Saturday, December
20, 2014, 7:12 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “All My Life.” Speak, Lord, your words
to my heart. I read Psalm 25 (ESV).
I Trust
Of
David.
To
you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O
my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
Indeed,
none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly
treacherous. ~ vv. 1-3
Who are our enemies? Primarily, as followers of Christ, our
enemy is Satan, as well as are all spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
places. Satan will use humans, too, as his servants to do his bidding, but
ultimately he is the one behind their actions. What would you say is Satan’s
greatest weapon against us? I believe it is lies. If Satan can get us to doubt
God or his word and to fear humans or our circumstances, then he has
accomplished his goal. If he can get us down and discouraged, or feeling as
though God is not really there, then he has us where he wants us. If he can get
us to believe that we lack the necessary resources to do what God has called us
to do, then his battle plan has had some temporary success. And, if he can get
us to live by our feelings instead of to walk by faith, then he rejoices in a
small victory (skirmish), but he will never defeat God/Jesus or his purposes or
his word.
So, if we don’t want our enemy to exult or to gloat over us,
because he has had some minor success in defeating us, what must we do? We read
in Eph. 6:10-20 that we must be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his
might, and we must put on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against
the devil’s schemes. So, what does that mean exactly? I believe it means that
when Satan hurls his lies at us that we respond back with the word of truth,
with confidence and faith in our Lord and in what he has done for us in
defeating Satan and sin, and we don’t give the devil a foothold in our lives through
us yielding to our flesh.
For instance, right now I am still feeling the effects of
the flu bug I had for a week. I am weak and I lack physical strength and mental
agility. I feel like my head is in a fog. It takes great effort to read and to
understand anything right now. It is times like these when Satan loves to
attack us and to try to get us to just follow our feelings instead of to walk
by faith. Yet, it is in these times when we need to draw on the strength of the
Lord the most, even when we don’t feel like it, i.e. even when we would just
like to check out (crash; sleep) until our bodies return to “normal.” Yet, the
Lord is still there encouraging and strengthening, and he is reminding me to
keep trusting in him and to not let “brain fog” keep me from following him in
obedience. He will give me all that I need when I need it. Amen!
Your Ways
Make
me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead
me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long. ~ vv.
4-5
If we want the Lord Jesus to show us HIS ways, then we have
to be listening for him to show us, we have to not resist his voice, and we
have to obey what he shows us, even when our emotions or our bodies or our minds
may be struggling to cooperate, for whatever reason. We can’t have our minds
made up a different direction, either, or have decided ourselves what we are
going to do and then choose only to listen to our Lord when it fits with our
schedules or when it is convenient for us. We have to have the mindset that we
work for the Lord 24/7, which includes our secular jobs, housework, kids,
spouses, etc. And, we have to commit our ways to him, allowing him to show us
what he has for us each day. We can’t put God in a box or confine him to only a
certain space in our lives. We need to give him full and free reign to do with
us what he wants when he wants and how he wants.
He Confides
The
friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
My
eyes are ever toward the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net. ~
vv. 14-15
Literally this should read something more like, “The secret
of the Lord is for those fearing Him…” Some have translated this as “secret
counsel” or “intimate counsel” or that the Lord confides in those who fear him.
What I believe this is saying here is that the Lord will talk intimately with
those of us who honor, value, respect, and obey him. He will teach us his ways,
and will give us insight into his word, and he will also show us his more
specific will and purposes for our individual lives. He will have intimate
conversations with us like a friend would have with another friend, or most
especially like a husband would have with the bride he loves and adores. I
believe he will also reveal to us how his word is being lived out in our world
today and how it is to be applied to the situations we are presently facing.
Yet, this is not “secret” in the sense of some new
revelation for the church not revealed before, but he will teach us his word
and he will make that word practical to our real world and to our individual
lives if we will listen to him and if we will obey. In other words, I believe
he will open our eyes to discern deception, and he will show us the truth
behind the lies. I believe he will give us understanding into world events and
how they fit with prophecy of scripture with regard to these last days. I
believe he will open our eyes to see the spiritual condition of today’s church
so that we can pray, and so we can warn those who are complacent to turn from
their idols and to follow Christ instead. And, I believe he will show us each
day just what he has for us, and how he wants to use us in the lives of others.
He amazes me all the time just watching how he works in people’s lives.
Deliver Me
Turn
to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
The
troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
Consider
my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
Consider
how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
Oh,
guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take
refuge in you.
May
integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
Redeem
Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles. ~ vv. 16-22
When we decide to put our trust in the Lord, and to walk in
his ways, and to sit at his feet and to listen to him speak; and when he
confides in us, and we get to know his heart and his mind, and we respond to
him in obedience and in surrender to his will for our lives, Satan will not be
happy. He will plot how to attack us and to try to bring us down. We may be
rejected and hated by others and experience times of great loneliness and
affliction. Or, we may go through some difficult trials intended to test our
resolve and our faith. Or, we may be physically down and it may impact our
emotions and we may be tempted to drift away and/or to fall into complacency. So,
it is in these times when we must call upon God, rest in his love, rely upon
his strength, and put on our armor of God so that Satan does not defeat us. And,
we must keep on keeping on, strengthened in the faith, and committed to
following our Lord no matter what may come our way.
All My Life /
Ralph Carmichael
All my life
Through the good and
bad of life
Whether I should gain
or lose
Still I choose to live
my life
Every moment all for
Thee
Walking, oh, so close
to Thee
While I’m learning
every day
Come what may to trust
in Thee…
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