Psalm 15

Of David

1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.

3 He that backbite not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.

4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honored them that fear the Lord. He that swears to his own hurt, and changes not.

5 He that puts not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. (KJV)

This psalm asks two simple questions: who may dwell in your tabernacle and who may live on your holy hill? The answer is simple also:

He whose

• walk is uprightly (blameless)
• does what is righteous
• who speaks the truth from his heart
• has no slander on his tongue
• does his neighbor no wrong
• casts no slur on his fellowman
• despises a vile man
• honors those who fear the LORD
• keeps his oath even when it hurts
• lends his money without usury
• does not accept a bribe against the innocent

He who does these things will never be shaken

This psalm summaries the reading found in the five psalms today. The question for the day was “who is God to you?”. Reading the five psalms today, I pray that you realize that God is really the one that controls the events in our life if we walk in his ways. A crisis for the righteous then is just a turning point in our life that God uses to take us in a new direction. If I accept this realization than how should I live when facing a crisis? This psalm answer this with giving us several principles to live by and to make the focus of our desires to see God’s face. Proverbs 3:5 simply states this life as one that trust in the Lord with all your heart and lead not on our understanding.

As I was studying God’s Word and reflecting on his nature and the relationship that we have to him the phase “your heavenly father” kept coming to mind. It is amazing as we travel the path that God has for us on this earth how the view we have about our earthly father and our heavenly father both changes as we mature. As I look at how the child’s view of their father changes as they mature, I see these steps. First, he is daddy the strong arms that support you, the smiling face that looks upon you as you look at him. However, he soon becomes the one that tries to keep a child from going in the wrong direction when the child beings the process of exploring the world around him and starts the process of refusing to heed the father’s direction. This discipline from God is sometimes hard to understand and is something we might try to resist, just as a child resist an earthly father’s discipline. This is one of the first changes we go through in the way we view our earthly as well as our heavenly father as we mature. These views change with the circumstances that develop as we mature and take on new roles in life. As we mature, we in the right relationship with our earthly father we can look back and see how our life was shaped by his involvement in our life. At the same time our relationship to our father changes with these circumstances and new relationships. The one thing that does stay constant is this: we are the child, and he is the father.

One of the truths that I try teaching my children was the only thing they could give me were hugs and kisses since these truly came from hearts and are theirs to give away. These are precious to me since everything else I needed; I could provide for myself. This truth can also be seen in our relationship to God. He does not need anything from us since everything belongs to him already. However, our worship of our heavenly Father could be compared to the way that our kids give hugs and kisses to their earthly father. With this truth in mind, how can I worship God? The answer is simple. Follow the principles in this psalm and then give God the worship He desires, hugs and kisses from the heart from a child. Then God can make the same statement in the courts of Heaven about you as he did about Job. Job 1:8 “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and eschewed evil?”

Proverb chapter three provides a wonderful conclusion for today’s reading. As you read this Proverb remember that it was written to a son, an individual, about the real purpose of life. The purpose of this Proverb is not a “how to success in life”, but a “how to live a life pleasing to God”. Sometimes we forget that when we practice God’s way, we face opposition from the ungodly. We see this example in the first family with the death of Abel by the hands of Cain. As we study the scriptures and the issues that we face in life we realize that there is a battle between the way of God and the ways of the ungodly or the wicked. So, the decision my son is simple. Do you walk in the way of God, or follow the ways of the wicked?

Psalm 13

1 How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? forever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.

4 Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

6 I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. (KJV)

Reading this psalm, it reminds me of a time in my live where a “Great Sadness” almost as great as the one in the book “The Shack” came upon my life. As I study David’s life, I can see this happening twice in his life; the first time when he was fleeing and hiding from Saul and the second time fleeing from his own son Absalom. The reason a “Great Sadness” is difficult for us to handle is that we must grasp an understanding of it through God’s eyes. The words of verse two “How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and everyday sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” should not be taken lightly. David was probably running and hiding from Saul for about seven years. During this time, he was also separated from his family including Micah his wife who loved him but, who was also the daughter of Saul the very person who was pursuing him. By studying David’s life during this time, we can see how the great hero of Israel became an enemy of Israel. The national hero became a criminal of the state. Yet at the same time we can get a glimpse of how a believer should wait on the Lord and trust God in times of trials.  This was a time of darkness that was cause in his life by others, yet God used it to develop David into a man after God’s own heart.

The second time was when he was fleeing from his own son Absalom.  This event was part of the prophecy that Nathan had declared that would happen to him as a result of his sin against killing Uriah the Hittite found in II Samuel 12:9-12. “Wherefore hast thou despised the commandments of the Lord to do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and has taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the Ammon.  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house, because thou hast despised me and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hitte to be thine wife.  Thus, saith the Lord, Behold I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house and I will take thy wives before thy eyes, and give them upon thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.  And thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.”  This second event in David’s life was an event that David must have realized that his sin was the reason for this time of darkness in his life.  Even when Absalom was killed and his rebellion against his father was put down, David wept for him.  It is in these times of great sadden in our life that was the result of our own sin that we must trust in the mercy of the Lord to get us peace in our heart.  

So, if you are in a time of “Great Sadness” read this psalm and realize that this is a time that only God can provide the answer. Wrestle with your thoughts even when you cannot see God around you. However, never let your faith and trust in Him lapse. Stay in His Word and trust in His unfailing love. Just as David went through these times and in the process developed a much closer relationship with God, so will you if you search your heart and seek after Him. Having had a “Great Sadness” in my own personal life and realizing how the Lord gave me a wonderful peace about it; I now know that whatever lies ahead of me in the future that God will be there and will deliver once again.

As I reflect on the events of my “Great Sadness” I realized that once I gave it all to the Lord and surrender my desires and wishes to him my life had a new direction. However, this has happened more than once in my life. A great biblical example of this changing of direction in a person’s life is given to us in the story of Joseph.  The first crisis that he faced began after he was sold as a slave to the Egyptians. He accepted the situation that the Lord had placed him in, and the Lord was with him, and he prospered becoming the master of Potiphar’s household. Everything in his life was on the right track when the second crisis came when Potiphar’s wife accused him of improper behavior. He again accepted the situation that the Lord had placed him in, and the Lord showed his kindness to him and gave him favor with the keeper of the prison. This crisis however leads to his being placed before Pharaoh and interpreting his dreams. This then led to Joseph being made second only to Pharaoh. Joseph could not have planned this as his lifelong pursuit, only God could. So, when the crisis in your life seems like those that David and Joseph face then remember verse five “but I will trust in your unfailing love: my heart rejoices in your salvation. Heed not on your understanding but trust in God and He will cause great things to happen in your life.

Psalm 12:6,7 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.  Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.  (KJV)

As I was studying F.F. Bruce’s commentary on Romans he had a quote from Williams Tyndale that stated this about the Romans “No man verily can read it too oft or study it too well; for the more it is studied the easier it is, the more it is chewed the pleasanter it is, and the more groundly it is searched the preciouser things are found in it, so great treasure of spiritual things lieth hid therein.”.  The words of the Lord are pure silver.  In Christ’s sermon on the mount, he made this statement found in Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”.  There is great wealth in knowing God’s Word.  The more we hid His Word in our heart the greater our treasury becomes.

One of my favorite songs as a young boy was I Love to tell the Story written by Kate Hankey and composed by William G. Fischer.  I also loved verse four the best.

          I love to tell the story,

          For those who know it best

          Seem hungering and thirsting

          To hear it like the rest.

          And then in scenes of glory

          I sing the new, new song,

          ‘twill be the old, old story

          That I have loved so long.

Being able to share God’s Word with those that love the Bible brings about a hunger to learn more about the Bible. 

As I was studying I Corinthians 15:19,20 “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.  But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruit of them that sleep.”  I have a note I wrote in my Bible many years ago given to me during a message I heard. The note stated, “Remember that Paul saw and witness Christ”.   As I reflected on this note it occur to me that I have also witness the presence of Christ in my life.  There have been times in the past then everything around me seem to be falling apart, but there was a spirit surrounding me that gave me a peace that passes all understanding.  It is this spirit that not only gives me peace on my journey on this earth; but also gives me the peace that when my time is ended on this earth I will see my Savoir face to face. 

So, as you work and build up your treasure on this journey through life, take a few moments each day and enjoy the wealth of God’s Word in your life.  By applying the principles found in the Bible and letting the Holy Spirit help guide you in the understanding of these principles you will not only gain treasures here on earth but in heaven also.  May you enjoy the peace that passes all understanding that comes from living day by day and giving God control of your life to tell the story of Jesus in your own life.

Psalm 11

1 In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

4 The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

5 The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

7 For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright. (KJV)

In the book Spurgeon’s Daily Treasures in The Psalms update and edited by Roger Campbell he makes an interesting comment about verse one.  He writes, “When Satan cannot overthrow us by pride, he will seek to ruin us by distrust.”  This usually happens when some of the darkest moments in our life come along and when we try to trust in the Lord, but it seems that everything around is falling apart and all we can see are the victories that the wicked has against us. This is when Satan comes around us and says “It time to give in since God no longer cares about you anymore.  Look even the people closer to you are leaving and the very truths that you hold so dear are being destroy”.   Satan’s message to us in times of trouble and we see everyone turning against us “is flee as a bird to your mountain and hide there because God is not going to help you out of this one?”.

How then should we reply to the attaches of Satan in times of crisis?   Christ’s answer to him in Matthew 4: 10 “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shall thou serve.”  This answer of Christ is the first of the ten commandments.  This commandment is not only the cornerstone of our faith, but it serves as the way we live. Those that worship and serve the Lord are the godly.  Those that reject God and decides to serve self instead of God are the ungodly. 

In I Kings 19:1-18 we have the passage on how Jezebel sent an messager unto Elijah that threaten to take his life like he had taken the life of the prophets of Baal.  Even after the great victory of faith that Elijah had on Mount Carmel he now feared for his live to the point that he told the Lord “It is enough; now, O Lord take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”  Even after great victories from the Lord the wickedness of the devil and his servants can still overcomes us.  At times like these we feel defeated and useless, no better than any other Christian, and that the Lord no longer has a purpose for us.  We feel like that evil now has taken the upper hand in everything around us.  In moments like these God sometimes sends us a message and gives us a new direction for our journey on this earth.  Like Elijah we might look for the guidance of the Lord in great big events, instead of the still small voice.  As we see from the example given to us in I Kings nineteen that God will provide for us even when we try to flee from the dangers that surrounds us. 

Another interesting reminder that God gave Elijah in this discord was that God had left to Himself seven thousand in all of Israel that had not bowed the knee to Baal.   I believe that we are given this fact of the seven thousand in these verses to remind us how we might believe we are the only one that is standing up for God, but in reality we are just one of the seven thousand that God has reserved for himself for the work of the ministry.   From Elijah’s own words he must have been surprised with the knowledge of the seven thousand.  In his own eyes Elijah believe that he was the only one that was left that stood for the Lord. 

Elijah’s ministry must have taken a real strain on his life.  We see this in the Lord’s message as he delivered three tasks for Elijah to perform next: anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, anoint Jehu to be king over Israel, and to anoint Elisha to be prophet in your place.  Yet of these three tasks Elijah only completed one, the anointing of Elisha to take his place.  The other two task were completed by Elisha.  The Lord will always provide someone to carry on His work. 

So, when you hear Satan’s message to you in times of trouble and it seems that everyone is turning against you and the only escape is to flee as a bird to your mountain and hide, just remember that God has not forgotten you during these times.  We might not be aware of God’s purpose during these periods of tribulations, but we know that God is in completed control.  This is real faith. 

Pride

Psalm 10:4,6,11,13

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.  He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.   He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten he hides his face; he will never see it.   Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.  (KJV)

As I read this psalm I picture that it is a psalm that David could have written when he did not feel God’s presence in his life.  During the years he spent running and hiding from Saul he was considered an enemy of the state.  David could not understand how God could hide himself to the wickedness that was going around him.  The wicked had forsaken the ways of the Lord and boastfully sought the fulfilling of the desires of their heart, while at the same time destroying others.  Like Satan they set themselves as gods to rule over and take whatever they desire without any fear of God ever punishing them for their evil ways.  This psalm ends with the request to God to judge the wicked until thou find none.

Here we are given the view that the wicked person has about God.  However, we need to look closely at these verses to see if this is also a way that we view the nature of God in our own life. Do we awake in the morning with the desire to seek after God and have his hand directing our daily activities in a manner that would be pleasing to Him; or do we start the morning seeking our own desires with no thought of seeking God’s presence in our daily activities.  This type of believer is pictured as a believer in the church of Laodicea one who is lukewarm and is neither cold nor hot, one that rest is his or her own abilities to reach the goals of their life without the need of anything from the Lord.  

As I look at verse one of this psalm, I ask myself why does it seem that God sometimes hides himself from us in times of trouble?  Could it be that we are so concerned about my will being done in my life and the events surrounding the world around me, instead of being concern about God’s will being done in my life as I surrender my will to God.  So, do I wake up in the morning and realize that God knows my works and my thoughts and that I will chose to walk in his way, or will I be like the wicked or lukewarm believer and start my day off not really needing God in my life and believing that God has forgotten and hide his face and will never watches my daily actions? 

Psalm 9:1,2

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

Praising the Lord should be a daily activity for all believers.  The closer our daily walk is with Jesus the greater we will see how the Lord works in our life.  The message presented to the angel of the church of Philadelphia I realize that the Lord is described as holy, true, and the one that has the key of David.  With this key whatever door, the Lord open no man could shut; and whatever door the Lord closed not man could open.  To this church the Lord opened a door that no man could shut, because of its goods works, the keeping of his word, and not denying his name.  I believe that this church represents a church or individual in the last days that truly praises the Lord with their whole heart. 

If praising the Lord is just a place that you go to on Sunday to provide a moment of worship to the Lord and then the rest of the week is yours to pursue your dreams, then this type of worship is really just an empty weekly ritual. Like the other church pictured in Revelation chapter three, the church of Laodicea is this type of worshiper which is characterize as neither hot nor cold.  Because of this lukewarmness God toss them away.  This was the church were Christ is picture as standing outside and knocking at the door of an individual’s heart waiting to be invited in.  This church was pictured as a church that did not have works pleasing God, but a church that was more incline to please the world around it.  This church was characterized as a church that was wretched, miserable, poor, naked, and blind.  It was a church where those that God loved he rebuke and chasten. It was a church that was in need of repentance. 

So, as we walk with the Lord on a daily basis do we see the Lord opening or closing the doors of opportunity before us.  In his book Amazing Grace by Kenneth W. Osbeck the author writes the following about the song Trust and Obey “Trust and Obey presents a balanced view of a believer’s trust in Chris’s redemptive work, and it speaks of the resulting desire to obey Him and to do His will in our daily life.  Then, and only then do we experience real peace and joy.”. So, are you praising the Lord daily or just during the Sunday morning worship service?  Are you living a life that experiences the open doors of opportunities like the church of Philadelphia or is the Lord knocking your heart’s door like the church of Laodicea waiting for you to open?

Psalm 8:3,4

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained.  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visits him? (KJV)

This is another psalm that we learn at an early age in our life.  This psalm speaks of a simple truth, the grandeur of God and the simplicity of man.  When the ungodly try to consider the wonders of this universe the first step they must take is to put God in a box and limit his ability to speak the universe into creation.  However, as believers we must by faith understand that the universe was spoken into existence by God.  In Hebrews 11:3,6 “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.  And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek him.”  (NAS)

When I consider thy heavens the work of thy hands do I really truly believe that God spoke the universe into existence.?  As I study Hebrews chapter eleven the great chapter on faith I must consider the importance of verse three and verse six.  One of the importance characteristics of our faith is truly believing that God is the creator of the universe.  In other words, God spoke, and the universe came into existent.  Reading the creation story in Genesis chapter the reader will realize that each day of creation started with the phase “then God said”.  God spoke and then the universe came into existence.  So, an important step in the developmental growth of a believer’s faith is to believe in God as the creator of heaven and earth.  Without this belief in God as the creator it is impossible to please Him since we must believe that God is who he says He is.

Peter also links the promise coming of Jesus to the belief a person has about the creation.    In II Peter chapter three we are given the illustration of the conditions of the latter days.  The last days will be characterized by scoffers following after their own lust.  In their eyes they are right and have all the answers and take pride in all of the knowledge.  They mock those who look for the second coming of the Lord.  They look to the second coming of the Lord as a myth, just like the teaching of Noah’s flood found in Genesis chapters six and seven that destroy the ancient world as a myth.  To them the world continues to evolve just as it has since it was created.  To some of these scoffers the world could be millions or even a billion years old.   They believe in the teaching of uniformitarianism that believes the geological ages tell the story of the earth and discounts the belief that God spoke, and the heavens and the earth came into creation.

So as you answer the question in verse three “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained” is your answer God or evolution?  Does the story of the creation of the heavens and the earth found in Genesis form the basic foundation for your belief in creation?  However, the second question address in verse four “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visit him?” opens up the question how mankind fits into God’s universe.  How can a very, very small part of God’s creation (mankind) fully understands how this universe came into existence.  The answer is (we can’t), so when it comes to my understanding of creation, I must make my decision faith and not by the beliefs of those that reject God.   

Psalm 7:11

God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

In Luke chapter four we are given the account of Jesus reading Isaiah chapter sixty-one verses one and half of verse two, and not reading the last part which states “and the day of vengeance of our God:  to comfort all that mourn”.  After he read this portion of scripture he stated, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”  The portion that was fulfilled was the anointing he received to preach the gospel to the poor, and to heal the broken heart.  This message of preaching deliverance to the captives and recovering the sight to the blind, and to set free those that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.  To put these verses in context we must look at the events before and after this his reading of Isaiah.

Several days before this reading he was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan and reply to John’s statement “I am the one that needs to be baptized by you” with the words “Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness.”  After the baptism Christ was lead by the spirit in the wilderness for forty days of testing by the devil.  He defended himself against Satan by quoting the Word of God to him by stating “It is written”.  It was the scriptures that Christ used against Satan and proclaim to all who witnessed his baptism “to fulfill all righteousness” that guide his ministry.  As believers we have Jesus as the perfect example of why we need to know and hid God’s Word in our heart.       

The account of Jesus’s reading from the book of Isaiah and his statement “this day this scripture has been fulfilled” marks what I believe was the start of Christ’s ministry on this earth.  His message was to “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”.  This message of the acceptable year of the Lord is to us who are held captive by sin and are blind and bruised by the results of this sinful nature which we were born into.  After spending three years with Christ this message was finally realized by his disciples in Luke chapter twenty-four.  In this chapter we see Christ explaining to his disciples all the things concerning his ministry from the scriptures starting with Moses and all the prophets.  This message was simply “It was written that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.”

However, the Jewish leaders at this time took it as the promise of the coming Messiah who deliver them from all of their enemies, instead of being the voice of one crying in the wilderness.  The Jewish nation at that time wanted the kingdom, but they could not find a need for repentance.  In Matthew chapter twenty-three Christ preached a message of “woe to you” to the leaders of Israel at that time.  After this message to the leaders, he departed their presence.  He then explained his coming and the end of the age to his disciples in Matthew chapters twenty-five through chapter twenty-six. In Acts 4:11 Peter told the priests, the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees that Christ was the fulfillment of Psalms 118:22 “He is the stone, which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very cornerstone.”  Of course, this message to the Jewish leaders from the disciple of Christ was also rejected by them. 

This part of Christ’s ministry on this earth was completed when he received the vinegar and said, “it is finished” and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.  Next will be the day when God’s judgment on this earth.  In II Peter chapter three Peter writes about this judgment.  He writes about the coming of the last days, and how even in these times there is a rejection of God’s coming judgment on this earth.  However, there is a coming day where the present heavens and earth will be judged, and the destruction of all ungodly men will take place.  In between these two event the message is preach that whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life.  This message of salvation from the judgement of God is for all to either accept or reject.  The chose is yours.

Psalm 6:6,7

 A psalm of David.
I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.

A footnote in the Life Application Study Bible summarizes this psalm as a prayer where David accepted God’s punishment, but begged God not to discipline him in anger.  David knew if God treated him with justice alone without mercy his judgement would be death.  In this prayer I also see how David is praying to God to deliver him from those who have taken advantage of God’s judgement on David to destroy him.   

These verses remind me of the prayer that Christ prayed before his trial and arrest that is recorded in Luke chapter twenty-two and Matthew chapter twenty-six.  The portrait we are given in these verses is of Christ being in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.  When Christ prayed this prayer in the garden of Gethsemane it was a prayer that he already knew the answer, but he still prayed these words three times “O my Father if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will.”  His soul was exceeding sorrowful and very heavy, even unto death during this time.  However, unlike David’s prayer, this prayer was not for God’s mercy from the punishment of his sin, but for the sins of the entire human race.

Most people live for the present-day events in their life as they travel along their journey on this earth; and it is only in a moment of crisis when all hope is lost that they either turn to others for help and when that has failed they at last turn to God.  At first this moment of crisis that comes into most people life seem huge, but once the crisis is over they look back and see that this event was only a bump in the road of life.  In life we have these up and downs which we believe are major crisis but once they are over we just get back on the road of life and start the routine of living everyday life again.  Often this new direction will bring us closer to God, but sometime we just put God on the shelf until we need Him again. 

However, once we experience a life changing events in which the outcome is not our desire but God’s intervention to change the course of the direction of our life’s journey do we come to the realization of “not my will but thou will be done”.  It is during this experience that the real presence of God in our life.  This is an experience that we only share with the Lord himself.  It is the inner peace that God gives us that even in times of difficulties God will carry us through the fire.  It is a “footprints in the sand” moment where we recognize afterwards that it was God that carried us through.  

Studying the several examples of David’s prayers found in the Psalms, some which were prayers caused by his own sin and other prayers caused by the sins of others we witness a brokenness of spirit that causes great pain to the body itself.  As I study both of these examples I see a very deep desire for God to come and restore the broken personal relationship and heal the physical pain that was lost because of sin.  David prayed in Psalm fifty-one “create in me a clean heart, renew our spirit within me, do not banish me you’re your presence, restore the joy of your salvation.  It is in these dark moments that David’s desire was for the restoration of his relationship with God.   David accepted God’s punishment but truly desire God’s presence in his life and a renewing of the joy of his salvation. 

This relationship was something that Cain did not desire.  He hated the punishment and did not desire to renew God’s presence in his life.  In Genesis chapter four we are told that Cain said unto the Lord that his punishment was greater than he could bear.  In fact, in verse sixteen “And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod.” Cain made the decision to leave God’s presence instead of praying for God not to banished him.  The decision of desiring God’s presence in one’s life is a personal one.  He has already provided the way through Jesus, which now leaves the decision of having God’s presence in your life up to you to make.    

Psalm 5: 1-4,12

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.  Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.  My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up.  For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.  For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.  (KJV)

In Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby, one of the daily devotional books I read throughout the year, he writes this statement about two different views of God in his January second devotional Woe Is Me. “An exalted view of God brings a clear view of the sinful nature within me and a realistic view of darkness of sin.  A diminished view of God brings a reduced concern for sin and an inflated view of self.”  In this devotional he discuss how we need to be careful when we compare our righteousness to the righteousness of the ungodly.  This type of righteousness is one that has a diminished view of God to create an inflated view of self.  The more time we spend time in front of the mirror of God’s Word the more the Holy Spirit convicts of our sinfulness. 

An exalted view of God grows within us as we abide in him and keep his commandments.  David realized the importance of having an exalted view of God.  In Psalm 119:9-16 David gives us these instructions on how to live a clean or pure life: 

1. By guarding it according to thy word.
2. With my whole heart will I seek thee.
3. Let me not wander from thy commandments.
4. I have laid up thy word in my heart.
5. LORD, teach me thy statutes.
6. I declare all the ordinances of thy mouth.
7. I delight in the way of thy testimonies more than riches.
8. I will meditate on thy precepts.
9. I will fix my eyes on thy ways.
10. I will delight in thy statutes and will not forget thy word.

The more we stay in the Word and study God’s commands, his statues, his ordinances, and precepts the more we shall see our sinfulness and the holiness of God.  It is only when we truly grasp the exalted holiness of Christ and his redemptive sacrifice that we see the total darkness of the sinfulness of the nature that is deeply embedded within us.  Once we reach this stage we can cry out as Paul wrote in Romans 8:24 “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death.”  Thanks be to God who gave us his son that whosoever believe on him will be saved. 

Once we grasp how much God’s displeasure with the sinfulness of man the more we will grasp the true understanding of His love for his creation.  Once we abandon the way of our sinful nature and set our focus on knowing the Lord we will begin to see how the Lord blesses the righteous; with favor and provides a shield around the righteous.  David writes in Psalms 37:25 “I have been young and now am I old:  yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken”.  Like David I can say “once I was young and now I am old, but one thing is clear I now realized how much the Lord takes care of His own.”  So in everything we do stay in God’s word and seek to follow God’s way and not those of the ungodly.