God I trust; I do not fear

God, whose word I praise, Yahweh, whose word I praise, God I trust; I do not fear. What can mere humankind do to me?

My vows to you, O God, are binding upon me. I will pay thank offerings to you, because you have delivered my soul from death. Have you not kept my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
– Psalms 56:10-13

The psalmist, confident that God watches over him, confident that He knows his suffering; finds his trust in God because he knows that God is on his side. The psalmist walks securely and safely because he is protected.

I will repeatedly put my trust in God, reiterating His goodness, bringing before Him praise…because He is a God who cares, protects, and guides His chosen ones.

Father I put my trust in You, for You are trustworthy. You are my God.
Amen

A Student of Hardship

And David said,”As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish.
– 1 Samuel 26:10

And David said to Abigail,”Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand!
– 1 Samuel 25:32,33

ESV notes:
“God has given your enemy into your hand.” Abishai uses the same arguments as David’s men in (24:4), and David again refuses, adding that God will surely strike Saul instead, a lesson he perhaps learned from the death of Nabal (25:39)

When those who walk in righteousness are wronged or insulted, instead of taking matters into their own hands, they may trust in the justice of God.

I am personally impressed with the teachable nature of David. Through suffering and hardship much can be learned, both of life and oneself. David makes himself a student of hardship, learning well the strength and vengeance of God. It is here where the written psalm rings true, “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”

May my soul cling to you Lord…and no one else. May I embrace your promises, yet not trust in their ability to deliver your servant…for you O Lord are my deliverance. I trust in your justice, your goodness Lord; your beauty I long to see.
Amen

Refuge and affliction

Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.
Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
– Psalms 34:19-22

Both the righteous and the wicked face affliction, but the outcomes of each are very different. One is delivered, the other slain. One is found approved, the other condemned. For one found hope in the Lord, and the other found hope in anything but.

May that I might find my refuge in the Lord. This verse gave me great peace this morning: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. (verse 6,7) The Psalmist portrays the angel of Yahweh as an army that surrounds and protects those who fear him. In dark places, and when my rest is surrounded by those who wish to see my demise, I must remember the God who surrounds me.

North Shore Adventure in Solitude 1/26/13

Well Lord, here I am, ready to hear your voice. Would you unblock my deaf ears…open my heart to hear you fully and not in part. I ask for great discernment and understanding; I ask that I may know where to step forward from this place.

“Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of The Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
– Exodus 14:13-14

The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is his name.
– Exodus 15:2-3

You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
– Exodus 15:13

This is The Lord God; in his strength he causes war against those opposed to his redeemed, yet also in his strength he guides a nation to safety.
When reading this evening I came across the passage, “which he will work for you today,” in which my dyslexia translated as: ‘which (we) will work for you today’…now this would have made sense for me…after all, Moses was speaking to the people…it was Moses raising his staff. I would have gone on reading thinking that this verse revealed some great partnership with God.
However…
I have been given a kind of “spider sense” when my brain is playing tricks on me. By rereading the passage a couple times over, the true words would reveal themselves to me. It is “He” not (we). This point is further driven home when God says, “you have only to be silent.” There is nothing that this people can do to save their skin but to obey the words of the Lord…to move forward…to stay silent.

So how does this apply to me? I am no longer a slave to sin…and I know my God fights for me. This day when speaking with The Lord, I felt strongly the words “season of healing” and the inner response, or rather question within asking,’how to walk forward from here?’

To conclude this time of solitude I will choose to remain silent. No need to speak. No urgency to let my voice be heard…I will forward in silence before my God and his will shall be made known.

Fathe help me to embrace a life of silence before you…in its appropriate season. Would you guide me in your strength, be present with me in this walk of healing. I trust your goodness even in the darkness, may your light lead the way. Contend for me great man of war!
Amen

Two perspectives of steadfast love

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your right hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
– Psalms 138:7,8

The very hand set against my enemies is the same hand of deliverance. This speaks true then, that God may be viewed from two very different perspectives; to the wrathfull he shows himself as such, and to the merciful he shows mercy. This does not create the image of a two-headed god, instead, perspective of God is defined by relationship.

It’s good to know that my purpose will be completed, fulfilled. Comforting is the fact of His steadfast love; love that is reciprocated and returned in full…and is eternal, not lacking…it won’t end or abandon, it does not fear embrace.

Oh how great is the love of The Lord! May Your great passionate love settle upon this broken heart. I am weary, troubled, but I know You are near. I know You understand and have a purpose for me, my love, my God. Sing peace over me, O Father of lights. Whisper Your words in my ear and comfort me in this affliction…for I know You are good and Your love endures, it endures forever…it outlasts time, and yet you reveal in a moment this great love to the humble and lowly. How wonderful You are. May my heart sing Your praise!
Amen

Making Fools of Pharaohs

Scripture)
But indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you my power and in order to proclaim my name through all the earth. Still you exalt yourself against my people by not letting them go.
-Exodus 9:16-17

Observation)
Sometimes waiting for freedom takes time, not because God lacks the power to instantly free you, but simply sometimes God just wants our attention as he shows up in an awesome and mighty way. It is for this season that God makes the fool of our enemies, as he said of Egypt “it is so that I will make a mockery of them”. God allows rough situations in order that he can make a mockery of the enemies, the “gods” we set up in our own lives.

Application)
Further more, it says that pharaoh set himself against God because he would not set his people free. Where is it that I have become pharaoh over my life…where I have set myself “exalted myself” over the will of God for my own freedom? May my God break my hard heart of stone and may I set my crown off my own head and place it upon the face of my savior.

Prayer)
Lord may you be the ruler of “me” and the nations that follow in my footsteps. I understand that these hardships are only set up within your perfect timing, so that you have my full attention when you show up in my life. Would your will be always before me, and make my heart soft and pliable “fleshy” and set upon your ways.
I do ask that you would show up big in my life. And I realize you have provided “just enough” in my living situation. Perhaps for the purpose of those who look down upon me, would you give me more than enough? I ask not because you have not been sufficient but because you have told me to ask…so I thought I would try. Would you give me an abundance but that in every and any state or condition that I am in, would your name be proclaimed on my lips throughout all the earth.
Amen

Deliverances from death

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Our God is a God of salvation, and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
-Psalms 68:19

My God is a God of salvation, He daily lifts me up and holds me close. He is quick to save me from my enemies who lie in darkness. In their dark shadows they plot to trip me up, to take light and replace with twisted shadows. But here is where my God owns the battle, he is victorious and redeemer. Both justice and mercy. For that reason it belongs to him; my deliverances from death.

Lord I pray that you give me clear thinking and a devoted heart to further your will. May you even now establish your kingdom in my life and in the places where I find my footing. May you guide me when I cannot see…and may you own my deliverances. Amen