The
Lord Jesus led me to read Psalm 95 (vv.
1-7a NIV).
Do
you ever feel saddened by circumstances or by how people respond to you? You
know what God has called you to do. You know the words of encouragement he has
whispered in your heart. You heard him clearly. There is no doubt about it. So,
you stepped out in faith, even at your own personal risk of being rejected, and
you did what you knew he said to do.
But,
then, you got attacked for it. Wham! You got told that you weren’t listening to
God’s voice, or that your motives were all wrong, or that what you said or did
was not in line with scripture, although it clearly was. And, the opposition
did not come from just one source, but from several or from many, with little
to no words of support or encouragement.
So,
maybe you began to question if you heard God right, and if you truly did what
he said to do. So, you went back to the source. You went back to what you know
God said, and you prayed it through, and then he assured you that you did the
right thing. He assured you through his Word, and through his Spirit speaking
gentle words of reassurance to your heart. And, then he said, “Don’t be afraid
of the people, but say, ‘Here is your God!’”
Come, let us sing for
joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our
salvation.
Let us come before
him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
Satan
does not want us to extol God. He doesn’t want us joyful and singing about our
Lord. He wants us discouraged, doubting ourselves and doubting God. So, when we
step out in faith, and we obey our Lord, and we give praise and glory to God
for what he has done in and through our lives, Satan is going to throw his
fiery darts our way to try to get us down, to try to get us to fail, and he
will attempt to convince us to just give up altogether.
But,
no one ever said that following Jesus Christ (God) was going to be easy. No one
said that if we obey the Lord Jesus in saying what he tells us to say that
everyone is going to be happy with us, or that what we do will meet with their
approval. In fact, Jesus said, that if we follow him, we can expect to be
mistreated, misjudged and persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
Yet,
none of this takes God by surprise. He knew this was going to happen. So, we
need to submit to his sovereignty over our lives, rest in him, listen to him
speak, obey him, and keep on giving him our praise and thanksgiving.
For the Lord is the
great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the
depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for
he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
I
love that song that Veggie Tales sings, God
is Bigger Than the Boogie Man (1). Sometimes children’s sermons or children’s
songs touch my heart in a much greater way than do those intended for adults.
Perhaps it is because they are so simplistic, down to earth, and often so
practical, too. This song, and another like it from Patch the Pirate, My Very Best Friend (2), have often
encouraged my heart to know and to believe with all my heart that my God is
above all gods, so I never have to be afraid!
Come, let us bow down
in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
There
will always be people who won’t like what we do, and who won’t approve of us or
the ministry God has given us. But, if we want to be servants of Christ, then
we need to be those who are pleasers of God instead of being people pleasers. We
need to give God our worship and our praise. And, the worship that he approves
is that of us giving our lives to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing
to him, no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but transformed
in heart and mind of the Spirit of God away from sin and to walking in his
righteousness and holiness.
If
he is truly our God, and we are the sheep of his pasture, under his care, then
we should be following him and what he says, and not be swayed back and forth
by the opinions and judgments of men (or women). Yet, we should always be open
to have what we say examined biblically to see if it agrees (is in line) with
the teachings of God’s Word, like Paul did. And we, as well, should examine
whatever we hear from other people against the Word of God to make certain we
are not buying into lies, and that we are not being led astray.
But,
we will have people who will judge us falsely, just as Jesus did, and as Paul
often experienced, yet we have to stand on the Word of Truth and keep obeying
our Lord, even if humans disapprove of us based on their own perceptions of our
actions. But, if we are assured that we are acting in good faith, and that we
are in line with the Word of God, then we should stay the course. We should not
let humans be our gods, in other words, for our Lord is to be our ONLY God, and
he alone deserves our worship and our praise.
Here is Your God!
An
Original Work / July 18, 2012
Based off Isaiah
40:9-31 NIV
You
who bring good tidings to Zion,
Lift
up your voice; raise with a shout,
And
do not be afraid of the people.
Say,
“Here is your God!”
See
how the Lord God comes now with power.
His
arm rules for Him; His reward with Him.
He
tends His flock just like a shepherd,
His
lambs in His arms.
Do
you not know? Have you not heard?
Has
it not been told you from beginning?
Our
Lord sits enthroned above all things.
None
to Him compare.
Lift
up your eyes and look to the heavens.
Who
made all of these? Who calls them by name?
Because
of His great power and strength,
All
accounted for.
Why
do you say, “My way is hidden
From
the Lord, and my cause forgotten”?
Do
you not know? Have you not heard?
The
Lord, He is your God.
He
will not weary. He gives us power.
Those
who trust in Him will renew their strength.
They
will soar on wings just like eagles;
Walk
and do faint not.
Sunday,
November 19, 2017, 8:13 p.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for bringing this song to
recall this evening, and for the words you spoke to my heart today through your
Word. I praise you, and I thank you!
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