Burunche’s Blog

Prayer for Mercy, with Meditation on the Excellencies of the Lord

A Prayer of David.

“Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; For I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You! Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me.

Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; nor are there any works like Your works. All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.

Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

O God, the proud have risen against me, and a mob of violent men have sought my life, and have not set You before them. But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give Your strength to Your servant, and save the son of Your maidservant. Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.”

“Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; For I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You! Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.” Once more, David is under attack in some form and is crying to God for help and deliverance. Notice David’s premises: he is poor, needy, holy, and trusting in God to save him. We can understand David’s statements about being poor and needy, but how can David claim to be holy? Holiness is a matter for God to handle, and David is trusting that God has made him holy because he has consistently followed God.

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me.” David is not basing his pleas on his own righteousness but on God’s goodness and mercy. Notice David says that God is ready to forgive and abundant in mercy to ALL those who call upon Him. God does not play favorites; God stands just as ready to forgive and deliver us as He was to forgive and deliver David. David has already spent years fending off attacks from wild animals with God’s help; this experience allows him to confidently say that God will answer his cries for deliverance.

 “Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; nor are there any works like Your works. All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.”  Here David is referring to the entire pantheon of pagan deities worshiped by the nations surrounding Israel. Sadly, many of the Israelites have gotten involved in such worship also, particularly when it involves fertility rites with sex with ritual prostitutes of either sex. But David knows that these deities are actually demons whose power is nothing compared to the power of the One True Living God.

“Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” What does David mean when he asks God “unite my heart to fear Your name?” Oswald Chambers points out that many of us have spiritual measles; we look really good in spots, but only in those spots. David is begging God to help him to be whole-hearted in his worship.

“O God, the proud have risen against me, and a mob of violent men have sought my life, and have not set You before them. But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.” For much of David’s life, he has been surrounded by jealous men who would love to eliminate him. But David knows that God’s nature is totally different, and he is counting on God’s mercy and truth.

“Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give Your strength to Your servant, and save the son of Your maidservant. Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.” So many times, we would love to have God show us some kind of sign indicating that He is really interested in our lives. We also hope for God to do something that will cause our critics to retreat in confusion.

APPLICATION: What do you do when you beg God for a sign and nothing seems to be happening? This last week, I operated on two young people, both of whom were draining feces from their abdomens. In each case, I did my very best; nevertheless, the repairs seem to have failed. In both cases, I begged God for healing, and I continue to do so. God knows I am not begging Him to do something so that I will appear successful; my only concern is for these two teens to heal and go home.

If you are familiar with David’s life, you know that he had many close calls and was nearly captured and killed many times. David remains a hero of faith because he continued to trust God even when things appeared hopeless.

Decades ago, there was a popular song entitled “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.” God has never promised us that things will run smoothly simply because we are following Him. Sometimes it seems that the more we pray, the worse things get. But eventually God delivered David from his trials, and God continues to make a way for us as well. So I persist in prayer, trusting that God loves my patients more than I possibly can and that He WILL heal as only He can.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to trust You, even when things appear bleakest. Thank You for Your abundant mercy, Your goodness, and Your grace. Please move in our hearts and lives, doing signs and wonders as only You can. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Prayer that the Lord Will Restore Favor to the Land

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

“Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob. You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah
You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger. Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your anger toward us to cease. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your mercy, Lord, and grant us Your salvation.

I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yes, the Lord will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway.”

“Lord, You have been favorable to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob. You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah”  The psalmist begins by recounting God’s faithfulness in freeing the Israelites from slavery and bringing them into the Promised Land.

“You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger. Restore us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your anger toward us to cease. Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your mercy, Lord, and grant us Your salvation.” The Israelites have repeatedly rejected God, only to repent when they have reaped the results of their unfaithfulness. And each time the Israelites have repented, God has forgiven them. But once more, the Israelites are reverting to idolatry, while righteous believers watch in horror. The psalmist is begging God for revival, for he realizes that only divine intervention can deliver his people.

“I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land.”  God is always speaking to His people, but God’s people are not always listening! And God’s people are VERY easily distracted by the first attractive cult that comes along, turning back to folly in an instant. God’s salvation IS very near; however, God doesn’t force salvation on anybody. The entire universe tilts on the axis of free will: we are free to accept God’s will for our lives or to reject it.

“Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yes, the Lord will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make his footsteps our pathway.” If God’s people will only serve Him, God will send His mercy and truth, righteousness and peace. When truth springs out of the earth, the land will yield abundantly. If we will serve God faithfully, we will find ourselves walking in God’s footsteps. But we can refuse God and suffer the consequences, something many people are doing.

APPLICATION: God is not a vending machine, nor will He be manipulated. God knows our hearts better than we do, and He knows whether or not we are sincere. Everything this short psalm describes is absolutely true. When we choose to follow God’s Will and serve Him only, God will heal our land and bless it. But when we turn away from God, we bring curses on ourselves as well as on our land. Fertility deteriorates and the spiritual atmosphere becomes oppressive.

I was part of a short-term mission group visiting Haiti in 1986. As we were flying into Port au Prince, we could feel the spiritual atmosphere becoming heavier and heavier. Originally, Haiti was a French colony with one of the most oppressive slavery systems in the Western Hemisphere. When the slaves rose up in 1797, hacking their masters to pieces with machetes, they established a society based on voodoo, or juju, to use the West African term. Despite a number of Christian missions and much sacrificial service, Satan’s hold on that country has never been broken. The country of Haiti only occupies half of the island of Hispaniola; the other half is occupied by the Dominican Republic. Crossing the border from Haiti to the Dominican Republic is like going from night to day. While the Dominican Republic has problems, they pale in comparison with those of Haiti. The Dominican Republic is predominantly Christian, with over 90% of the population practicing Catholicism.

There is no such thing as spiritual neutrality anywhere in the world. When we accept God and His commandments and follow Him, He will bless us. But the reverse also is true. The choice is ours. Choose wisely.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Thank You, that You will help us and bless our lands if we will only follow You. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.  

The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God

To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

“How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You. Selah 

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping), they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold
from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

This psalm is one of the loveliest in the compendium. Written by the sons of Korah, this psalm embodies a yearning for God and His righteousness plus a glorious affirmation of God’s blessings for those who serve Him. But who was Korah? Along with Dathan and Abiram, Korah led a rebellion of 250 Levites against Moses and Aaron and was destroyed in the process. But God has not held Korah’s sins against his descendants, and this division of Levites has continued to serve in the temple.

“How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”  Although Korah failed to respect the Lord, his descendants are so in love with Him that they can scarcely bear to be separated from the temple and from God’s Presence.  

“Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You. Selah (Pause and calmly think on that.)“  The psalmist is so in love with God that he views God’s temple as his only true home, a place of safety and rest, a place where he can continue to praise God.

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping), they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah” When a man or woman is drawing strength from God, they will be single-minded, pursuing God’s Will rather than their own. Even when such people pass through trials so terrible that they are driven to tears, those tears will turn dry ground into well-watered fertile land. Such people may suffer disappointments, but their spiritual strength will steadily increase and eventually they will appear before God in His dwelling place of eternal Zion. The psalmist longs to become such a faithful person.

“O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” One day in God’s Presence far outstrips any number of days without Him. In the psalmist’s culture, doorkeepers are considered very low-level servants. The psalmist would far rather take a humble position in the temple than to have anything to do with the wicked.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold
from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!” These statements are self-explanatory. The sun gives light and shields offer protection. The Lord God is the ultimate Source of light and protection. And what a promise! Incredible!

APPLICATION: My late grandmother was a woman of deep faith, and this was her favorite psalm. That wonderful woman was born to Swedish immigrant parents who lived in very humble circumstances. Grandma didn’t learn to speak or write English until she was in her late teens and came of age during World War I. Grandma and Grandpa survived repeated crop failures on the farm, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Korean War. In 1955 Grandma nearly lost her only child, my father, in a terrible car crash. While Dad was recovering, Grandma helped milk cows and care for farm animals and a large garden. For most of Grandma’s life, she kept free range chickens, only parting with the chickens when she moved into town at age 90.

Grandma was an amazingly positive person, intensely interested in everyone and everything around her. Grandma produced a never-ending flow of baked goods, flowers, canned fruit, and encouraging letters. At age 85 she was driving into town to play the piano at the Senior Citizens Club “to cheer up the old folks.” (Some of the old folks to whom she was referring were decades younger than she was!)

They read the 84^th Psalm at Grandma’s funeral, and it was highly appropriate. If ever there was someone who turned valleys of weeping into fertile ground with pools of water, it was my Grandma. Truly, the last verse of this psalm remains as Grandma’s testimony: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!”

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to love You more each day than we did the day before. Help us to love Your Presence so much that we would rather be with You than anywhere else. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Prayer to Frustrate Conspiracy Against Israel

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

“Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You: the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah

Deal with them as with Midian, as with Sisera, as with Jabin at the Brook Kishon, who perished at En Dor, who became as refuse on the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God for a possession.”

O my God, make them like the whirling dust, like the chaff before the wind! As the fire burns the woods, and as the flame sets the mountains on fire, so pursue them with Your tempest, and frighten them with Your storm. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; yes, let them be put to shame and perish, that they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.”

“Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” You might think these sentiments have been lifted from some recent news script; however, this psalm may be more than 2500 years old. The nation of Israel has been a target ever since it was first founded. Recently, Hamas has initiated unprovoked attacks on Israel, stirring up old controversies.

 

 “For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You: the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah”  Most of the nations listed here have new names; however, Israel remains a tiny speck surrounded by a huge number of enemies whose territories include most of the Middle East. Israel is bordered by 22 hostile Arab nations that are 640 times her size and 65 times her population. The worldwide Jewish population is 13 million while the worldwide Muslim population is 2.1 billion.

“Deal with them as with Midian, as with Sisera, as with Jabin at the Brook Kishon, who perished at En Dor, who became as refuse on the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God for a possession.” The leaders mentioned here were all ignominiously defeated by ancient Israel. Sisera even wound up being killed by a woman who drove a tent peg through his head while he slept.

“O my God, make them like the whirling dust, like the chaff before the wind! As the fire burns the woods, and as the flame sets the mountains on fire, so pursue them with Your tempest, and frighten them with Your storm. Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; yes, let them be put to shame and perish, that they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.” Although these words are thousands of years old, there are many who are praying for Israel along these lines. God has never removed His hand from Israel and has consistently delivered her from all kinds of attack as long as His people have followed Him.

APPLICATION: On the face of it, Israel shouldn’t even exist. Through the centuries, there have been repeated attempts to wipe out Israel as a nation, only for her to rise from the ashes. The Bible is full of God’s promises towards Israel, and God has never gone back on His Word.

Isarel is not a perfect nation; there are no perfect nations. And there are those who have severely criticized Israel for resisting the attacks by Hamas. But it’s easy to criticize when the rockets aren’t aimed at you and your family.

How can we pray for the mess in the Middle East? Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray for peace in all the countries. And pray that God will sovereignly intervene, because only God can change human hearts.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we lift up the conflicts in the Middle East and ask You to bring Your perfect solution. Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace. You are the One Who can change human hearts and defeat hatred. Lord, we soak all the nations involved in the Blood of Jesus, the Love of Jesus, and the Fire of the Holy Spirit. Consume every trace of hatred and cause Your Light and Your Truth to come forth. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

A Plea for Justice

A Psalm of Asaph.

“God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked. They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable.

I said, “You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations.”

“God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Selah  Once more the musicians of the Sons of Asaph are crying out against the injustice around them. The psalmist is shocked that the wicked are ignoring God’s presence among them. God judges justly, so why are the wicked perverting justice?

“Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked. They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable.” God has not called us to serve ourselves but to serve the poor and needy and those left to the mercies of the wicked. When wicked people are in control, truly societies will be in a continual state of flux.

 “I said, “You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations.” No matter how powerful a leader is, eventually he or she will die, “falling like one of the princes.”

APPLICATION: We serve a God who is omniscient, knowing everything, omnipresent, and omnipotent. But despite these facts, many people still want to believe that they can do things secretly without God’s knowledge. The two sides of the witchcraft coin are rebellion and control. People begin by rebelling against God, demanding that they control things. All witchcraft is aimed at controlling something or someone-weather, people, events, etc. The fundamental lust driving witchcraft is a lust for power.

These days, there are all kinds of temptations to slide into “soft witchcraft.” Many groups offer the lure of secret knowledge, particularly if they can invoke ancient sources or even refer to alien visits to earth. The amount of misinformation available is mind-boggling. But God knows everything, including our thoughts and desires.  

1 John 1:5-7 tells us, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Each day we make choices. Either we choose to walk in light or we choose to walk in darkness. Even when we try to convince ourselves that something “really isn’t so bad,” we are already choosing darkness. God’s will for us is clear: we are to speak for the voiceless and defend those who cannot defend themselves. We are to persistently oppose wickedness without compromising. Let us take courage, remembering that the God whom we serve has promised to be with us forever.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives, knowing that You will give us the strength and courage to do  so. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

An Appeal for Israel’s Repentance

To the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of Asaph.

“Sing aloud to God our strength; make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob. Raise a song and strike the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the lute. Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day.

For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. This He established in Joseph as a testimony, when He went throughout the land of Egypt, where I heard a language I did not understand. “I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from the baskets. You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over  to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.

“Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.”

“Sing aloud to God our strength; make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob. Raise a song and strike the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the lute. Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day.” It must be incredibly frustrating to be a righteous person watching Israel deteriorate morally and spiritually. Here the psalmist is begging his fellow Israelites to repent and leave their idols, reminding them of God’s requirements for regular worship.

“For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. This He established in Joseph as a testimony, when He went throughout the land of Egypt, where I heard a language I did not understand. “I removed his shoulder from the burden; his hands were freed from the baskets. You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah”  God has done so much for Israel, delivering the Israelites from slavery and then providing for them as they journeyed through the wilderness for forty years. But the Israelites have short memories and are rejecting the One True Living God.

“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over  to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels.” God has warned the Israelites of the blessings they will enjoy if they will continue to worship Him faithfully but also of the consequences should they reject Him and neglect His worship.

“Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you.” Here the psalmist is functioning as a prophet, speaking for the Lord. In these last verses, we glimpse God’s father heart as he grieves over his rebellious children. God knows the horrible consequences His people will suffer unnecessarily due to their hard hearts. If only God’s people would turn to Him, He would help them!

APPLICATION: WHY WORSHIP? Sometimes people complain that they don’t attend church worship services because they’re so boring. My response: Find a different church! Forty years ago, we were living in midtown Memphis; however, we had found a great church about thirty miles away. Our solution: On Sundays we essentially moved to the town where the church was. We would begin with Sunday morning worship services, get lunch, and then hang out at a friend’s house until time for choir practice and Sunday evening service. The services were uplifting, the preaching was excellent, and God was always doing something new in the congregation. Those services gave us the strength to run for the rest of the week. We remain very close to many of the friends we made during that time.

This psalm is both encouraging and also very sad. Worship is a two-way street; we meet with God but God also meets with us. God wants to bless us as we worship Him, and the more we worship, the more we open ourselves up for God to bless us spiritually, emotionally, physically, and in every other aspect of our lives. Tragically, when we refuse to worship, we cut ourselves off from God’s blessings, and God misses us.

What constitutes worship? Worshiping with others encourages us to open ourselves to God. But we can also worship God by ourselves. For much of my professional life, I have had to miss formal worship services because I have found myself at work in the hospital. But I can still worship God and praise Him whenever I have time. You are reading the results of one of my worship activities. I write these Bible studies as a form of worship and because God has called me to do so. Eric Liddle said that when he ran, he felt God’s pleasure. When I write Bible studies, I feel God’s pleasure.

God longs for you to spend time with Him and to worship Him. Your worship activities might look different from other people’s, but as long as you are meeting with God, you are worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help all who read these words to realize how much You want to meet with them. Help them to turn to You at all times. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.  

 Prayer for Israel’s Restoration

To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm.

“Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth! Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up Your strength, and come and save us! Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!

O Lord God of hosts, how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in great measure. You have made us a strife to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.

Restore us, O God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved! You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it. You prepared room for it, and caused it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with its shadow, and the mighty cedars with its boughs. She sent out her boughs to the Sea, and her branches to the River. Why have You broken down her hedges, so that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit? The boar out of the woods uproots it, and the wild beast of the field devours it.

Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine and the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You made strong for Yourself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. Then we will not turn back from You; revive us, and we will call upon Your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!”

Once more, the Sons of Asaph have produced a heart-wrenching psalm. Jerusalem has fallen, and the Babylonians have completely destroyed the temple, leaving only the structure which will later be known as the Wailing Wall or Western Wall. The walls of Jerusalem are broken and the gates burned, symbolizing the destruction of Jerusalem as a corporate entity. The psalmist is not defending the Israelites for their sins; instead, he is begging for God to deliver them for His Name’s sake. The writer realizes that arguments based on the virtues of the Israelites will be worthless, for the Israelites have invited these attacks upon themselves by whole-heartedly worshiping idols and reducing the worship of the God Who has established them as a nation to meaningless rituals.

As the psalmist calls on God to deliver and restore the Israelites, he also begs God to raise up a Godly leader. The psalmist risks divine credibility, promising that if God will give Godly leadership and revive the Israelites, they will turn back to Him. At this point, God might be excused if His reaction is “Show me!”

For generations, the citizens of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms have taken God for granted, despite pointed warnings by innumerable prophets. It is safe to assume that the prophecies recorded in the Bible represent only a small fraction of the warnings God has actually sent to His people. Repeatedly, God has warned His people that He knows every hill and every green tree where they have established heathen shrines, Asherah poles, and other monuments. God knows every rooftop in Jerusalem on which His people have made offerings to the sun, moon, and stars. Even when the prophet Ezekiel has been carried off into Babylon, God has shown him visions of the idolatry still being practiced by those remaining in Jerusalem.

The One True Living God is omniscient and omnipotent, all-knowing and all-powerful; yet, somehow these people think they’ve successfully hidden their sins from God. The Hebrew term for “crazy” is “meshuga” from which we get the Yiddish term “meshugenneh.” This is only one of many spellings, but no matter how you spell it, someone who is meshuga is totally crazy. If we think we can hide from God, we are truly meshugenneh! (Yiddish is a wonderfully expressive language. For a fascinating introduction, check out Leo Rosten’s book The Joys of Yiddish. This book gives Yiddish words with English explanations and is highly entertaining as well as informative.)

“Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine and the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You made strong for Yourself. It is burned with fire, it is cut down; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. Then we will not turn back from You; revive us, and we will call upon Your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!”

The psalmist is begging desperately for God’s intervention. Realizing that God alone can deliver Israel, the psalmist also realizes that without revival and restoration, God’s blessings will be useless because the Israelites will simply repeat all the mistakes of the past.

APPLICATION: Sometimes people speak of scheduling revival meetings as if the Holy Spirit can be organized; yet, revival really depends on us. How can we guarantee revival? First, we need to recognize that we are sinners and that nothing we can do will free us from our sins. Second, we must be willing to confess those sins to God and beg His forgiveness. Next, we should copy the psalmist and ask for revival and restoration. Finally, we should trust that God will answer us, sending us His Holy Spirit.

How will we know when the Holy Spirit shows up? We will experience light and joy and peace such as we have never known before. And we will feel clean inside, completely clean.

“God, if You’re really there, God if this guy isn’t lying and if You will really send Your Holy Spirit, then do it!” It was April 15, 1978. I was sitting alone in my bedroom praying a desperate prayer. Details don’t matter, but my life was in a shambles and I was in total despair. I had spent all day reading books about men and women who had taken a step of faith, only to have God move mightily in their lives. The last book I read was Prison to Praise by Merlin Carruthers. Carruthers was a Methodist army chaplain who was ready to give up on the ministry because he wasn’t seeing any evidence of God’s power. When Carruthers received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he watched his entire life and ministry change beyond belief.

In that book, Carruthers described praying for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and advised that one might not feel anything but that there would be little syllables forming in one’s mind. If the person praying would begin speaking those syllables, then God would take over and the Holy Spirit would come. I felt like a complete fool; four years of college, four years of medical school, and two years of surgery residency had not prepared me to babble in my bedroom; however, I observed that if I made a damn fool of myself, nobody else would ever know. (That’s a direct quote.) I prayed, and God showed up big-time! I began speaking in a beautiful flowing language and I could literally feel God scrubbing away all the crud and filling me with life and joy and peace. I could have stopped at any time, but I didn’t want to.

That experience transformed my life and set me on a course that I continue to follow today. You don’t have to wait for a special church service or even for someone else to pray for you; you can pray for yourself. How God will manifest Himself is up to Him; however, God is a good Father who doesn’t play charades with his children. Try asking God for the Holy Spirit. What do you have to lose, apart from despair?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we have made complete messes of our lives. Please cleanse us, restore us, and fill us with Your Holy Spirit. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

 A Dirge and a Prayer for Israel, Destroyed by Enemies

A Psalm of Asaph.

O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps. The dead bodies of Your servants they have given as food for the birds of the heavens, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.

We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to those who are around us. How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire? Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, and on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.

Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
For we have been brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; and deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, for Your name’s sake! Why should the nations say
“Where is their God?”

Let there be known among the nations in our sight the avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed. Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; according to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are appointed to die; and return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord. So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; we will show forth Your praise to all generations.”

Even before the Israelites entered Canaan, God warned them that if they rejected Him, He would reject them. Deuteronomy 32 contains the Song of Moses, God’s specific warnings to the Israelites if they would prove to be unfaithful.

“They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; they have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled in My anger, and shall burn to the lowest hell; it shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

‘I will heap disasters on them; I will spend My arrows on them. They shall be wasted with hunger, devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction; I will also send against them the teeth of beasts, with the poison of serpents of the dust. The sword shall destroy outside; there shall be terror within for the young man and virgin, the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.”
(Deuteronomy 32:21-25)

God gave Moses that song, commanding it to be taught to all succeeding generations, but the Israelites failed. Subsequently, God repeatedly sent prophets, many of whom were ignored or even murdered by those who should have been listening. Now the day of reckoning has arrived and suddenly the Israelites are trying to blame God for their problems. Jerusalem has been attacked and the temple sacked and destroyed. The streets are littered with rotting corpses. Educated people who could lead a rebellion have been slaughtered. Survivors have been dragged off into captivity in chains.

This psalm was undoubtedly penned by one of the sons of Asaph who lived well after the time of David. Throughout all generations, God has always had a remnant of true-hearted followers, and this writer is undoubtedly one of them. Notice what the writer does not say: He does not attempt to defend the actions of the majority of the citizens of Jerusalem. While Solomon started the problem by building shrines to pagan gods throughout Jerusalem, succeeding generations have compounded the problem, setting up Asherah poles and other shrines throughout the country, burning children to Molech, and generally honoring every demon going.

“Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us,
For we have been brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; and deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, for Your name’s sake! Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”  The psalmist appeals to God on the basis of God’s nature, His mercies, and His great Name, not holding brief for the actions of the Israelites.

If you study Bible history, you know that eventually Cyrus King of Persia put out a call for Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. But for seventy years, those exiled in Babylon got a first-hand look at the workings of a totally pagan society in which idol worship was freely practiced. The Israelites had wanted to enjoy the benefits of a society based on God’s commands while playing with demons in addition; however, light and darkness can’t mix.

The psalm ends with the writer promising that if God will deliver the Israelites, they will praise Him forever. Only God knows the human heart, so only God knows if succeeding generations have fulfilled this promise.

APPLICATION: “Actions have consequences” is a maxim every good parent teaches to their children. But it’s shocking how many people feel such a strong sense of entitlement that they believe they can behave badly and not reap the results. One horrible example is the health consequences of smoking e-cigarettes. Shortly after vaping became a phenomenon, health care providers began seeing young people with horrific lung damage, much of it irreversible. One friend working as a school secretary reported students hiding paraphernalia in their clothing so they could sneak off to the toilets to vape. Sadly, numbers of people are still indulging in this dangerous practice in a form of health roulette, betting that they will be among the lucky ones who will escape with normal lungs.

God’s promises and His warnings hold true today just as they always have. Are we paying attention or are we hoping that somehow God hasn’t really meant His commandments? God promises in Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, ‘Destroy!’  Why should we repeat the mistakes of the ancient Israelites? Why not follow God whole-heartedly so that He can protect and guide us?

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives so that You may bless us as only You can. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

God’s Kindness to Rebellious Israel

A Contemplation of Asaph.

“Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known,
and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God.

The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God; they refused to walk in His law, and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; and He made the waters stand up like a heap. In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers.

But they sinned even more against Him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. And they tested God in their heart by asking for the food of their fancy. Yes, they spoke against God: they said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, He struck the rock, so that the waters gushed out,
and the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?” Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel, because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation.

Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full.

He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; and by His power He brought in the south wind. He also rained meat on them like the dust, feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; and He let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings. So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them their own desire. They were not deprived of their craving; but while their food was still in their mouths, the wrath of God came against them, and slew the stoutest of them, and struck down the choice men of Israel.

In spite of this they still sinned, and did not believe in His wondrous works. Therefore their days He consumed in futility, and their years in fear. When He slew them, then they sought Him; and they returned and sought earnestly for God. Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer. Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, and they lied to Him with their tongue; for their heart was not steadfast with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant.

But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath; for He remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passes away and does not come again.

How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy, when He worked His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the field of Zoan; turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink. He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them. He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, and their labor to the locust. He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with frost.
He also gave up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to fiery lightning. He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, by sending angels of destruction among them. He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death,  but gave their life over to the plague, and destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, the first of their strength in the tents of Ham.

But He made His own people go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock; and He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. And He brought them to His holy border, this mountain which His right hand had acquired. He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them an inheritance by survey, and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, and did not keep His testimonies, but turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; they were turned aside like a deceitful bow. For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their carved images. When God heard this, He was furious, and greatly abhorred Israel, so that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had placed among men, and delivered Hs strength into captivity, and His glory into the enemy’s hand.
He also gave His people over to the sword, and was furious with His inheritance. The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not given in marriage. Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation. Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a mighty man who shouts because of wine. And He beat back His enemies; He put them to a perpetual reproach. Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which He has established forever.

He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.”

This is a long psalm and picking it apart verse by verse would be tedious. The psalmist begins by reminding his listeners of God’s commands to teach succeeding generations of the great things God has done for the Israelites and the wonders He has performed. Next, the psalmist laments the fact that the Israelites have failed miserably in this regard and begins listing graphic examples.

1. “The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God; they refused to walk in His law, and forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.” When the Israelites were crossing into Canaan, they had to swear a mutual oath of protection; if any tribe was under attack, the other tribes had to swiftly come to their aid. But the Ephraimites, who were fully armed and presumably prepared, chose to stay home, failing their fellow Israelites and violating a sacred oath sworn before the Living God. If cell phones had existed, the Ephraimites would all have been absorbed in their phones.
2. Next the psalmist summarizes the plagues God sent on the Egyptians to convince them to free the Israelites from slavery, loading them with precious possessions and sending them away.
3. The psalmist reminds listeners of the miraculous ways God delivered His people, first at the Red Sea and then repeatedly in the wilderness, providing food and water for millions.
4. The psalmist then describes God’s fulfillment of His promises by bringing the Israelites into the Promised Land, giving them land and allowing them to dwell safely in their tents.
5. “Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, and did not keep His testimonies, but turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; they were turned aside like a deceitful bow. For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.” The ungrateful Israelites refused to worship God but instead plunged into idolatry, serving the very demons previously worshiped by the Canaanites. This covenant breaking caused  God to abandon His people to repeated enemy attacks.
6. Because of the ingratitude and unfaithfulness of Ephraim, God rejected those tribes and instead chose the tribe of Judah and the city of Jerusalem, rejecting Shiloh, where the Tent of Meeting was first pitched.
7. “He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.”  Instead of Saul, who was from the tribe of Benjamin, God chose David, a faithful man from the tribe of Judah, to be king over His people.

APPLICATION: Our lives hang by fragile threads. All of us depend on God’s mercy and God’s grace. Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” 

How grateful are we? A friend spent Thanksgiving Eve watching her beloved husband be sent by helicopter to a major hospital after he suffered a catastrophic stroke. As I am writing, things are improving; however, nobody knows how much this man will recover. At this point, my friend is thankful for her life and the life of her husband. This stroke was unprecedented; the man was totally healthy prior to this incident. Another friend tells me that her husband may be facing complicated heart surgery within the next few days. Yesterday in our mission hospital a seven-year-old boy died with pneumonia only 24 hours after falling sick.

Psalm 78 can teach us several things:

1. Be grateful for all God’s gifts.
2. Tell all those around you, especially your children, about the great things God has done in your lives.
3. If you have covenanted to help someone, do it, even if it means you are risking your own life.
4. Never reject God in favor of any idol.

We have just celebrated Thanksgiving, a time in which to be very grateful. One hundred people set off from Plymouth, England; however 47 of those people died before the first Thanksgiving was ever celebrated in 1621. Those pilgrims remaining were grateful simply to be alive and felt that God had performed incredible miracles for them to survive. But what about the ancient Israelites?

The Israelites were slaves in Egypt with no hope of escape when God began working through Moses and Aaron. God not only delivered the Israelites but terrorized the Egyptians so much that they practically forced their prize possessions on the Israelites to convince the Israelites to leave so God would stop attacking the Egyptians. God commanded the Israelites to teach succeeding generations about this deliverance and about the ways in which He led them and provided for them in the wilderness. The Israelites failed completely.

Not only did the Israelites fail to honor their promises to God, but they also failed to honor their mutual aid agreement. Big strong warriors sat home polishing their armor while their fellow Israelites were under attack. Worse, the Israelites rejected the God who had saved them, rushing off to worship demons instead. It was David’s ascent to the throne that brought revival.

Practice gratitude! Some people like to keep gratitude journals. Others use blessing jars, writing their blessings on slips of paper and dropping them into a jar so that later they can pull out some of the slips and remind themselves of how God has blessed them. Others use post-it notes. But no matter how you do it, practicing gratitude improves your outlook and brightens your day.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to be grateful for all Your blessings, both large and small. And help us to teach our children to be grateful as well. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

The Consoling Memory of God’s Redemptive Works

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

“I cried out to God with my voice—To God with my voice; and He gave ear to me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search.

Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah

And I said, “This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.

Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; who is so great a God as our God? You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were afraid; the depths also trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”

 “I cried out to God with my voice—To God with my voice; and He gave ear to me. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah” Ever spend a sleepless night worrying about your situation? Welcome to the club! There are times when we are so worried we don’t know what to do. We feel as if God has abandoned us, and we wonder if He will ever act in our lives again.

“You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search.” Sometimes we torment ourselves, beating ourselves up mentally for our failures and searching our hearts to determine where we have gone wrong. Far better then, if we ask God to give us His mind about ourselves and to open our eyes to anything we should confess. Once we have done that, we can be confident that God will fulfill His perfect will and that we can rest in His Love.

“Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah” Sometimes we might feel as if God has abandoned us, but that is never the case. God knows the things we need to train our souls and to perfect us. Unfortunately, that process is frequently painful, but necessary.

“And I said, “This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.” Rather than concentrating on our misery, it’s much better to remind ourselves of all the good things God has done in our lives. Gratitude can lift us out of despair.

“Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; who is so great a God as our God? You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah”  When we look at the nation of Israel, we are reminded  of the number of times God has redeemed the Jews. Even now, as the entire world seems to be against Israel, God is still redeeming them.

“The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You, they were afraid; the depths also trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”  These verses refer to God leading the Israelites through the Red Sea, allowing them to escape from Pharaoh’s army. While that deliverance was a miraculous one, since then there have been multiple times when God has delivered the Jews.

APPLICATION: Belatedly, several different authors have recently written about the benefits of practicing mindfulness and gratitude. Mindfulness simply refers to noticing things around us and appreciating them while gratitude involves a decision to remain grateful for all the good things that surround us. Sometimes we must struggle to be grateful. The story is told of Saint Teresa of Avila, a Spanish saint, who was quite close to God. Once while traveling, Teresa’s ox cart became mired in deep mud. Teresa is said to have looked heavenward and remonstrated with God, saying, “If this is the way You treat Your friends, no wonder you have so few of them!”

Scripture advises us to praise God even during difficulties, for when we do so, our minds are released from bitterness. Romans 8:28 says, “ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” 

Brother Lawrence was a Christian monk living in the 17^th century whose life became an inspiration for all around him. Lawrence advised, “Do not pray for relief from pain, but pray for strength to suffer with courage, humility and love.” It was also Lawrence who said, “The most holy and important practice in the spiritual life is the presence of God – that is, every moment to take great pleasure that God is with you.” Even if we feel that God might have abandoned us, we can remind ourselves that God is with us and that He loves us.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You for always being with us, whether or not we feel Your presence. Help us to continually remember that fact and to praise You even when things are difficult. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.