Saturday, December
20, 2014, 10:16 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read Psalm 23
(ESV).
My Shepherd
A
Psalm of David.
The
Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He
leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He
leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
A little over a week ago I got the flu, just two days after
my husband. I got past the worst of it after the first few days, but the kicker
with this flu bug has been that it has sapped me of my strength, physically and
mentally. I get tired very easily now and have to sit and rest even after a
little bit of physical exertion. I will even sit and look at a passage of
scripture and draw an absolute blank. So, I am definitely completely dependent
on the Lord to give me all that I need.
When I read these words this morning, “He makes me lie down,”
the word “makes” stood out to me. “What does that mean?” I thought to myself.
From what I can understand, it means to cause to lie down, i.e. he brings it
about. Literally, he makes us rest in him. This flu bug is definitely doing
that, i.e. it is causing me to rest physically, but it is also causing me to
have to totally depend upon the Lord for the strength to do whatever he would
have me do, because I don’t have it in myself at all. I feel like someone just pulled
the plug.
I believe what the Lord Jesus is showing me here this
morning is that God allows or he brings about these times of illness or trial
in our lives sometimes as a means of getting us to be still before him, to
remind us of our absolute dependence upon him, and upon him alone, and so that
he can lead us in the direction he wants us to go.
Sometimes we just get so busy with life’s activities or with
cranking through whatever work we have to do each day that we fail to just be
still and to know that he is God. So, we need these times for our bodies to
rest, but also for our souls to be refreshed and renewed, and for us to be
quieted before our Lord in the stillness of the moment so that we can hear from
him all that he has for us.
No Evil
Even
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for
you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
So, even though I (we) go through times of sickness,
sadness, grief or pain, I (we) must know that I am (we are) not lacking in any
good thing, for the Lord will supply me (us) with all that I (we) need to make
it through these difficult times.
Yet, this isn’t just about getting through the sickness so I
(we) can return to “business as usual.” I believe he allows or causes to happen
these times in our lives so that he can get us to find our dependency in him,
and in him alone, and so that he can move us in a particular direction, or
remind us that he is the one to direct our paths, when we begin to get off
course or we get distracted by all the cares of this life. So, rather than just
enduring the trial, whatever it may be, we should allow him to grow us, teach
us and restore us during these times so that we walk away from them different from
what we were before.
Thus, we should not fear these times, although they may not
be pleasant when we are going through them, but we should submit ourselves to
God, rest in our Lord Jesus, trust in his love and care, commit our ways to
him, and ask him to teach us what we need to learn. He will not leave us or
forsake us, even though we may not feel him present at all times. He also has a
plan and a purpose for all that we are going through. And, he will use it for
good in our lives. We just have to learn to rest in him and allow him to teach
us what he wants us to learn during these times when he has pulled us aside.
These are teachable moments if we will allow ourselves to be taught by the
master shepherd.
A Table
You
prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you
anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and
I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
If we are true followers of Jesus Christ, we will have
enemies, i.e. those who are enemies of the cross of Christ. Some of these
enemies may even be in among the church and may even be shepherds of the
people. They are those who oppose the full gospel message and who oppose those
who proclaim the full gospel message. And, what I mean by the full gospel is
the gospel as taught by Jesus and by the apostles, that we must die with Christ
to our old lives of living for sin and self, that we must be transformed in
heart of mind of the Spirit of God, and that we must now walk in the Spirit in
Christ’s righteousness and holiness, and no longer according to the flesh (See:
Luke 9:23-25; Ac. 26:16-18; Ro. 6-8; 2 Co. 5:15; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit.
2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24-25; & 1 Jn. 1-5). This is why Jesus Christ died. And,
this is the true meaning of his grace which saves us.
Yet, we should also not fear those who come against us. God
is absolutely sovereign over all things in our lives. He has a plan and a
purpose for it all, and he will see us through all attacks from our enemy Satan
and from humans who serve his purposes. They are not more powerful than God!
They cannot take our Lord from us, and they cannot rob us of our joy unless we
let them. They cannot thwart God’s purposes, either. So, we should never give
in to fear, thinking that our enemy has the upper hand.
God will continue to provide all that we need, even in the
face of our enemies. If our enemies are within the church, and they say to us “We
have no need of you,” that does not alter God’s plans or purposes for our
lives. He will still use us. God did this with me many times. When humans
reject us, God still receives us. When humans lay us aside and decide they have
no need of us, God already has a plan for how he is going to use us despite
them. This is how I ended up on the internet sharing my quiet times I have with
the Lord each day, and how the Lord ended up giving me over 100 songs to write
in a period of 3 years.
The church said, “We don’t need you,” but God, in his great
love and mercy, already had the table spread for me, and he anointed me for his
service. Again, our enemies cannot thwart God’s purposes. Sometimes their
rejection of us actually serves to advance God’s kingdom work through our
lives. So, don’t ever give up! Just trust the Lord! He will work it all out for
good for those of us who love him and who have been called according to his
purposes.
For Our Nation /
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting.
Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently
calling
You to follow Him in
all ways.
Trust Him with your
life today.
Make Him your Lord and
your Savior.
Turn from your sin.
Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of
your sin;
Cleanse your heart,
made new within.
Men betraying: Our
trust fraying.
On our knees to God
we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us
answers
That are only found in
Him.
God is sovereign over
all things.
Nothing from His mind
escaping.
He has all things
under His command,
And will work all for
good.
Jesus Christ is gently
calling
You to follow Him in
all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re
believing
In our Lord, and
interceding
For our nation and its
people
To obey their God
today.
He is our hope for our
future.
For our wounds He
offers suture.
He is all we need for
this life.
Trust Him with your
life today.
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