Sunday, December 23,
2012, 4:15 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me this morning with the song “Not Be Silent” playing in my mind.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Psalm 46 (NIV 1984):
God is our refuge and
strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not
fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of
the sea,
though its waters roar
and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah
There is a river whose
streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she
will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar,
kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is
with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come and see the works
of the Lord,
the desolations he has brought on the
earth.
He makes wars cease to
the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
“Be still, and know
that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is
with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
No Fear!
I think that as long as we live in these flesh bodies on the
face of this earth that we are going to experience troubles of some kind,
whether of literal and physical storms and disasters, or whether our storms and
disasters speak more metaphorically of the difficulties we will go through in
life. Sometimes I think we are better prepared and equipped to handle the big
ones, and it is the little ones that sneak up on us unsuspecting and catch us off-guard.
Yet, whether our storms and disasters are literal and physical, or they speak
more figuratively of our daily troubles and hardships, or whether they are
monumental or relatively small, still in everything we go through in life, for
those of us who love God and who believe in and honor Christ Jesus as our Lord
and Savior, he is our refuge (sanctuary and protection) and our strength, and
our ever-present help in trouble.
Fear is the opposite of faith and trust. When we give way to
fear, it reveals that there is lack of faith and trust in God to handle our
situations. This does not mean we will not feel fear in our hearts, because
fear is a natural human emotion, which should serve as a motivating force to
move us toward some type of action. Yet, by faith we can go against those
feelings of fear, and we can counter them with absolute faith and trust in
Almighty God.
Satan loves to fill our minds with all kinds of fearful thoughts
because he knows that is one way he can get us to stop trusting and believing in
God, and for us to believe it is hopeless and/or that we have to take matters
into our own hands. That is where the armor of God (see Eph. 6:10-20) comes
into play. We use the spiritual armor God he has given us to fight off Satan’s
attacks against our minds and to put on the truth of who God is, and the truth
of his word.
A River
At the time this psalm was written, Jesus Christ had not yet
come to the earth, though many of the psalms served as prophetic writings
concerning his coming as Savior, judge and as ruler and King on this earth,
this psalm included. At the time of this writing the people of God were of the
nation of Israel, the Holy City was physical Jerusalem and the temple of God
was a physical temple inside the city of Jerusalem. Yet, when Jesus Christ came
to earth, died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead triumphant over
death, hell, Satan and sin, and he ascended into heaven, then sent his Holy
Spirit to indwell the lives of his true followers, that all changed.
Now the City of God, i.e. the Holy City is the true church
(not to be confused with the institutional church of today), the people of God,
i.e. true followers of Jesus Christ - collectively. Jerusalem is now “New
Jerusalem” and is a spiritual city, not a physical one. The temple of God is
now within the hearts and lives of Christ’s true followers. Our lives are the
place now where the Most High dwells. The Holy of Holies now dwells within our
hearts. God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, is within us to help us, to
guide and direct us, to counsel and protect us, and to keep us from falling
back into sin. We are now true Israel, God’s people.
The river being spoken of here is not a literal river, but
speaks metaphorically of God’s provisions, his blessings, his restoration,
healing, and of his fulfilled promises to his people. It is continuous and
free-flowing and it will never run out. When the darkness of distress comes
over us due to unfortunate circumstances, whether large or small, the light of
God’s truth (symbolized by the break of day) shines on us and gives us all we
need to keep going, to keep trusting God, and to keep persevering in following
him wherever he leads us, even despite our difficulties, trials and tribulations.
Knowing that he is with us and within us, that he will never leave us or
forsake us, that he will provide all we need, and that his provisions and
blessings will never run out, should sustain us through everything that we may
have to endure in this life, and this knowledge should bring us much joy and peace.
Come and See
God is absolutely in control of all things. He allows evil
to reign only for a time. He sets limits on all things, including on Satan.
Satan cannot touch us beyond what God permits. We will not be tempted beyond
what we can bear (in the strength of the Lord), but with that temptation God
will provide a way out from giving into it, i.e. he will show us the way in
which we can avoid giving into the temptation, yet we must act on what he shows
us. There is nothing that comes our way that God can’t handle. We need to
believe that!
Nations are presently in an uproar and kingdoms are falling.
God serves as judge on the nations who fail to regard and to honor him as the
One and Only God. He brings and will bring desolations on the earth, yet he is
also the one who will bring all wars to cease when Jesus Christ returns to this
earth to receive his bride to himself and to set up his earthly rule and reign.
God will allow serious evil to rule and to reign on this earth for a
predetermined period of time, but one day God will bring all that to an end.
And, one day the children of God who follow the Lord Jesus Christ with their
lives will be with their Lord forever. Amen!
Be Still
These words from God can be taken as a rebuke on the nations
or on the people of God who have busied themselves with everything of this
world but have forgotten to obey, honor as holy, and love and serve their Lord
God with all their hearts, minds and strength. The words can be taken gently as
our Lord quietly hushing us when we are fearful, and calmly encouraging us to
be still before him and to know that, as God, he has all things under his
command. Or, God’s words can also be translated here as a firm rebuke to be
silent or of him saying “Enough is enough!” “Stop it!” In other words, God sets
limits on his own patience with us and one day he will judge us as nations and
as a people of God who have forsaken our first love, who have refused to repent
of our sins, and/or who have fallen prey to complacency and lukewarmness, and
who have largely ignored God and even all his warnings and calls to return to
him (see Rev. 2-3).
Yet, whether he speaks quietly and gently reminds us of his
continued presence with us and of his continued and unending resources of love,
provision, protection, etc. when we find ourselves troubled over the things of
this life, or he is speaking here with strong rebuke and is telling us, “Enough!”
and “Stop!”, still what is true here is that we need to be quiet before him, we
need to take time each day at his feet to listen to him, and we need to obey
whatever he commands us to do. Whether or not we exalt him as holy now, he will
be exalted among the nations and in the earth when Jesus Christ returns as
judge, ruler and King over all the earth. Every knee will bow and every tongue
will confess that he is Lord!
One day he is going to say “Enough!” And, he will bring us
to our knees if we do not humble ourselves before him now. So, if you have not
done so, I pray you will humble yourselves before God today, turn from your
sins (repent) and turn to God/Jesus to follow him faithfully in obedience and
in surrender of your will to the will of the Father for the rest of your days.
Not Be Silent /
An Original Work / December 3, 2012
Based off Psalm 30
O Lord my God,
I’ll exalt You.
I called for help,
And You healed me.
O Lord my God,
You brought me from
the grave.
You spared me from
hell.
Sing to the Lord,
You saints of His;
Praise His holy name
today.
Weeping may
Remain for a night;
Joy at break of day.
Our debt He did pay!
O Lord my God,
I said, “I will
Ne’er be shaken.”
Secure, I felt.
O Lord my God,
You forgave me.
Confident I stand in
You.
When I could not see
Your face I was
dismayed.
I called to You.
O Lord, You are my
help.
You were merciful to
me;
By Your grace set
free!
O Lord my God,
I’m so thankful for
Salvation through my
Jesus.
You turned wailing
Into dancing;
Clothed me with
Your joy today,
That my heart may sing
To You and not be
silent.
Praise Your name.
O Lord my God,
I will give you
thanks forevermore.
My Lord, I adore!
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