Psalm 23; Proverbs 3:5-6; II Timothy 1:7 - "Hymn of Heaven"

God took me to Psalm 23 this morning to ponder upon David's praises to Him. This Psalm is one I memorized as a little girl and one I heard at many funerals. It is a great Psalm in how it is crafted. David poured his heart out to God praising Him for being everything to Him. This morning I settled into The Passion Translation to ponder upon it. David begins praising God for being his best friend and shepherd in verse one. He also recognizes he has more than enough. God's love is not only experienced by David (vs 2) but it is where he lives. I spoke in yesterday's sermon about abiding in and with God. That is exactly how David lived. It is there David found restoration in his spirit just as we can do when we abide with Him. He not only found restoration but he found direction. Every time I read verse three I think of Proverbs 3:5-6. It tells us when we trust God He will direct us to do as He desires. I love how David recognizes living with and for the Lord will bring glory to Him. Verse four reminds me of II Timothy 1:7. God does not take us places and leave us there. He is with us as we allow Him to be. There is a sentence in the middle of verse four that speaks volumes to me. Your authority is my strength and my peace. Woo hoo! God's authority is all we need. His authority gives us His wisdom to make decisions based in His will. His authority gives us strength when ours is gone. His anointing spoken of in verse five is all we need in life. Verse six in The Passion Translation is the icing on the cake for me. We do not have to fear the future when we abide in and with Him. We do not have to fret over decisions when we allow Him to make them for us. As we abide with Him on this earth we will abide with Him for eternity. Woo hoo! That is the perfect goal to have for all of us. I have a song Phil Wickam sings called "Hymn of Heaven" on my mind this morning. Oh how I long to be there. This song describes David's Psalm 23...

And every prayer, we prayed in desperation
The songs of faith, we sang through doubt and fear
In the end, we'll see that it was worth it
When He returns to wipe away our tears (Oh)
There will be a day when all will bow before Him
There will be a day when death will be no more
Standing face to face with He who died and rose again
Holy, holy is the Lord

Dear Jesus, Thank You for an awesome day yesterday with my church family, an afternoon of watching football with Doug, and an evening spent in town walking and being with friends! Thank You for the love my church family poured out over me for Pastor Appreciation! Cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You so people will see/hear You through my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts. I pray Your strength over many going through difficult days. May they stand upon the words of Psalm 23. My sisters Linda, Sally, and Mary; my brother Richard; Ben and Colleen; Pete and Delores; Steve; Doug's sister Jackie; Cait; Rhonda; Mike; Norma Hall; Jack and Paula; Sharon Sebolt and her parents; some young ladies with anxiety; Brooklyn; April; families in turmoil; Gay and Doug; Sherry; and many others. I also pray healing prayers over many dealing with ‘c’ and/or going through treatments…Chrissy’s cousin; Mike's sister; Shirley Jones; Little Judson; Little Roselynn; a young girl in our community; Audrey; Mr Mullet; Marybeth's friend; David; Damon; Dave and Carol with his treatments; Dan; and Ray. I pray for: the Long family; Becky; Baby Sabre and her family; Debbie and her family; Mr. John; and Russ. Thank You for continued healing for Pastor Tommy and Pam! Thank You for being with Pastor Libby, Pastor Roland, Pastor Donna and the rest of the District Work and Witness Team as they serve in Argentina! Thank You for being My "Hymn of Heaven"! Amen.