both now and forever. We know that God despises the proud and asks that we humble ourselves to others. He calls us to know when it is time to "speak" and when not to do so. We are reminded in the study that this does not mean we are to be doormats, walked upon,because there are times we are called to stand and speak out. It is in listening to God and His direction that we will know when to take any action or not and how to handle the situation. We also know that this attitude could affect our ability to minister to others in the way God would have us to do. Our egos can get us into much trouble, eh? Scripture tells us that there are some things that only God knows. Beth told us of tragedies that in our humaness we can not understand, don't seem fair/right but it is only in God's knowledge that it is understood. We are not expected to understand all things but know that God own description of Himself in Exodus 34: 6-7 helps to clarify things "Yahweh--Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin." We know that God can do no wrong and that He is sovereign. We might not understand but we do know His heart. Anselm, an eleventh-century English monk stated, "I do not seek, O Lord, to penetrate they depths. I by no means think my intellect equal to them: but I long to understand in some degree thy truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to undertstand that I may believe, but I belive, that I may understand." A wonderful way to look at these things. The psalmist then tells us he is like a child -- a weaned child. We learned in our study that in that culture a child was weaned at the age of three so this would be a toddler who is no longer looking to his mother for his nourishment but is coming to her for more than that. I began to think of this as God taking me up into His arms and carrying me, providing comfort, direction, rendering me totally dependent upon Him even as to where He was taking me, unconditional love and compassion, and saving me from harm. What a wonderful and comforting picture!!! I know I need to think in this way more often--all my needs are met by Him!!! Thank you Lord for being my Father!!! As the psalmist called on Israelto see, He is my hope, now and forever!

As I wait on the Lord, I put my hope in Him and His Word

Psalm 130 begins with a cry out from the pit for the Lord to hear, to listen attentively to the cries of the sinner. Reflection is made upon what it would look like and whether it would be able to stand if the Lord held all sins accountable -- too vast to contain. But that doesn't have to be because the Lord is faithful and just to forgiveand save us and bring glory unto Himself. We then are reminded that we are to wait upon the Lord and His hope for our lives. Wait even more intensely than does the night watchman eagerly await the first glimpse of the morning. We are reminded that our hope comes from the Lord and His Word. In them and His unfailing love we are granted full and complete redemption. What a wonderful thing! In this passage, the Hebrew words for the Lord are Yahweh (I Am Who I Am, covenant maker), Adonai (covenant keeper, master, ruler over all), and Ja (I AM. It makes this psalm even more meaningful. We must have faith that His Word is true and that means believing in more than just God's existence. We were reminded that even Satan and his evil forces believe in that. We must move more than that. We must belive that He is the I Am. The term, "I AM" has intrigued me for some time. It encompasses all the persons, names, attributes, characteristics, etc. of God because He is the All in All. In Psalm 139 we learned that there was no where that we could be that God wasn't there with us. Even in the lowest depths He is available. We know from scripture that God has blotted away our sins and they are as far from the east as is the west after we have called unto Him in repentance. Our continued reminders of past sin is not from God. We are allowing Satan to use that against us and the battle has already been won! Also it does not honor God. We can honor God by responding to His forgiveness in joy and happiness. We know scripture tells us the angels in heaven rejoice each time a sinner is saved--should ours be any less? Yes, we have full and complete redemption!!! We are now brought to be reminded of how hopeless we feel at times in our lives. Again Jeremiah 29:ll comes to bear. If you do not know this passage, take the time now to pick up your Bible and read it closely. That is a promise of hope! This I have waited upon and continue to do so and put my faith/trust/hope in this passage of God's Word. I have to fully expect God to fulfill this promise. I have to wait expectantly for its fulfillment. He will answer our cries when we call for repentance, He will show up, and when we put our hope in Him and His Word, we can KNOW that He will do as He says He will. He comes to us with His unfailing love, not condemnation. I had not looked as closely at the three verses after Jeremiah 29:11 but they are powerful and another reminder of our hope in Him. "You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you'--the Lord's declaration--'and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you'--the Lord's declaration.'I will restore you to the place I deported you from.'" (HCSB) WOW!!! I am so glad I was reminded of this passage. But even in our deliverance we are called on to share our experiences and thereby we give glory to God who delivered us. We know that from our experiences, both good and bad, that God can use them for His honor and glory. Do not chastise yourself anymore for bad choices/experiences, look at how you can use them to show others God's love and mercy. Our hope is in the Lord and His Word -- let's continue to wait with hope!

oppressed, communicating with God,

Psalm 129 begins with the statement that from the time I was a child, I was oppressed and attacked (referring to Israel). Yet through it all I have prevailed. We know history has proven this to be true. From the beginning the Jewish nation has been abused, attacked and tried to be destroyed. However, although they have been dispersed into many nations they have perservered. We now see the physical nation of Israel. I also believe that we can look upon this passage in relation to our lives as well and through Christ we have prevailed. Many have endured abuse, oppression, attacks, put downs, etc. in their lifetimes. People handle these things differently, some allowing them to destroy them or inhibit their lives while others deal with them through Christ's healing. I think this brings us to know that it is only through our allowing Christ to deal with us and these issues that true healing can be brought about in our lives. Many of us think we have done so, but do they come up again? If so, we need to again go to the Lord for direction and deliverance. We also need to remember that it is not ours to try to "make them answer" for their deeds, but God's. By realizing and accepting this, our lives will be blessed. In this psalm God is called upon to avenge the wrongs that have been done in "not so nice" ways -- put them to shame, make them wither as grass that is beat down upon by the sun and no longer useful even to the reapers. God understands our emotions when we are hurt. It is okay to express them to him--remember emotions were given to us by Him. But it is then our decision again as to how to deal with them. Will you allow God to be your defender? In Isaiah 52, we are told he is our defender. Who else could you want in that position? Beth reminds us that Christ gave His back to scourging so we, the rightful recipients of such agony, could instead receive dignity. "And by His stripes we are healed" - Isaiah 53:5. Amen!

Blessings

Happy is the man who ... fears the Lord and walks in His ways!!! Amen? Psalm 128 begins with this passage and makes us desire to know more. Fears the Lord -- what does He mean by that? Walk in His ways? How do we do that? Thereafter scripture tells us of the blessings that will come our way if we do as we have been commanded. This is a conditional blessing! To fear the Lord to me reminds me that I am to honor/respect the Lord and His Word. Then I know that I am to follow His guidance and direction -- to be in His will for my life. This brings us back to Christ being the Vine and us the branches and if we are cut away from Him, and do not draw from His life our own nurturing, we will perish! We were told of the two Hebrew words for blessed - asher and barak. The word as used here is asher (happy/blessed) and suggests that it is both a condition (to be blessed) and a human reaction (to be happy). Wow! Through following this -- we get BOTH! Beth tells us that biblically one is pronounced blessed when God is present and involved in our lives and His hand is working, directing all our affairs, for His divine purpose and in a sense we live before the face of God. How about that? Have you ever thought about that? Sometimes our circumstances are not happy ones but we are reminded that the circumstances of our heart can be with God's help. We know that God gives us directions that prove wise in both the statement and what it brings about in our lives. For instance, God tells us to forgive each other. We know that as humans this is difficult. But we also know with God's help we can. From this, we ourselves are healed and happy. This is a double whammy for our good! The blessing can also be as Beth suggested in what we avoided, not just in what we gained. One thing that she shared that I thought was great was this statement "In loving God and then loving others as we love ourselves, we in effect keep the entire law". What do you think about that? All the other things should just fall into place. From there the passage tells of the blessings that we will reap if we follow the direction of God. First He relates the blessing of food, then our spouses to be fruitful, and the blessing of children around our table. These blessings were the mainstay of one's life and culture at that time. By them you will see prosperity and be blessed by your descendants. We know that our families are one of our greatest blessings as well. What a wonderful promise that God gives to us!!! Then we can ask ourselves about our spiritual family. How do you think this applies to it or does it?

Laboring in Vain, Heritage from the Lord

Psalm 127 seems to me to be in two different phases. The first two verses dealing with the construction of a home. It is noted that no matter how much work we do, how well we do it, or even someone else does toward making that home just perfect, if God is not in control, watching over and protecting it will not come to fruition. It reminds us that God is in control and things in our home will be right if they are done through God's leadership and direction. Again He wants the best for all of us. It made me think of our current economic/political situation. It is the same today as then -- without God whatever we try to build will not work! It is my prayer that our nation will again become a nation that looks to the Lord! After all our sometimes ineffective labor, it seems as if rest is hard to get. This was great for me to hear that God provides his blessings/sleep to those He loves! I had never thought of that and have tried to remember that when rest/sleep is hard to find. Then we are reminded that children are a heritage and a reward. They are as arrows in a warrior's quiver to stand for the family and bring honor to it. The scripture states sons and we know that in that time a special significance was given to having sons. For it was the sons who would be counted on to provide, defend, etc. the family. It was in no way offensive to the daughters of that time. It made me realize that I am so blessed to have Christ as the "custom builder" of my home!! He has the perfect set of blueprints! I am so thankful to God for my beautiful family, the three wonderful children, in-laws and grandchildren. Also to be reminded that families are more than just physically blood-related persons but includes those who are blood-related through the blood of Christ. What an extra blessing for us all!

Working in Vain

Psalm 127 begins reminding us that if God doesn't build the house or guard the city, anything else done to build or protect is in vain. It doesn't matter how much effort we put into it if we are working with the Lord. As I referred to previously, Blackaby reminds us to find where the Lord is working and to join Him. So often all our human efforts go into things that have no real worth. We work so to "succeed" in all the ways the world identifies success. We give all our efforts to "getting it all". But in the end, the things we have gotten have no eternal value whatsoever! God protects and watches over the building of His house and city! I want to live in that city both now and eternally. I pray that God will show me where He wants me to work! There have been times recently when I have looked at my life and felt that my life had no real meaning -- no purpose. Even though I knew this was a falsehood put into my head by Satan, I could relate to it. All the things that I had previously planned for, worked for, etc. was now gone! I had not ever imagined that my life would be as it is today! I know I have been blessed so abundantly by the Lord and I am so thankful. But my life now ...... I had to remind myself that the Lord who blessed me in the past, would continue to do so, that He loved me with an everlasting love, that He was longsuffering and merciful, and understood exactly what I was going through and will continue to do so. He is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow -- Thank you Lord!!! I truly want to be in His will and doing His work. I am in the Vine and through the Vine, I have life. Because of that life, I can produce good fruit and live! Without it, I will die! I want to be a good worker with Him. Working on things that have eternal value -- not futile work. During the difficult times, rest/sleep has proved difficult. The verse that says God gives sleep/rest to those He loves brings deep comfort to me. I have found at times that I have difficulty just deciding to go to bed, let alone sleep. I now know I need to focus on getting the appropriate rest I need to be able to do what God would have me to do. Also I can rest in the promise that because He loves me, He gives me rest! Amen!

Times of Joy

We are told that our lives have seasons; a time to be born, a time to die; a time to weep, and a time to rejoice, etc. It is so much easier to be happy about the good times/seasons in our lives, but through this study we learn that it is through these difficult times that the Lord sifts us so that we can be better equipped to be used by Him, for our spiritual growth, and for His praise/glory. Through each of these seasons he is asking us to join Him as we BEGIN a new phase of our life with Him. No one enjoys difficult times but it is through them that we find ourselves fully invested in everything about Him, as He guides, directs and loves us through it. And it does have a conclusion! One that is at God's timing and for His purpose in our lives. Psalm 126 tells of the joy that is brought about by His restoration of Zion. It was such a wonderful thing for the people that it seemed as if it had been a dream and not reality. They are filled with laughter and shout with joy as to the Lord's goodness and mercy to them. They extol Him as the greatest among all the nations and tell of the good things He has done for them. They give Him praise. They look at the past, present but then look toward the future asking Him to continue to restore their fortunes just as the river of Negev flow so they ask their fortunes to continue. Do it again, Lord, they ask -- Do it again!! Boy, how many times do we have that same feeling!!! Though they had difficult times and had sown many tears they were now reaping joy and as the seed of sorrow was sown so now has the harvest of joy been reaped. They remembered the good time in the past and were asking God for those good times in the future. It was their hope that He would honor their request. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us of a promise that God gave to His people, assuring them of His plans for their good, not to harm them, but for them to prosper. This is one of my favorite passages of scripture and I hold on to that promise with all that I have! In those bad times, I can REMEMBER that promise and have HOPE! They remembered their deliverance and good fortune and gave their praise to God. So should we be very vocal in our praise to God for His deliverance and good fortunes He has provided for us. God is still in the same business! This is something that we are called to sow -- the Word! The message of HOPE! God is calling us to move on up the steps to Him -- are you ready? Sometimes we are fearful as to what it is that God desires but remember again Jeremiah 29:11. Blackaby stated in "Experiencing God" to find out where God is working and join Him there! Do we just want to devour the Seed/Word and never move toward true application of it in our lives? He is calling us to more than partaking of the Word but to be a participant in the plan He has for us -- one that is perfect, good, prosperous! Even into the unknown, but we know Who is with us there - surrounding us in His love and protection for His purpose/glory. Let's join!

He surrounds us with His love and protection

Psalm 125 reminds us that those who trust in God are unshakable in their trust of Him. That trust remains secure forever. Just as mountains surround Jerusalem, so also does the Lord surround His people protecting them. He has done it in the past, does it now, and will do it in the future. Great is His faithfulness to me and all of God's children!!! It is requested that the wicked not rule over God's people so they will not be corrupted by the wickedness but that God would be good to those who are good and honest. It is requested that God banish them from Israel so that there will be peace in Israel. It was interesting to me that the Hebrew word for trust is "batach" which is defined as being "confident, secure, sure". When I explored what these terms meant to me it brought such sweet assurance. I have been battling at times with insecurity. This is just another avenue for God to remind me that my only assurance, trust, security is in Him, and Him alone!!! It is so much easier for us as humans to trust in what we are able to see than that which is not. But I can "see" what God has done in the past and WILL "see" Him in the future. If not careful we can place our security in only what we "see" and not in He alone. He asks that we follow Him by faith only. We need to be able to state confidently that we know God Himself is with us/for us even when we do not "see" Him. I ask that God will show me when I place my trust in anything other than Him! This passage states that He surrounds us, protecting us from all enemies. I think of the night fires that were made as the soldiers stood watch for the enemy surrounding those they were charged to protect. What a mighty picture of our God!! This reminds that that nothing can come against us that doesn't go through Him first and I don't think there is anything powerful enough to go through Him if He doesn't allow it to do so. What a mighty God we serve-Amen? One interesting comment made by Beth was that God is both the watchman and the wall--again all sufficient! It is so comforting to know that irregardless of our troubles, circumstances, sorrows that God is there, surrounding us with His protection as He lifts us ever so gently up! We were also reminded in our study about giving up our concerns to the Father -- even our closest family members. Remember God's love is even bigger than ours for them!! We can trust Him to care for them and we need to make the decision to do just that. This has been especially close to me in the past year and I will admit I have had to give them more than once -- tried to take them back -- but they were His first -- only on loan to me. I pray that I will trust God more and more each day and rest in the peace that only He provides!! I pray that for you as well!