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Encouraging & Inspiring

Tag: Psalms

  • Telling Ourselves the Truth

    It is freeing.

    George Washington Carver became one of his generation’s most honored and beloved scientists by focusing on a simple peanut. Carver eventually found some 300 uses for this common food item. Carver attributed all of his scientific discoveries to God.

    Carver remarked he once asked God to explain the universe to him, but felt God saying that was too large of a task. When he asked for something he could handle, he believed God directed his focus to the peanut. Carver said he would be helpless if God did not pull back the curtain of truth.

    Telling ourselves the truth and recognizing our place in God’s plans can be a freeing experience. The truth reminds us of our reliance on the Lord. The truth is fear and anxiety may be a part of our current circumstances, and God will be there with us.

    The truth was freeing for David.

    David may have understood the freeing experience of telling himself the truth. Some have suggested David wrote the Psalms as therapy for himself. In Psalm 57, we find David hiding in a cave as Saul is pursuing him. Everything seems grim for David, but he understands the Lord will take care of him.

    David writes in Psalm 57, “I am surrounded by fierce lions, who greedily devour human prey, whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows, and whose tongues cut like swords.” There is no doubt he felt the fear and anxiety of the current moment.

    We too may feel the fear and anxiety of the current moment. The fear of things getting worse. The anxiety of our bank account balance dropping. What happens when the emergency fund is depleted? The confusion of conflicting data and mixed messages. The truth is life has fearful and anxious moments.

    Like David, we can look at the bigger picture in these moments.

    A bigger picture gives a more confident viewpoint.

    David writes, “My heart is confident in you. My heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises. Wake up my heart…I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.”

    David was in the cave, but he knew God was beside him. David was being chased, but he knew God was shielding him. Amid his fear and anxiety, David told himself the truth concerning God’s presence.

    Amid our fears and anxieties, we can echo the truth of God’s presence. The truth is freeing.

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  • Remaining Confident

    A shaken life of a confident person.

    David spent much of his life running and hiding. As a young man, David had to hide from Saul. Saul was jealous of David’s popularity, so he wanted to kill David. As an older gentleman, David had to run from a rebellion started by his own son. David’s Scriptural biography is filled with turmoil and heartbreak.

    On one occasion, David writes in the Psalms, everything is shaken. Nothing is stable. He writes in Psalm 11:3, “The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?”

    Perhaps you can relate to this feeling.

    Everything is up in the air. Life is shaken. Your life has endured an earthquake leaving everything trembling in its path.

    The career you worked hard to establish has vanished. The good health you once enjoyed is fading. Your journey is not what it once was.

    David’s wasn’t either, and his Scriptural biography is filled with confidence in the Lord.

    Amid everything, David had great confidence in the Lord.

    It may have seemed like everything was falling apart, but David remained confident in the Lord.

    He continues in Psalm 11, “But the Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord still rules from Heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth.”

    In Psalm 12, David writes, “The Lord replies, ‘I have seen violence done to the helpless and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them as they have longed for me to do.’ The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over. Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed….”

    Can we remain confident in the Lord?

    As it seems everything is falling apart around us, we too can remain confident in the Lord’s promises. The promises are as pure for us as they were for David.

     

  • A Promise to Us

    The 3-fold promise of God.

    Walking through uncertainty is a part of life. We can try to avoid it, but eventually we will have no choice. We will have to walk through uncertain territory.

    The uncertainty we experience may be caused by events outside our control or decisions we have made. Either way, the Lord will stick with us.

    Psalm 32:8 states, “The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” Here we find a 3-fold promise from the Lord.

    Instruct his children.

    The Lord promises to guide us on the best pathway for our lives. This means…

    • God will direct us in the way we should go.
    • He is willing to help us stay on the straight path that leads to fellowship with him.
    • Through his word, God gives us accurate counsel.
    • He leads us with gentleness and trustworthiness. This makes us feel safe.

    Give us wisdom.

    Through his word, the Lord will guide us. He will help us make the best possible decision. James encourages us to request wisdom and says the Lord will generously give wisdom to us.

    Watch over us.

    The Bible says the Lord will watch over our coming and going, both now and forever more. Psalm 121 says the Lord will not allow our foot to slip. He will watch over us as we take life’s journey.

    Life is filled with uncertainty. Recent days have magnified this truth; however, the Lord’s promise is still the same. He guides us, though it may not always make sense.

    Life may not always make sense, but we can rest assured God knows the plan. Psalm 32 goes on to say unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.

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  • What is on your grateful list?

    Psalm 103 encourages gratefulness.

    In the hustle of life, it is easy to forget the ways in which we are blessed. Good things might even become commonplace, so it is easy to forget to be grateful.

    Not always, but sometimes in the busyness, you and I forget to be thankful for the good things in our lives.

    Amid a storm, we also may forget. Everything around us is crumbling and falling, so it is hard to focus on what is good.

    Psalm 103 encourages us to always be grateful.

    David opens and closes the Psalm with this encouragement.

    “Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me,” writes David in verses 1-2.

    He says in verse 22, “Praise the Lord everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord.”

    Psalm 103 gives us some reasons to always be grateful.

    We can all make a list of good things in our lives, and David offers a few suggestions for the list.

    1. The Lord’s forgiveness.
    2. The Lord’s help.
    3. The Lord’s dependable track record.
    4. The Lord’s character. Verses 8-11 say, “The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins. He does not deal harshly with us as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.”

    Acting

    What is on your list? Try making a list and giving thanks for it daily.

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  • Feeling overwhelmed by change?

    Blessed are the flexible, for they are not bent out of shape.

    “Everything changes but change,” John F. Kennedy said. As we grow older, we realize how much life really changes. It is easy to be overwhelmed as things change.

    If you are feeling overwhelmed by change, here are a couple points to remember.

    1. Do not fight the unavoidable.

    You and I may be able to delay change, but eventually, it must happen. There is no need to fight what is unavoidable. Blessed are the flexible, for they are not bent out of shape.

    2. God does not change even though life changes.

    While everything else in life will change, God will remain the same. Psalm 102:27 says of God, “But you are always the same. You will live forever.”

    Isaiah 33:6 says, “In that day, he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the Lord will be your treasure.”

    Jobs may come and end with a pink slip. Friends may come and go quickly. A health crisis may cause life to screech to a halt. But God remains the same.

    • “He never changes as a shifting shadow does,” according to James 1:17.
    • Numbers 23:19 states, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”

    Acting

    When change overwhelms us, we do not have to endure it alone. We can ask the Lord to help us. When we are overwhelmed, we can pour out our thoughts to the Lord, and he will help us sort through them.

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  • When everything falls apart

    Stability may crumble. People may turn away, but God will stay.

    He found himself thrust out of the king’s liking. Saul was annoyed and jealous of David, so he wanted him killed. David fled to Gath hoping to find refuge, but they chased him out of town. He ends up in a cave hiding from Saul, and David finds his refuge in the Lord.

    Psalm 56 and 57 record David’s thoughts during this time.

    They will not leave me alone.

    “O God have mercy on me, for people are hounding me. My foes attack me all day long. I am constantly hounded by those who slander me, and many are boldly attacking me,” David writes in Psalm 56:1-2.

    Can you relate? It seems everyone is against you. They constantly pick at the work you are doing. They continually criticize and never encourage. You feel no matter what you do, it will never be enough. Their ideas and agenda do not include you, so the quicker you are cut off the better.

    Where will you go? What will you do? David had the same kind of questions and found refuge in the Lord.

    David turned to the Lord for refuge.

    “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you,” David writes in Psalm 56:3.

    David says in Psalm 57 he will hide in the Lord’s refuge until the calamity passes. “My heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises,” he writes in verse 7.

    David’s stability was shaken. He had nowhere to turn until he remembered he could trust the Lord.

    Our stability may be shaken, and we may feel as if we have no where to turn. But we can trust the Lord. He will be with us while we are the topic of office gossip. He will be with us as others may toss us aside. Those slandering us may treat us like garbage, but the Lord will treat us like a treasure. He will be with us until the calamity passes.

    Like David, you and I can confidently say, “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.”

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  • Overcoming

    Overcoming

    We can conquer barriers.

    In May 2001, Erik Weihenmayer accomplished something only about 150 people a year do. He climbed to the top of Mt. Everest. The thing that made Erik’s achievement unusual is he was the first person who is blind to scale the world’s tallest mountain. Born with Retinoschisis, Erik was completely blind by age 13. Rather than focus on what he could not do, he made the choice to focus on what he could do and went much farther than many expected.

    Many times, you and I are faced with a choice: continue or quit. It would be nice if following God always meant smooth sailing; however, that is not the case. There will be people who do not like us and obstacles to cross in doing what is right. We should not allow the people and obstacles we face to cause us to quit.

    Psalm 92 reminds us we will be overcomers with the Lord. The Psalmist writes in verse 11, “My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries. My ears have heard the route of my wicked foes.”

    The Lord will be with us as we fulfill our God-ordained purpose. The Lord will help us in this life, and at the end of our journey, we, in Christ, will be able to overcome this world. So, hang on and keep climbing.

    Touch the Top of the World is Erik’s autobiography, and it is available at Amazon.

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  • Should we give thanks?

    Psalm 92 reminds us it is good to give thanks.

    Look around, and it is easy to find circumstances causing anxiety and fear. They seem to be everywhere; anxiety and fear seem to live on every street and lurk around every corner. It is easy to be consumed by circumstances.

    Psalm 92 recommends we counterbalance our looks with thanksgiving.

    “It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High. Proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,” writes the Psalmist in verses 1-2.

    Verses 4-5 go on, “For you make me glad by your deeds Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works Lord, how profound your thoughts?”

    As we look around finding anxious and fearful circumstances, we can also find the marvelous work of the Lord.

    • The beauty and complexity of creation.
    • The Lord’s work in our own lives.
    • The promises we find in Scripture.

    As we look around, it seems we have much for which to be thankful. We can awake each day assured of God’s love and go to bed each night thankful for his protection that day. It is good to give thanks.

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  • God, why?

    A Familiar Question Asked in Psalm 73.

    Why? Parents of young children hear this question a lot, and it is a question that comes up in all seasons of life. Sometimes, the question comes up in our relationship with the Lord.

    It did for Asaph, the writer of Psalm 73. He was one of the choir directors under King David’s reign. Asaph saw the wicked prospering and the righteous being oppressed, and he wondered why.

    “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart,” Asaph writes in verse 1. Yet, it seemed all these people who had nothing to do with God were having all kinds of success. He struggled with how this could be happening, which is okay.

    Asking why is okay.

    It is a common misconception that Christians are to never ask why. We are just to accept things as they happen without questioning; however, the Bible records individuals of great faith struggling to always understand. Abraham, Moses, and David are just a few who struggled and questioned God, yet they were totally reliant on the Lord.

    “It is not a sin to doubt. Disbelief is sin, but questioning, sincerely seeking, is acceptable to God because in the presence of God, you may ask any question you want,” according to Max Lucado.

    God did not turn his back on John the Baptist or Thomas when they asked questions, and God will not turn his back on you and me if we ask questions. Sincerely seeking answers from God’s perspective will change ours.

    Seeking answers from God’s perspective will change ours.

    Look at how it changed Asaph’s perspective in Psalm 73. “When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God, then I understood their final destiny,” remarks Asaph in verses 16-17.

    Looking at life from God’s perspective changed Asaph’s. He recognized with God there was hope in the future, but with everything else, hope was fleeting.

    When you and I are confused about circumstances in our lives, we can sincerely seek answers from God. Viewing our lives from his perspective will provide us with hope. We have this hope because of the promise the Lord has made us. Trying to answer life’s ponderings in any other way will leave us longing.

    We may not have the answers, but we know who does.

    Asaph concludes in verse 28, “But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge.” With his hope resting on the Lord, Asaph had a vision for the future. Meanwhile, he may not have understood everything, but he knew God did.

    With our hope resting on the Lord, we too can make him our refuge. We may not understand everything, but we know he does. With the Lord as our refuge, our hope is secure, and we do not have to understand everything because he does.

     

  • Can we have confidence in unsettled times?

    Psalm 27 reminds us of the Lord’s faithfulness.

    Life was unsettled. He was fighting adversaries which seemed bigger than big. He could not stay in his own home because of his enemies. Trying to flee his enemies, David was forced to seek refuge in the wilderness. Yet, his confidence in the Lord remained.

    Verses 1-3 say, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.”

    David’s adversaries were large. Their strength and size caused David to hide, yet when David’s opponents were compared to the greatness of the Lord, there was no need for him to fear. David found his well-being and strength in the Lord, so there was no room for fear.

    Our enemies may not be forcing us into the wilderness, but they are lurking around us. Lost jobs, economic downturns, a bearish stock market, and an unsettled future are crouched in the shadows awaiting an opportune time to strike with fear and panic.

    They may be large, but when compared to the greatness of the Lord, we can find confidence. Our well-being and strength are found in the Lord, so there is no room for fear.

    1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

    We may be facing down large opponents today. We may be nearing the end of our resources, yet we can echo the Words of David. The Lord is our light and our salvation, so why should we be afraid? The Lord is our fortress, so whom shall we fear?