Thursday, December
13, 2012, 7:55 a.m. – the Lord woke me with the song “I Will Lift My Eyes” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your
servant is listening. I read Psalm 27
(NIV 1984):
The Lord is my light
and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the
stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evil men advance
against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my
foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege
me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out
against me,
even then will I be confident.
One thing I ask of the
Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in
the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the
beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of
trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the
shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock…
at his tabernacle will
I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Hear my voice when I
call, O Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you,
“Seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face
from me…
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or
forsake me,
O God my Savior.
Though my father and
mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
Teach me your way, O
Lord;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors…
I am still confident
of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Our Enemies
Not many people in this world are completely free of all
enemies, nor should it be our goal to be absent of enemy attacks or disdain
against us. In other words, we should not make it our goal to live to please
men or to avoid all conflict through compromise or through patronizing those
who think differently from us. Jesus said we would be hated. He said:
“All men will hate you because of me, but he who
stands firm to the end will be saved.” ~ Matt. 10:22
“Then you will be
handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all
nations because of me.” ~ Matt. 24:9
“Blessed are you when
men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as
evil, because of the Son of Man.” ~ Luk.6:22
And, we read in 2 Tim. 3:12-13: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will
be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse,
deceiving and being deceived.”
So, if we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, and we
are walking in obedience to him in all ways, and we are sharing the truth of
the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world around us, we should
expect that there will be those who won’t like us, and who may even be actively
against us, and disconcertingly enough, many of those may even be within the
church and/or the church leadership.
Yet, the Bible teaches us that our true enemies are not
flesh and blood, but are of Satan and are of his world. In other words, this is
a spiritual battle, not a physical one, and it must be fought and won with the
spiritual resources and armor of God (see Eph. 6) which he has supplied for us
with which to fight off Satan’s attacks against us. And, Satan will use people
as his instruments, whether they are conscious of that fact or not. Yet, we are
to love those who hate us, we are to treat them with kindness, and we are to
pray for them.
Our Salvation
The Lord Jesus Christ came to earth, took on human flesh (as
a newborn baby), went through the same kinds of sufferings and temptations we
regularly endure, yet without sin, was betrayed, forsaken, beaten beyond
recognition and hung on a cross to die, although he had done no wrong, but had
only done what was good. Yet, this was God’s plan of redemption for you and for
me so that, in his death, our sins would be crucified with him, and when he
rose from the dead, he would conquer death, hell, Satan and sin so that we
could be set free – from eternal damnation and from slavery to sin on a
day-to-day basis.
We accept his plan of salvation for our lives by God’s
grace, and by the working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts in transforming us
from those who walk according to our fleshly desires to those who walk
according to the Spirit of God. This work of God’s grace in our hearts is what
gives us the faith to believe, and is that which empowers us to repent of (turn
from) our sins, and to turn to God to follow Jesus Christ in faithful
obedience. This is why Jesus died, so that we would be with him today and
forever in fellowship with him, and so that we would live lives pleasing to
God, free from the control and bondage to sin, and free to obey Jesus Christ in
all ways. Although our salvation is a working of the Spirit of God in our
hearts, and not of the works of our flesh, we must cooperate with the Spirit’s
work by faith.
Our Stronghold
Once we have entered into genuine relationship with Jesus
Christ by faith (repentance + obedience), then we can begin to experience what
David wrote about concerning his relationship with God in this psalm. We can
know, because we know God, that no matter how many physical or spiritual
enemies come against us, because we are followers of Jesus Christ, and because
of our testimony for Jesus Christ, that we need not be afraid. God has it all
under control. We can turn to our Lord in faith and trust in his power, his
love, his strength and his sovereignty over all things, and we can know that
God is looking out for those who are truly his disciples. This does not mean we
will not suffer, but it means that we don’t have to fear, because God is with
us always, and he will give us all we need.
Teach Me
David’s joy and peace came through his times alone with God
in fellowship with him. He loved God’s house and desired nothing more than to
be with God forever. When we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord (master) and
Savior of our lives, we enter into his eternal kingdom, by faith, and we have
the promise and hope of eternal life with God in glory. This world is no longer
our home, for we live our lives for what is eternal in value. We should all
love those personal times of intimacy with our Lord Jesus each day where we
come into his holy temple, when we seek his face, when we learn at his feet,
and then when we walk in obedience to what he has shown us. For this is how we
are kept safe spiritually.
David’s desire was for the Lord to teach him his ways and to
lead him in a straight path. We learn the ways of the Lord through his word,
through the witness of the Holy Spirit within us, and through obedience. He
cannot teach us his ways if we are not in his word each day drinking in
whatever he has for us, and/or if we are not walking in obedience to what he
shows us, because this reveals our hearts are not willing or receptive to hear
and to obey. The same applies if we are only willing to hear what tickles our
itching ears and/or if we set limits on what commands of God we will obey and
which ones we won’t. This reveals we are not interested in the straight path he
has for us which is free from wanderings, dishonesty, immorality, and any kind
of deviation from his commands and from the true gospel. So, to pray this
prayer means we must be willing to give it all to Christ, holding nothing back.
Shouts of Joy
The psalmist had physical enemies who were attacking him or
who were plotting attacks against him. Yet, he put his confidence and trust in
the Lord and did not let fear consume him. He daily communed with his Lord and
depended on the Lord’s strength, power and wisdom to overcome his enemies. And,
in spite of his enemies surrounding him, he chose to sacrifice to God with
shouts of joy, to sing and to make music to the Lord.
The scriptures speak much about singing and praising and
being joyful, especially in times of grief, sorrow, pain, persecution, and
enemy attacks against us in body, mind or spirit. This is part of our spiritual
armor we put on with which to fight off Satan’s attacks. And, we don’t have to
be particularly gifted at singing or at making music, either, for the Lord
looks at our hearts and he hears what comes from our hearts.
So, when you are feeling under attack of Satan and/or when
you are being persecuted or rejected for your testimony for Jesus Christ, sing
praises to God, tell of all his wonderful works, and tell of his salvation,
which he has provided for all the world to come to know God intimately and to
be free from their burden of sin.
I Will Lift My Eyes
/ An Original Work / December 12, 2012
Based off Psalms 121-125
I will lift my eyes
To my Lord Most High.
My help comes from
Him,
Who saved me from sin.
He will not let your
foot slip, and
He who watches will
not sleep.
Our Lord watches over
you, and
Your life He will
keep.
I will lift my eyes
To my Lord Most High.
My help comes from
Him,
Who saved me from sin.
I give thanks to Him.
I will lift my eyes
To my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord.
My sins, He’s
forgiv’n.
Because of His great
love for us,
He made us alive with
Christ.
Through the kindness
of our Savior,
He gave us new life.
I will lift my eyes
To my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord.
My sins, He’s
forgiv’n.
My home now in heav’n.
Praise be to the Lord,
Who is on our side.
Our help found in Him.
He gives peace within.
Those who trust will
ne’er be shaken.
God will supply all we
need.
Our Lord has done
great things for us.
He’s our friend,
indeed!
Praise be to the Lord,
Who is on our side.
Our help found in Him.
He gives peace within.
I can count on Him.
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