Category: Psalms

My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!  Psalm 119:27

God’s agenda for me is to strengthen my faith.  Satan’s agenda is to destroy my faith.  He will do it by using pain and pleasure.  The pleasures tempt me to believe that there is something more desirable than God.  The pain lures me to believe that God is not good nor caring.  I don’t know which catalyst, pain or pleasure, is more dangerous.

David knows that when he is grieving and about to break under the strain of something heartbreaking, his greatest need is a strength that comes from God’s Word.  The hug of a friend may be nice, a good listening ear is valuable, a meal brought in when I’m too sick to make one for my family can be an overwhelming relief, but none will save my soul from melting away in the fires of grief.  What is saving and stabilizing is a word from God.

Come face to face with a pain deep enough and there will be few words from others that dull the throbbing.  That ‘thing’ is all-consuming, bubbling beneath the surface of our smiles.  Unless someone knows us well, they might be fooled by the subtle sighs and far off looks that tell the truth of our great heaviness.

God’s Word comes to us in this helpless childlike state.  We may be older, but when hurting, we feel like children.  God’s children. It is not the wordy discourse on pre-destination that will comfort us when we are in great distress.  It is the Word in bite-sized nuggets that chip away at our fear and penetrates the darkness.  “I know.”  “I care.”  “I will weep with you.”  “Do not fear.”  “Rest in me.”  “Trust my heart.”  “I’m here, now.”

Little nuggets for little children.  With each one, a big hand takes a little one and trust is momentarily restored.  There is radical grace, inexplicable, for the moment.

 I need You. Whisper to me like a child and I will be saved.  Amen

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How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  Psalm 119:103

Oh, the exquisite beauty of the scriptures.  They enlarge my spirit, they redeem my soul, and they bring healing to my body.  They minister to every part of me as a woman.  Without them, I just mark time and fall into a routine that has little eternal meaning.  But with them, I’m walk into the expanse of Eden’s restoration.

Have you ever labored over a letter?  I have.  I keep a neat stash of beautiful note cards in the drawer of my desk.  None of them have a commercial sentiment on the inside because I believe that personal thoughts are so much more effective.   When I take one out, write something and then send it, that person may never know the time that went into the creation of just those few paragraphs.  No matter what I write, I experience a kind of travail over what is conceived on paper.  If the recipient could know the thoughts and prayers behind the card, would they cherish the words more?  Probably so.  Yet, I’m realistic enough to know that some cards will eventually get tossed after several readings.  If my words were handled carelessly, it was out of ignorance.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Scriptures are the writings of the living God: each letter was penned with an Almighty finger; each word in it dropped from the everlasting lips, each sentence was dictated by the Holy Spirit.”  Would I handle the Word of God differently today if I knew He labored over each word from the beginning of time?  What if I could have perceived His heart beating fast, pen in hand, asking “How should I reveal myself to her?  What words of love will she understand?  What words of warning will prevent her from going astray to  face unnecessary pain?  What promises will she hang onto?” 

If only I could comprehend that each word has been carefully chosen, inspired by a foreknowledge of each saint who would read them.  They are for all of us, yet just for me as well.  That is the miracle of them.  Whatever word you need today, the Holy Spirit will lead you to it and it will be the word that brings life and sweetness.  Hold it.  Tremble with wonder.  Breathe deeply of its fragrance.

Today, I will not handle Your words casually.  Let them drip into my soul until I taste their sweetness.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.  Psalm 119:22

When I am taunted and despised, the shame that was inflicted invites me to own it, to wear it like it belongs to me.  The only One who can remove the ill-fitted overcoat is God.

To hold one in contempt, in the Greek, is to dismiss that person as if they had little value.  It’s hard to speak up in a family if you perceive that whatever you offer will be dismissed by a casual wave of the hand.  It’s difficult to offer suggestions in a meeting when you know that whatever you say will be the topic of ridicule.  Does that mean that I shouldn’t speak?

The hard answer to that is “no”.  I should speak when God prompts me to speak.  It’s true that when I offer a kingdom principle to a group that considers God’s ways to be foolish, I invite rejection.  Yet, that didn’t stop Jesus.  Every time I use my mouth the way He used His, I set myself up for the same controversy, the same taunts, and the same rejection.

The real issue is ~ where do I go to heal?  Perhaps already today you’ve been the object of scorn.  You’ve put on the familiar overcoat of shame.  It’s grey, drab, and hangs off your shoulders like a fifty pound weight.  Who understands?  The one who has already walked this road of rejection.  Because Jesus prompted you to speak, He will speak to the hurts that you suffered because of it.

When all is said and done at the end of the day, I lay my head down on the pillow and talk with Jesus about my day.  He sees where I’m bleeding and speaks truth to the places where I’m about to nurture dead end lies.  In the stillness, the soothing sound of His voice invites me to cast off the shame and stand in the warmth of His light.  Daily, I am healed.

Lord, Your Word mends all frayed edges.  Thank you.  Amen

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My zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words.  Psalm 119:139

David’s definition of anger as “a zeal that consumes” is a good one.  Jesus said something similar when he turned over the tables in the temple and sent coins flying.  “Zeal for your house has consumed me.” His anger was hot, not because they had wronged Him, but because His Father’s glory was spurned.  Respect for God’s temple was absent and acts of worship were handled with a lack of integrity.

Back to David.  His zeal was engaged, not because he was personally wronged, but because God’s Word was forgotten.  This is a holy man.  He was, as Jesus was, more offended for God than for himself.

Do I ever have this reaction?   When I am lied to, am I offended for God because His law was broken?  Or, am I hurt because someone intentionally deceived me and trust was violated?  When my child speaks disrespectfully to me, do I grieve on account of the spiritual danger my child faces because of his lack for spiritual authority?  Or am I upset because my own power and authority was questioned?

A sin against anyone is a sin against God but how often do I hurt for God’s broken heart?  When the sin is against me, I can be so self-centered that my tears are only for myself.  As God helps me work my way through the hurt, I will eventually discover His heavy heart.

Sin is rampant.  God’s law is trampled upon.  I just had to open my browser and see the headlines this morning to get fresh evidence.  God is hurting over the betrayal of His creation.  Will my comfort make a dent?  Is God really touched by my soothing words?  Yes.  Jesus was God in the flesh and on the eve of His arrest, He asked for His disciple’s companionship in prayer.  He admitted what He needed from them but they didn’t come through.

Though God doesn’t need my comfort to gain strength or feel validated, He is still moved by it.  The next time someone uses God’s name to curse me out, I will tell God that I’m sorry.

My anger is often engaged, but not for the right reasons.  I want to feel what you feel and see beyond my own pride.  Amen

Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law.  Psalm 119:28

It’s so easy for me to live by my own set of defaults.  My behavior has been shaped by my environment and genetics.  However, even though I’m prone to do my own thing without an afterthought, I have a gracious teacher who stretches me to embrace new beliefs and behaviors.

When I was young, I picked up ways of coping with my life that work for me.  I learned these patterns from watching my parents and other adults in my life.  They became my defaults.  “That’s the way we do things in our family…” is a defensive tip-off that a default behavior is in play.  Or, “That’s just me.  That’s what I do when…..”

God is all about replacing my defaults (false ways according to David) with new kingdom strategies.  Who is the teacher?  The Holy Spirit.  He gently and graciously exposes each false way as I interact with His word, and then shows me God’s choice for that situation.  I may be called to speak when, by default, I would have been silent.  I may be called to be silent when, by default, I would have run my mouth.  I may be called to be the only one in my family to make a different choice when, by default, I’ve always been a conformist.  I may be called to live in harmony when, by default, I’ve been a wild horse who insisted on acting independently.

The Holy Spirit is not mean-faced or punitive.  He is cajoling, patient, and encouraging, even when learning a new way takes a long time.  I’ve learned that it’s unrealistic to think that I can undo decades of defaults overnight.  It will be trial and error, walking into a new truth a step at a time.  While learning it, I may not feel I’m moving very fast either.  I can become my own harsh teacher, replacing the kind words of the Spirit with my own condemning messages.

The question I ask myself today is not “How far have you come?”  It’s this ~ “Am I on the path of abandoning false ways and listening to my teacher?”  If yes, even a snails pace fueled by a good faith effort is the pace that is pleasing to God.

I will be abandoning defaults until the day I die.  I always want to hear Your voice above my predecessors.   Amen

Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. Psalm 116:7

One half of all Americans suffer from poor sleep. There is much to obsess over with my eyes on this world. Pressures on our children, financial instability on the horizon, political pressures that will only increase against God’s children, deception and division in our churches, poor health that is exacerbated by life in a toxic world. Just reading this list reinforces the lie that worry is inescapable and peace is unattainable.

God promises each of His children spiritual rest. Not too many years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what it meant. While I had moments of it on a good day, I had no idea how it could be sustained. Rest can’t be dependent upon circumstances because God wouldn’t have promised it to people who live in a cursed world. Rest must mean something else.

Today, you and I can find true calm by remembering three things.

Continue reading “How Can I Know Spiritual Rest?” →

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High. Psalm 50:14

Have you ever noticed how few people ever say ‘thank you’? We are, by nature, selfish and entitled. Because we believe we deserve better, saying ‘thank you’ doesn’t occur to us as often as it should. I can also be offended when I think another’s ‘thank you’ isn’t grand enough for what I gave them. Because they didn’t go into enough detail, or because it took them too long to send an acknowledgement, I call them ungrateful. While it may be true in some cases, my propensity to hold a grudge should be checked against my own sin of entitlement.

I’ve heard it said that Adam and Eve’s offense against God wasn’t necessarily pride but ingratitude. They had access to every single tree created except one but they felt that even that one should be theirs.

If I’m going to measure a ‘thank you’ against the weight of the gift that was given to me, then I’m guilty of not expressing a proper ‘thank you’ to God. The level of my acknowledgement is far beneath what it should be. I casually thank Him for forgiving me when I fail to realize what would happen to me if He hadn’t. I forget to thank Him for my health until I languish for a time under a chronic illness. (I’m still recovering from 13 months of Long Covid.). God owes me nothing and yet He gives me everything. I pray that my thanks won’t be just a whisper under my breath but an audible, hearty Halleluiah.  Perhaps my thanksgiving will be contagious and I will help create an environment of gratitude where everyone considers taking part.

So Father, deepen my gratitude for the privilege of being your child. I vow to finish this race well. Like a bride who stands at an altar, I vow to love you all my life. I vow make you my treasure above all other people, and all other things. Amen

“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires.  Isaiah 54;11

Hagar knew what it was to face death.  She experienced an isolation in the wilderness that offered no comfort. She held her nearly dead child in her arms.  Voice weak, completely dehydrated, and half starved.  No water or provision of food was in sight.  She smelled death but refused to succumb to what seemed to be the inevitable.  She poured out her complaint to the God of Israel.  Hagar said, “Let me not look on the death of my child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”  Genesis 21:16-18

Where did Hagar learn to do this?  From the very ones who forced her out of their presence.  Abraham and Sarah.  Oh, the irony.

I’ve cupped my hands around things that appeared to be dying.  Dreams, health, ministries, faith.  From all appearances, many would have said that hoping was foolish.  Death was staring me in the face.  All options were obscure at best.

Hagar, the least likely ministry leader, shows each of us the way to glory.  She prayed, listened, cast her hopes on God, and then obeyed.  She lifted up her boy to the God who breathes life into dead souls.  She could not know that a thousand years later, Ezekiel would watch God breathe over a whole valley of corpses and bring them to their feet.  By the breath of His mouth, He would transform skeletons into warriors.

Has God been true to His promise? Did he make Ishmael the father of a great nation?  Yes.  Many Palestinians have, and will, trust Christ.  When they embrace their Lord, how passionate they are!

Will God hear me when I take what is weak, infirmed, perhaps even dead, and lift it toward heaven?  Yes. Hagar was told to lift Ishmael up and hold him fast with her hand.  Instead of laying him down in defeat, she embraced him in heartfelt prayer.  And oh, what an outcome.

You long to breathe over all things expired.  Amen

Reflection:  Hopeless talk infects an atmosphere of faith.  What have you recently declared hopeless?  Pick it up.  Cup your hands around it.  Lift it up to feel the breath of a life-giving God.