The Lord directed me to Psalm 17 this morning. I stopped at verses seven through nine and thought about the turtle I saw when I was walking yesterday. It was in an area where the deer are frequently seen. There are always squirrels, vultures, and who knows what other animals there. Even though the turtle is in the midst of those who could harm him he feels content and safe. He does not flee when something or someone comes around him but stays still. There is a lesson for us humans to learn. When we feel like the world is attacking us, we need to stand firm in God's love and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We do not need to run away but instead need to stand still and allow God to fight the battle before us. I am reminded of one of our verses from our January sermon series. Exodus 14:14. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. Woo hoo! A life based upon this type of living will result in eternity with the Lord. Verse fifteen of Psalm 17 reads in the New King James Version: As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. Woo hoo! David lived a life for the Lord. He was confident in his salvation just as we can be. We read in the beginning of this Psalm about how David went before the Lord and was found pure in heart. We need to do the same thing. I pray every day for God to cleanse me. I repent every day for anything that could be between me and Him to be taken away. There are people in this world trying to pull me down. There are ones who try to make me do or say things not of the Lord. But my God is greater than anything the enemy puts before me. He is greater than the junk of this world that tries to pull me into the ways of the world. Spurgeon wrote:
David would not have been a man after God's own heart, if he had not been a man of prayer. He was a master in the sacred art of supplication. He flies to prayer in all times of need, as a pilot speeds to the harbour in the stress of tempest. So frequent were David's prayers that they could not be all dated and entitled; and hence this simply bears the author's name, and nothing more. The smell of the furnace is upon the present psalm, but there is evidence in the last verse that he who wrote it came unharmed out of the flame. We have in the present plaintive song, AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN from the persecutions of earth. A spiritual eye may see Jesus here.
Woo hoo! David appealed to heaven and saw the Lord in His answer. We can do the same. We can experience God on this earth. We do not have to wait to be in heaven to be in His presence. Actually, we should not wait. We need to live in His presence while on this earth. We read Jesus' words in Matthew 7:7-8 in the New International Version:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."
David knew this was the way to pray and did so. He knew the way to living a life for the Lord included communication with Him. We all need to realize the importance of such communication. If we truly want to live in His will, we must be in communicating with Him. This communication can not just be a prayer at meal or bedtime but must be continual throughout our day. It cannot be communication just when we need Him but must be 24/7. Oh how I pray for more people to not only realize this type of communication with Him but to live it out.
And I will build my life upon Your love, it is a firm foundation
And I will put my trust in You alone and I will not be shaken
And I will build my life upon Your love, it is a firm foundation
And I will put my trust in You alone and I will not be shaken...
Dear Jesus, Thank You for the blessings of yesterday and the ones ahead in this day! Thank You for Psalm 17 and Exodus 14:14 that blesses me in abundance and encourages me to stand still when the enemy comes before me! Thank You for the opportunity to pray for a family yesterday without knowing what was happening in their lives! Thank You for going before them to the specialist with this daughter! Thank You for there not being anything urgent with her health issues! Thank You for having me where I am in life that I follow the nudges of the Holy Spirit! Thank You for cleansing me so You can fill me with more of You! Thank You for going before me today and being my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts! May You ooze out of me in a mighty way with people seeing/hearing You instead of me. Lord, I praise You for continuing to be with those who are going through 'tough' days. I pray for: Mark and Lisa; Darrell MacLearn; Angie's son; Mike and his family with the loss of his mother; Barbie; Dave Stanley and his family; Kaye; Joyce; June's great nephew and his parents; Jen; Elizabeth; Amy; Don Lain; Gia; those with flooding in West Virginia and Kentucky; Donna Humphrey; my two pastor friends with cancer; and so many others. Lord, may You be greater than the hurts of the heart. Thank You for being My Heavenly Father! Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment