Monday, January 05,
2015, 5:50 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “Believe Him.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 103 (NASB).
The Good and Bad
A
Psalm of David.
Bless
the Lord, O my soul,
And
all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless
the Lord, O my soul,
And
forget none of His benefits… ~ vv. 1-3
As I read this psalm this morning, particularly in relation
to the song the Lord Jesus put in mind, I realized several things of primary importance.
First off, sometimes in life we have questions for which we don’t have answers.
Sometimes we pray and we can’t hear God speaking, i.e. he seems silent
concerning our requests. And, so we cry out for him to hear us, even though we
know he does, and for him to answer. Yet, he doesn’t always give us the answers
we desire, nor does he explain all of his ways to us.
Sometimes he just says “Trust me;” “Believe me;” “Rest in
me.” And, he reminds us that his ways are greater than our ways and his thoughts
greater than our thoughts, i.e. he doesn’t think and work like we do. He has
purposes for what we go through in this life far beyond our human
comprehension. We may even desire the right things, but he may have planned for
us to go through injustice or heartache, and so he asks us to just trust him
that he knows best.
Secondly what I realized is that when we go through these
difficult times of heartache, distress, trouble, hardship, unanswered questions,
or seemingly unanswered prayers, it is natural to focus on the negative and on
what is not happening, which we had hoped would happen by now, and/or to
concentrate on all that is going wrong, and then miss out on what is good that
is happening. We get our eyes off Jesus and on to our circumstances, and we can
begin to drown. So, the antidote for this is to praise the Lord for ALL HIS
BENEFITS.
Eight Benefits
“Who
pardons all your iniquities… He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor rewarded us according to our iniquities… As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our
transgressions from us.” ~ vv. 3, 10, 12
Jesus Christ, God the Son, died on the cross for our sins so
that we could be free of eternal damnation, free of slavery to sin, and free to
walk daily in his righteousness and holiness. When he died, he took upon
himself the sins of the entire world, and when he was resurrected back to life,
he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin on our behalf.
The Bible teaches us that it is by God’s grace that we are
saved, through faith. We can do nothing to earn or to deserve salvation. It is
a free gift, paid for by the blood of Christ. Yet, we must believe in Jesus
Christ in order to receive this gift. This belief involves turning away from
living for self and sin, being born of the Spirit of God, and turning to
God/Christ to walk daily in his righteousness and holiness, all in the power
and working of the Spirit within us who are born again. Our sins are forgiven,
and we are no longer bound for hell, eternal punishment, and eternal separation
from God. God’s grace set us free from all that. Amen!
“Who
heals all your diseases…” ~ v. 3
There are many ways in which God heals us. He heals our
sin-sick souls, the pain of unjust suffering, and many physical diseases, too.
Just like he doesn’t always remove us from difficult circumstances, though,
healing doesn’t always come, perhaps, in the forms we had hoped for. Sometimes
he heals people through death, for instance, by taking them home to be with
him. Other times he uses people’s afflictions to humble them, and to teach them
to walk in his ways.
Oftentimes he will use our illnesses to get us to slow down
and to spend time with him when we are too busy going here and there and
everywhere in our own strength. Frequently he will use sicknesses or handicaps
in his servants in ways which will advance his kingdom, which will bring
comfort to others, and which will draw people to Jesus Christ. So, although I
believe strongly in divine healing, I also see that God heals in many ways, and
that sometimes he allows physical suffering for his purposes and glory in our
lives.
“Who
redeems your life from the pit…” ~ v. 4
I kept this one separate from the first one, with regard to
him pardoning our iniquities, and him delivering us from eternal damnation.
Even though they are most certainly on the same subject, and both take place
when we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, I see an
ongoing aspect of this, as well.
When we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our
lives, and we are delivered from hell, and set free from slavery to sin, we are
given new lives to be lived in the power of the Spirit within us. Yet, we are
still in flesh bodies, and we still have a propensity to sin, which is why
there is so much instruction given to us in the New Testament on continually
forsaking sin and on walking daily in Christ’s holiness. So, we may still
experience some pitfalls from time to time, and we will need our Lord to lift
us out of the pit and to set us back on the right path again. I am so thankful
for the times that he has lifted me up when I have fallen, and he has restored
and renewed me and has given me new hope and healing.
“Who
crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion… The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in
lovingkindness… For as high as the
heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who
fear Him… Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has
compassion on those who fear Him… To those who keep His covenant and remember
His precepts to do them.” ~ vv. 4, 8, 11, 13, 17-18
“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” I
also know this from experience. How awesome is God’s love toward us that, not
only did Jesus die for our sins and give us such a great salvation, but he
sustains us, encourages us, strengthens us, counsels us, comforts us, renews
us, holds us, and never lets us go. He is our very best friend! He cares about
our deepest needs and longings, and he is there to meet us in whatever we are
going through. You will never find anyone like him!
Yet, not everyone in this world has this relationship with
God/Jesus. It is reserved for those who honor, respect, value, obey, surrender
to, and bow down before God/Jesus in humility, repentance, and submission to
his will for their lives, and who make it a practice of their lives to keep his
commands (his word – instructions and teachings). This is not just OT teaching,
either. This is NT, too. This is all part of our faith in Jesus Christ (See:
Ac. 26:16-18; Ro. 6-8; Eph. 4:17-24; 2 Co. 5:15; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24-25;
& 1 Jn. 1-5).
“Who
satisfies your years with good things…” ~ v. 5
Our idea of “good” is not necessarily the same as God’s idea
of what is “good.” Good, in God’s eyes, has to do with what is best for us and
that which meets our legitimate needs. For instance, in Romans 8:28 it says
that he will cause “all things to work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are called according to his purpose.” Yet, he tells us that we
will have to go through suffering, pain, persecution, false accusations, false
arrests, etc., and we may even be put to death for our testimony for his name.
We may not think of this as something “good,” but God’s purposes are greater
than ours. He may use what we go through to purify our hearts, to mold us into
the image of Christ, and to advance his gospel of salvation, and to bring many
people to Jesus Christ before Christ’s return.
“…So
that your youth is renewed like the eagle.” ~ v. 5; cf. Is. 40:30-31
I just turned 65 years old a week ago, so I am no longer a
youth. I don’t have the stamina that I once had. I get tired more quickly now.
My brain doesn’t work as fast. I don’t multi-task like I did when I was
younger. I have more aches and pains. It is called growing old. So, I get tired
and weary, and sometimes I just don’t have what it takes to keep pressing on,
yet God does! So, I put my hope in him, and he renews my strength. It is
amazing to me the strength and endurance he gives me, at times, far beyond what
I ever thought I could do. So, it is not unlike soaring like an eagle when we
rest in Him, and in his strength, and we allow him to empower us. We can do
amazing things in the power of the Spirit within us that our flesh cannot do. I
can attest to that from personal experience.
“The
Lord performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed.” ~
v. 6
The Lord does not always deliver us from oppression, though
sometimes he does. He does not always remove us from difficult circumstances.
He allows us to go through troubled times and persecutions. Yet, what he does
is work miracles in our hearts and lives, and in the lives of other people
whose lives we touch. Sometimes he uses oppression to keep us dependent on him,
and not on ourselves, and to fill our hearts with compassion towards others who
are hurting, so that we will reach out and will minister God’s grace to others
in various ways, according to his purposes and his divine calling for our
lives. The apostle Paul was a great example of how God used suffering in his
life to advance the gospel.
“The
Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over
all.” ~ v. 19
Our God is absolutely sovereign over all things. This means
that Satan cannot touch us but what God allows it. When we truly understand the
sovereignty of God over our lives, and that he will work all things out for
good, and that he has a plan and a purpose in all that he allows in our lives,
it helps us to get through those difficult times. We learn to rest in the Lord
and not give way to fear and to worry. And, we learn to trust in his love, and
that he knows what he is doing. We don’t ignore problems in our lives, and we
don’t deny they exist and refuse to deal with them, but we rely upon the Lord
for the wisdom and strength to make the right judgments, and we trust him when
situations are truly out of our hands. We let go, and we let God, and we obey
him no matter what. And, we believe him to work it all out for good in our
lives and in the lives of others. He who promised is faithful! Amen!
Believe Him / An
Original Work / July 15, 2013
My heart cries: Lord,
won’t You hear me
Seeking You for the
answers
To my heartache and
questions
I have concerning my
life?
Speak, Lord, to me
right now.
“Oh, dear one, why
don’t you trust Me
With your life’s
circumstances?
Give your all on the
altar
In submission of your
will
To My purpose for you.
“Surrender your life
completely
To your Lord and your
Savior.
He has all things
planned for you
For His glory and
honor.
He’ll work all things
for good.
“Believe Him. He will
fulfill all
Of His promises to you
For your life and your
future.
Trust Him. Rest in His
love.
He’ll give you peace
from above.”
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