Category: Psalms

Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words.  Psalm 119:161

Unfortunate is the adult who still has the magical thinking of a child.  He expects that life will always be fair and that there will always be a human being to make sure things go in his favor.  His parents, most likely, never taught him wisdom for how to live in this world.

My father was a public high school teacher, then principal, then guidance counselor.  Stories were told around our dinner table about parents who stood up for ‘little Johnny’ after he had acted out and had been sent to the office for discipline.  Consequences for his rebellious and disruptive behavior would have benefited him but his parents, indignant that their child could be guilty, interfered with needed justice.

David knew persecution, even by those who had the unlimited power to raise up an army.  They were the rich and powerful.  The reputation of the crown preceded them.  Yet, he was street smart in the midst of injustice.  Some years later, he would pass on such wisdom to his son, Solomon, as evidenced by his writing. “If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.”  Ecclesiastes 5:8

David knew that there was such a thing as innocence, even if men in high places called you guilty.  He also knew that God, the higher authority, watched all matters and it would be a matter of time before His justice would prevail.

I remember that today.  Though it appears men get away with wielding the sword of abusive power, it is an illusion.  Their crimes will catch up to them and they will pay for all eternity if they do not repent at the foot of the cross.

How does this apply to me personally?  No one, not even a prince, should cause me to wear robes of shame if I am innocent, or if I have already repented and made restitution.

The mighty are little in Your universe.  Keep my perspective clean and focused.  Amen

The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.  Psalm 119:69

David’s enemies were jealous of his reputation.  They were proud and felt that they deserved the attention and prestige.  They didn’t even blink when they conceived lies that would bring him to a place of contempt in the public’s eye.  They justified their sin because it would get them what they wanted – center stage.

Their plot didn’t cause him to sway off course.  He did not engage in name calling nor did he defend himself.  With his whole heart, he honored God’s precepts, namely – not taking revenge on those who deserved punishment.  He left such things to God.

Sooner or later, every child of God will experience a smear campaign.  It may be a coup d’etat over a place in the church; a position of leadership coveted by one who feels overlooked.  A carnal agenda can run rampant to discredit a godly leader by concocting untrue or exaggerated stories that will cast the good man in a bad light.  All in the name of self-advancement and entitlement.

If we have lost money, position, and places of leadership because of a smear campaign the likes of what David suffered, and if we have borne it patiently as he did, we must take courage.  We remember Joseph.  The time in the dungeon was temporary.  In it, God taught him wisdom, and while he was in his underground school, God was preparing all of Egypt for a new kind of leader.  God takes up the cause of His servants, whether now or later.  His redemptive purposes are never off course.  Though it may look like it, hindsight will reveal that even betrayal was part of heaven’s timetable.  The ticking of the clock is steady and under sovereign control.

 In betrayal and injustice, you have a plan for Your child and the tormentors are on your leash and on your time clock.  Help us take comfort in that.  Amen

Save

SaveSave

My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.  Psalm 119:20

Being consumed with something is an experience common to each of us.  I know what that feels like.  So do you.  I was consumed with grief when our son died.  Consumed with dread when a cancer diagnosis was made regarding my father and mother.  The eventual losses filled my heart to such an extent that death was all I thought about.  I couldn’t enjoy holidays or the company of my favorite people for many months.  The ache in my heart was just forefront.

I’ve had my soul consumed by positive life experiences as well.  A song in the process of being written can arrest me.   Or one that I’m arranging for future recording can consume me round the clock.   Also, a new writing venture has consumed me.  The layout of the book, chapter divisions, and the dissection of the material were on my mind all hours of the day.  I was only physically present in other conversations.  I smiled and nodded but my mind was on my writing.

David admits that his soul is consumed with longing for God’s ways.

How many can say this?  Curious, perhaps.  Interested, of course.  But longing?  I find that I only ‘long for’ what is life-saving to me.  The only way I know if God’s ways are life-saving is by applying them.  Reading but not applying keeps me a dispassionate student.  The scriptures are kept at arms length.

If I come to the end of myself and pour out my complaint to God in search of answers, I am a good candidate to experience the longing David describes.  Consumed with need, I throw all my hope upon the scriptures.  Whatever God prescribes, I do.  I’ve no confidence left in myself.  When that occurs, God’s Word meets my places of need and there is combustion.  Hope, wisdom, and peace result.  I begin to have a new perspective about my life and feel that I am soaring in a spiritual realms.  Remembering how life used to be, and having tasted of what it means to dwell in the kingdom with Jesus, my soul develops a new kind of longing.

Ignite my spiritual appetite yet again.  I want ‘consumed’ to describe me.  Amen

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

Save

Save

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

SaveSave

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?” →