Measuring Up and Falling Short

Psalm 86

English Standard Version (ESV)

 ^(A)A Prayer of David.                    

86 ^(B)Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am ^(C)poor and needy.
² Preserve my life, for I am ^(D)godly;
    save your servant, who ^(E)trusts in you—you are my God.
^3 (F)Be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all the day.
⁴ Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for ^(G)to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
⁵ For you, O Lord, are good and ^(H)forgiving,
    ^(I)abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
^6 (J)Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my plea for grace.
⁷ In ^(K)the day of my trouble I call upon you,
    ^(L)for you answer me.

⁸ There is ^(M)none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    ^(N)nor are there any works like yours.
^9 (O)All the nations you have made shall come
    and worship before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
¹⁰ For ^(P)you are great and ^(Q)do wondrous things;
    ^(R)you alone are God.
^11 (S)Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may ^(T)walk in your truth;
    ^(U)unite my heart to fear your name.
¹² I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
^13 (V)For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have ^(W)delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

¹⁴ O God, insolent men have ^(X)risen up against me;
    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
¹⁵ But you, O Lord, are a God ^(Y)merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
^16 (Z)Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to ^(AA)your servant,
    and save ^(AB)the son of your maidservant.
^17 (AC)Show me a sign of your ^(AD)favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+86&version=ESV)

I believe that this psalm exemplifies why David was a man after God’s own heart.  He recognizes who God is and He asks God for His help.  David knows that it is not by his own strength that he is in the place that he is in.  David also knows that it is only God who can save him from his enemies. 

David was a man after God’s own heart, let’s see why:

1.       David was humble. (vs. 2)

2.       David trusted whole heartedly in God.  He proclaimed the One True God as His. (vs. 2) 

3.      He prays to God continually. (vs. 3)

4.      He recognizes where his joy comes from as he asked God to gladden his soul. (vs.4)

5.      He lifted his whole being up to God.  (vs. 4)

6.      He knows that the only place to get an answer is to call upon the Lord. (vs.5)

7.      He recognizes that there is none other like God. (vs. 6)

8.      He knows that no other can do the things that God has and will, our creator the creator of everything. (vs. 8, 9,10)

9.      He recognizes that he needs instruction and wants it from God not man. (vs. 11)

10.  He is thankful. (vs. 12,13)

11.  He cries to God in trouble because he knows that it is only by the grace of God that God finds favor with him. (vs. 14, 15)

12.  He recognizes where his strength comes from and he asked God for some of His strength. (vs. 16)

13.  He asked for a sign from God where his enemies will be put to shame.  Yet I see that he also recognizes that it is God who will be glorified not David because he recognizes where his help and comfort come from.  In the end David gives praise to God and God alone. (vs. 17)

My desire on this earth is to be a woman after God’s own heart.  I fail miserably at times to trust God and God alone.  I think I trust Him but then I worry, get upset, complain, and the list goes on.  David complained, got upset, and even worried but when he did, he called upon the Lord not man.  I don’t remember a passage in the Bible that talks about how David complained to others, rather he called out to God.  I kind of do both L.  I’m not sure why because it is God who can actually fix things, fix me! 

As I read through this I had to stop and think about where I fall short of giving God all the glory, honor, and praise.  I found areas that I need to work on.  What about you?  Take a look at this list and pick out some areas that you may need to work on and ask God to give you the strength to do so.  Trust Him, Obey Him, and Seek Him with all your heart.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Run Back to Him

Psalm 85

English Standard Version (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah.

85 Lord, you were ^(B)favorable to your land;
    you ^(C)restored the fortunes of Jacob.
² You ^(D)forgave the iniquity of your people;
    you ^(E)covered all their sin. Selah
³ You withdrew all your wrath;
    you ^(F)turned from your hot anger.

^4 (G)Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
    and put away your indignation toward us!
^5 (H)Will you be angry with us forever?
    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
⁶ Will you not ^(I)revive us again,
    that your people may ^(J)rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
    and grant us your salvation.

^8 (K)Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
    for he will ^(L)speak peace to his people, to his ^(M)saints;
    but let them not ^(N)turn back to ^(O)folly.
⁹ Surely his ^(P)salvation is near to those who fear him,
    that ^(Q)glory may dwell in our land.

^10 (R)Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
    ^(S)righteousness and peace kiss each other.
¹¹ Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
    and righteousness looks down from the sky.
¹² Yes, ^(T)the Lord will give what is good,
    and our land ^(U)will yield its increase.
^13 (V)Righteousness will go before him
    and make his footsteps a way.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+85&version=ESV

God’s love is steadfast, it does not waiver, yet humans love seems to go back and forth.  Often times I think many people believe that if things are going right for them then God loves them but if things are going wrong then they must be doing something wrong because God is punishing them.  It seems like human love is conditional but God’s love is unconditional to a point.  For those that love Him and call upon His name He will draw near.  However, the man that turns from God will be shunned by God.  That’s right, it is not God that moves, it is man. 

Why should we need to be revived?  If we are living a life that focuses on God, that trusts in God, that is faithful to God then there should be no reason to be revived.  To be revived means that we are not in motion yet we need to be but if we are truly in love with God there should be no need for revival.  Yet, we as humans stumble.  Maybe we stumble because we take our focus off of Him but it is not because He takes His focus off of us.  When things go bad we ask Him where He has been?  Yet, He has not moved, we have.

When God’s steadfast love meets with your faithfulness to Him and when your righteousness (right living, by knowing and recognizing God) finds His peace, life will be beyond good because God will be working in and through us.  I said that life is beyond good but not that life will have no troubles.  There is nothing like the peace that God grants us when we are going through tough, difficult times.  Yet we need not blame God but rather trust that He is God and give Him glory, honor, and praise through it all.

If you are feeling you need revived, go to Him, seek Him through reading the Word, praying (which includes listening to His Word), obey Him, trust Him, and be faithful to Him.  God will hear your prayers and heal.  Run back to Him, He is where He has always been and He is waiting for you. 

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

The Road to Him

Psalm 84

English Standard Version (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)The Gittith.^[a] A Psalm of ^(B)the Sons of Korah.

84 How ^(C)lovely is your ^(D)dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
² My soul ^(E)longs, yes, ^(F)faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to ^(G)the living God.

³ Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    ^(H)my King and my God.
^4 (I)Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever ^(J)singing your praise! Selah

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    ^(K)in whose heart are the highways to Zion.^[b]
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    ^(L)the early rain also covers it with ^(M)pools.
⁷ They go ^(N)from strength to strength;
    each one ^(O)appears before God in Zion.

⁸ O ^(P)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
^9 (Q)Behold our ^(R)shield, O God;
    look on the face of your anointed!

¹⁰ For a day ^(S)in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be ^(T)a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹ For the Lord God is ^(U)a sun and ^(V)shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
^(W)No good thing does he withhold
    from those who ^(X)walk uprightly.
¹² O Lord of hosts,
    ^(Y)blessed is the one who trusts in you!

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+84&version=ESV

As I read this I had to think about the road that I am traveling on.  Is it the road to Zion or is it the road to success?  How often do we get lost on that road to success?   Yet the road to Zion has a perfect road map so that we have a clear vision as to where we should go. All we have to do is pick up our Bibles each day and read the directions to that place of rest.  And if we get stuck along the way we just need to call on our guide to direct us and then trust the directions that He gives us. 

So often I know that I get stuck in the here and now and forget that we have a future with Him far greater than this earth.   We worry about everything here on this earth but when we are in His courts we will realize that worry was not needed.  When we focus ahead with our head held high and follow His ways we find that the path in this life is not a rugged as we thought.  We find that He will lead us to that promised life with Him where we will dwell in His courts forever.

For those who think they only have this life to live and that after we die there is nothing, they are the ones that live a life of despair for they believe they have future beyond earth. All successes and failures, they believe, end at their death.  Yet we know that is just the beginning of their failures.  But those who believe on the name of the Lord will have eternal life with Him, now that worth living for!     I cannot imagine living for nothing but a grave.  Life would be meaningless and not work living if that is all I had to look forward to.

So remember, when you get on the rocky road God is there to guide you through if you will but seek Him with all your heart.  For better is one day in His court than any day on this earth.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila 

Wake Up

Psalm 83

English Standard Version (ESV)

A Song. A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

83 O God, do not keep silence;
    ^(B)do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
² For behold, your enemies ^(C)make an uproar;
    those who hate you have ^(D)raised their heads.
³ They lay ^(E)crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your ^(F)treasured ones.
⁴ They say, “Come, ^(G)let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
⁵ For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
⁶ the tents of ^(H)Edom and ^(I)the Ishmaelites,
    ^(J)Moab and ^(K)the Hagrites,
^7 (L)Gebal and ^(M)Ammon and ^(N)Amalek,
    ^(O)Philistia with the inhabitants of ^(P)Tyre;
^8 (Q)Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of ^(R)the children of Lot. Selah

⁹ Do to them as you did to ^(S)Midian,
    as to ^(T)Sisera and Jabin at ^(U)the river Kishon,
¹⁰ who were destroyed at ^(V)En-dor,
    who became ^(W)dung for the ground.
¹¹ Make their nobles like ^(X)Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like ^(Y)Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹² who said, ^(Z)“Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”

¹³ O my God, make them like ^(AA)whirling dust,^[a]
    like ^(AB)chaff before the wind.
¹⁴ As ^(AC)fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame ^(AD)sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵ so may you pursue them ^(AE)with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
^16 (AF)Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O Lord.
¹⁷ Let them be ^(AG)put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
¹⁸ that they may ^(AH)know that you alone,
    ^(AI)whose name is the Lord,
    are ^(AJ)the Most High over all the earth.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+83&version=ESV)

We have heard it over and over again how God is in control.  So why sometimes do we think that God is not at work.  When His people are persecuted and fall into the snare of the enemy why does it seem that God is not listening?  When we cry out to Him to take action why does it seem He does not hear us?

Of course, I am not God so I really don’t know His thoughts and His reason for doing or not doing something.  One thing I do know is that He loves us and sometimes when we fall into bad situations we come running to Him.  We instantly want Him to jump into action and take charge.  But often times we want Him to take charge the way we want Him to do it, not by His ways but ours.  What He wants from us is that acknowledgement that He is Lord and that He is in control.  He loves it when we come running to Him.  Much like we love having our children run to us.

What do you do when you hear a favorite song on the radio?  You either turn the music up or make everyone be silent so you can hear.  Could it be that God is silent so He can hear the beautiful sound of our prayers going up to Him.  I am sure it is like music to His ears to hear us acknowledge Him.

He wants us to first recognize Him before His enemies recognize Him.  God’s chosen people did not always recognize Him or His power but rather grumble and complain about their situation.  God is ready to take action, not on His enemy but on His people because when persecution comes the people recognize God.  I believe that God’s comment back to these people would be “ Wake up Israel, hear my voice, and recognize that I AM”.  Enemies attack so that we may listen and hear God and know that He is not asleep. He is not idly sitting by, He hears, He knows, and He is taking action, waking His people up so that we may know and trust Him.  Seek Him so that you may know Him.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila 

Held Firmly in His Hands

Psalm 82

English Standard Version (ESV)

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

82 ^(B)God ^(C)has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of ^(D)the gods he ^(E)holds judgment:
² “How long will you judge unjustly
    and ^(F)show partiality to ^(G)the wicked? Selah
^3 (H)Give justice to ^(I)the weak and the fatherless;
    ^(J)maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
^4 (K)Rescue the weak and the needy;
    ^(L)deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

^5 (M)They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
    ^(N)they walk about in darkness;
    ^(O)all the foundations of the earth are ^(P)shaken.

^6 (Q)I said, “You are gods,
    sons of the Most High, all of you;
⁷ nevertheless, like men ^(R)you shall die,
    and fall like any prince.”^[a]

^8 (S)Arise, O God, judge the earth;
    for you shall ^(T)inherit all the nations!

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+82&version=ESV)

I had to read and reread this passage because I thought I read it wrong but when I reread it I still came up with the same conclusion.  This Psalm is trying to tell God what to do.  In the second verse the writer even says that God is judging unjustly.  What?  That is not right, He is a just God.  Then I had to stop and think about all those prayers that I have prayed where I have told God how it should be.  That is not really a very wise prayer and I am glad that the Holy Spirit knows and understands my prayers as He did this prayer.  In our small view of the world we may think that God is letting people get by with things like treating the poor in a degrading way.  We may think that the “good ole boys club” is getting by with things that they should not be allowed to get by with.  But wait, are we trying to be the judge over God?

As a principal I had to make decisions that not everyone liked.  I had to decide disciplinary actions for students and sometimes it may not have appeared to be just or fair yet it as my decision.  Most people knew only one side of the story but had they known both sides they may have understood my decision.  I could not explain myself to those who thought they were in the know, I simply had to say, “You must trust my decisions.  I look at both sides of the issue and make a decision that is best for the parties involved.”  Not everyone has to know the entire story but they have to trust the one that does. 

Wow, who knows more than anyone else but God Himself.  Why is it so hard to put our trust in Him and know that He is a righteous judge?  Why is it that we sometimes we think He is not moving fast enough or is not harsh enough on others?  This Psalm reflects many of our attitudes and it proves that humans have not changed over the years, we still think we know best.  Today, let’s seek God and tell Him that we do trust Him and ask Him to help us to give our doubts and anxieties over to Him.  He is in control and He can take as long as He needs to accomplish His good will and good pleasure to those who are held firmly in His hands.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila