Strengthen Yourself in God…

5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,

For my expectation is from Him.

6 He only is my rock and my salvation;

He is my defense;

I shall not be moved.

7 In God is my salvation and my glory;

The rock of my strength,

And my refuge, is in God.

8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.

Selah—Psalm 62:5-8

I love the Psalms where David speaks to and exhorts his own soul.  He strengthens himself in His God by reminding himself of truth. When I am anxious and fearful, the day before me can seem like a nebulous eternity.  If I continue down this road, I begin to unravel and become tied up in knots…literally trapped in wrong thinking and wrong responses.  How much better would it be for me to sit quietly and wait for the Lord.  In the midst of fear and anxiety, however, I don’t always think rationally.  This is why for me it is so important to purpose in my heart ahead of time to do exactly that when anxiety strikes.  To remember that as a believer, my life is now hidden with Christ in God.  I am His maidservant. My life is not my own.  I belong to Jesus.  How much better and more appropriate is it then for me as His maidservant to grab my Bible as I wait and allow the words of my Master to encompass, bring peace and strengthen my wavering heart.  My hope and my expectation come from Him.  He alone is my Rock and my Defense. He will not allow me to be greatly shaken..  I can give Him all my anxious thoughts and place my trust in Him no matter what might be happening.  My God is sovereign…He rules and overrules in the kingdom of men.  He is for me…on my side.  He works all things together for my good and His glory.  

Beloved, salvation from your present temptation and trouble is in Him and already on its way. He is the anchor of your soul and your strong consolation. Grace holds you.  Rest in the green pasture of His word. 

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the strength of my life;

Of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked came against me

To eat up my flesh,

My enemies and foes,

They stumbled and fell.

3 Though an army may encamp against me,

My heart shall not fear;

Though war may rise against me,

In this I will be confident.

4 One thing I have desired of the LORD,

That will I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the LORD

All the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the LORD,

And to inquire in His temple.

5 For in the time of trouble

He shall hide me in His pavilion;

In the secret place of His tabernacle

He shall hide me;

He shall set me high upon a rock.

6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;

Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!

Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.

8 When You said, "Seek My face,"

My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."

9 Do not hide Your face from me;

Do not turn Your servant away in anger;

You have been my help;

Do not leave me nor forsake me,

O God of my salvation.

10 When my father and my mother forsake me,

Then the LORD will take care of me.

11 Teach me Your way, O LORD,

And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.

12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;

For false witnesses have risen against me,

And such as breathe out violence.

13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

That I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.

14 Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!—Psalm 27

On Crying Out to God…

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”—John 4:13-14

These words of Jesus to the woman at the well bring me back to the moment of my own salvation. The moment it became completely evident to me that something inside of me had changed dramatically, and that I WAS NOT responsible for that change.  I had gone through many self-help books both from the library and bookstores.  I FINALLY cried out to God…to the fountain of living water…and bought a bible. I had tried reading the bible many times in my life.  The strangest thing for me was that I could read anything else and understand what I was reading...but I had never understood the Bible.  I always had to put it back on the shelf because it was like I was reading another language...there simply was no understanding. I did not have ears to hear.  (I figured it was the Bible’s fault, not mine . 😀). 

I remember coming home...sitting on the couch....opening the Bible up to Genesis 1 and before I reached Genesis Chapter 2 tears were streaming down my cheeks. The Spirit had spoken to my heart.  I understood!  Not just chapter 1 of Genesis but that He was my Rock in this world.  That this book I had in my hands was exactly what I needed.  It was black and white, it was definite and most importantly it had answers. Truth truly resided here in this book.  I knew at that moment that I could stand.  I knew that I had what I needed to raise my family..to make it through life in this world. My eyes were opened to the God who created the universe and who also cared for me. Circumstances would change, emotions would change, my life would change but He would not.  Jesus Christ the same today, yesterday and forever.  He would be my guide, my strong tower, my help, my strength and my hope.  I went from quicksand to the Rock. Psalm 40:1-3 speaks to me of what the my God did that day in my heart.

I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to  me And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock,  And established my steps.He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God;  Many will see it and fear; And will trust in the LORD.

It truly happened in the blink of an eye...and His word by His grace has never been far from my heart or my reach since.

Beloved…Jesus is the One for whom your empty heart longs.  Go to Him…today is the day of salvation. He longs to hear your cry and be gracious to you. In seeking anyone or anything else (whether you are saved or unsaved) you are in effect feeding on the wind and pursuing the east wind.  As it says in Jeremiah:

They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,

And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. 

All of your labor is for your mouth, but your soul is still not satisfied. 

1 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts,

Come to the waters;

And you who have no money,

Come, buy and eat.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without price.

2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

3 Incline your ear, and come to Me.

Hear, and your soul shall live;

6 Seek the LORD while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near. —Isaiah 55:1-3;6

Finding Yourself in a Place You Thought You Would Never Be…

 David had backslidden and found himself in a place where he thought he would never be.  He was among the ungodly Philistines and preparing for war against God's people. By God's grace he was rejected by the Philistines.  He goes back to his city and finds that the Amalekites had attacked and burned it with fire.  They had also taken their wives, sons and daughters captive.  1 Samuel 27 tells us that David had done much worse to those cities he had attacked....in comparison to David, the  Amalekites were merciful.

David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, "Lest they should inform on us, saying, 'Thus David did.' " And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.—1 Samuel 27:11

David was distressed and the people thought of stoning him because their souls were so very grieved at their loss.  David has reached his lowest point but what an example he is for us!  What do we read that David does?  He turns to God for strength...

"But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God."

AND GOD IN HIS MERCY AND GRACE GIVES DAVID THE GUIDANCE HE NEEDED!  God in his mercy allowed David to hit rock bottom.  He knew what it would take for David to turn back to Him...God does the same for us.  He removes those things we are trusting in instead of Him until we have no other place to turn.   I am very thankful for the trials my God has brought me because in them and through them the Lord has turned my heart towards Him.  My trials have made me look up.  O Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.  Trust in him at all times you people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

Ending with Psalm 118:

I called on the LORD in distress;

The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.

The LORD is on my side;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?

It is better to trust in the LORD

Than to put confidence in man.

It is better to trust in the LORD

Than to put confidence in princes.—Psalm 118: 5-6;8-9

Two more….

He gives power to the weak,

And to those who have no might He increases strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,

And the young men shall utterly fall, 

But those who wait on the LORD

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.—Isaiah 40:29-31

but He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness." Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me. 10 So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God's strength]—2 Corinthians 12:9-10 AMPLIFIED VERSION

Through the Cross of Christ…

My eyes fill with tears at this one…

In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.—Proverbs 16:6

Beloved….Through the cross of His Son our God has provided a way for us to draw near to Him here on earth and live forever with Him in heaven.  By the mercy and truth of God in Christ Jesus, our sins are forgiven, their penalty paid for, and their power broken.  The mercy (steadfast love) of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him…He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses (says the same thing God says about their sin) and forsakes them will have mercy.

How beautiful to my heart are these precious words from Psalm 103.  

6 The LORD executes righteousness

And justice for all who are oppressed.

7 He made known His ways to Moses,

His acts to the children of Israel.

8 The LORD is merciful and gracious,

Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

9 He will not always strive with us,

Nor will He keep His anger forever.

10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

12 As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father pities his children,

So the LORD pities those who fear Him.

14 For He knows our frame;

He remembers that we are dust.

And these from Psalm 119…

9 How can a young man cleanse his way?

By taking heed according to Your word.

10 With my whole heart I have sought You;

Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,

That I might not sin against You.

12 Blessed are You, O LORD!

Teach me Your statutes.

13 With my lips I have declared

All the judgments of Your mouth.

14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,

As much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on Your precepts,

And contemplate Your ways.

16 I will delight myself in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your word.

Last one…

6 With what shall I come before the LORD,

And bow myself before the High God?

Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,

With calves a year old?

7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,

Ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the LORD require of you

But to do justly,

To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?—Micah 6:6-8

And David Said in His Heart…

 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul.—1 Samuel 27:1

This first sentence of 1 Samuel Chapter 27 really caught my attention.  I particularly noticed the phrase, And David said in his heart because in noticing that phrase, I also noted what it DID NOT say.  It did not say and “David prayed to the Lord”…or and “David communed with God”…or “David turned his heart upside down before the Lord”. Are you getting my concern?  You can tell by that phrase alone that David is headed for trouble.  Instead of talking to God, David is talking to himself. Jeremiah the prophet, tells us that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked.  David then, in having a “heart to heart” with himself, instead of having a “heart to heart” with God is receiving the wisdom that James tells us is earthly and demonic.  Consequently, David spends the next 16 months or so depressed and in enemy territory.  Not good…

One of the other reasons the phrase at the beginning of Chapter 27 stopped me is because I KNOW I do this.  Instead of bringing my problems to my Father in heaven, I bring them back to my own heart.  I talk to myself and not to God. This practice is not helpful, but hurtful, because I am looking to my flesh for answers instead of to the Spirit of God who dwells in me. I forget that the whole reason I cried out to God in the first place was because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the ability to do anything good was not in me. The fact that I was hopeless, helpless and totally insufficient for life here on earth was a conclusion that I had already drawn. It was God who redeemed my life from destruction.  It was me who excelled at destroying it.

Beloved, communing with our own hearts strengthens our old man and leads us away from God not toward Him. It is a tool that Satan uses to deceive.  When you find yourself doing it, redirect your voice to the One who loves You with an everlasting love. Go to Jesus because He is the Voice of Truth. Go to Jesus because He bids you to come.  

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.—Philippians 4:6-7

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.—Matthew 11:28-30

Keep Your Heart with All Diligence…

 See 1 Samuel 24 and 25….

What struck me this morning as I read through 1 Samuel 24 and 25 was the disparity in David’s reactions to the evil of Saul vs. his reaction to the evil of Nabal.  David had done only good continually to both men, and instead of being grateful, they had returned to David evil for his good.  Truly, both Saul and Nabal hated David without a cause. Perhaps this was because in David, they saw the God they had abandoned and wanted to besmirch and obliterate his godly witness from before their eyes. 

Now, in anyone’s book, the evil of Saul toward David was worse than the evil of Nabal, and yet David reacts to Saul’s evil in a godly fashion and to Nabal’s in an ungodly fashion.  David, whose life had been hunted relentlessly by Saul and his army, refused to avenge himself by taking Saul’s life when it was within his power to do so.  

In contrast, David’s reaction to Nabal’s pride and selfishness was to muster an army against him and kill all the males of his household. AND….unless Abigail, Nabal’s wife, had intervened with her wise, godly words, he would have.

As humans, we can forgive, but most of us don’t forget.  This is a good thing because it teaches us to love others with discernment and keeps us from trusting people who have proven themselves not worthy of our trust.  It can, however, also cause us problems.  Keep your heart with all diligence, Proverbs 4 tells us, because out of it springs the issues of life.  

David reacted to Saul in the spirit of humility but to Nabal in his pride and flesh. Why?  I submit to you that it was because David had brought the evil of Saul to God.  The    evil of Nabal, however, caught him off guard.  Still reeling,  perhaps from his  mistreatment at the hands of Saul, David reacts in his flesh.  He does not bring his heart to God before he purposes to destroy not only Nabal but all the men of his household. David also probably felt justified in his anger because much of it may have been on behalf of his men. 

Beloved, the Bible tells us to commit all our works to the Lord and our thoughts will be established.  Like David, our heart remembers hurts from the past. Similar hurts occurring in the present can trigger the same kinds of intense feeling even when the offense of the present does not warrant the intensity of emotion you are feeling.  And that misplaced emotion, my friend, is my signal and yours to bring our hearts to God and allow Him to search them and show us our sin.  Then and only then can we deal rightly with offenses. in a God honoring fashion.  

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

22 "Who committed no sin,

Nor was deceit found in His mouth";

23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—1 Peter 2:21-24

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 Therefore

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

If he is thirsty, give him a drink;

For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.—Romans 12:14-21

The Preparations of the Heart…

The preparations of the heart belong to man,

But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.—Proverbs 16:1

The Lord rules and overrules in the kingdom of men. This is such a gift to my heart.  Even this morning as I contemplated what to write, I was overwhelmed.  My mind sees so many trains I can take…all of them going a mile a minute and to 100 different places at once.  I have learned to be grateful for this because in it I see my mind without God…darkened, lost and rudderless.  Truly there remains for me no other choice but to cry out to Him in grateful surrender and allow His Spirit to direct my heart and my steps.  I am NOT sufficient for life WITHOUT Him. In my self-sufficiency I am in distress..every hand of misery comes against me.  My sufficiency is from God WHO IS ABLE to make all grace abound toward me, so that I, having all sufficiency in all things, have an abundance for every good work. 

So what does this “preparation” of my heart look like for me?  It looks like, as I said above, a grateful surrender.  Proverbs 3:5-6 and Philippians 2:13 paints the picture well.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.—Proverbs3:5-6

for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.—Philippians 2:13

Beloved…God hears the desire of the humble. He will prepare your heart and cause your ear to hear. 

Jesus speaking…

4 "The Lord GOD has given Me

The tongue of the learned,

That I should know how to speak

A word in season to him who is weary.

He awakens Me morning by morning,

He awakens My ear

To hear as the learned.

5 The Lord GOD has opened My ear;

And I was not rebellious,

Nor did I turn away.—Isaiah 50:4-5

He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry;

When He hears it, He will answer you.

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,

"This is the way, walk in it,"

Whenever you turn to the right hand

Or whenever you turn to the left.—Isaiah 30:19a; 21

But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel:

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name;

You are Mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.

When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,

Nor shall the flame scorch you.

3 For I am the LORD your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;—Isaiah 43:1-3

Harmful Thoughts…

 36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”

40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate in their presence.—

44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”—Luke 24:36-49

This passage really hit home this morning.  Why am I cast down?  Why is my soul troubled and my heart fearful?  Jesus stands right here in my midst. 

Sudden trial and trouble shook my world this weekend. My heart became fearful, grieved and yes, doubtful.  Many of my thoughts were not honoring to the God who is and has been forever faithful to me.  The imaginations of my heart ran amuck, and I became undone.  Jesus, as only Jesus can, brought peace by reminding me in a way that only I would understand, that He was with me. He is not a God afar off…He is very near to me, and His desire for me is only good continually.  

The thoughts that come to my heart that are not of faith are sin. I am not to dwell on them. I am instead to go exactly where Jesus brought His disciples in this passage…to His word. I am to allow His Spirit to open the eyes of my understanding and put truth to the lies that are assailing me. 

Open my eyes, that I may see

Wondrous things from Your law.—Psalm 119:18

I am to take all of my dishonoring, disbelieving and disquieting thoughts captive to the obedience of my Jesus. 

Psalm 37 is very helpful here because it reminds us not to fret—it only causes harm.  Many of my thoughts yesterday were not helpful…they were harmful.  The truth was not in them.  Instead of drawing me near to the very One who could help, they served to separate me from Him.  They threw me off balance, encouraged my irrational thinking, gave Satan a foothold, and hindered my ability to receive what I know God wanted to give me…comfort.   Beloved…we, as believers, have the Spirit of truth…oh, that in distressing times we would let Him lead us to the altar of our God…to Him who is both our exceeding joy and our comfort in affliction. 

"If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.—John 14:15-18

For in the time of trouble

He shall hide me in His pavilion;

In the secret place of His tabernacle

He shall hide me;

He shall set me high upon a rock.—Psalm 27:5

13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

That I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.

14 Wait on the LORD;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!—Psalm 27:13-14

3 You will keep him in perfect peace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You.

4 Trust in the LORD forever,

For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.—Isaiah 26:3-4

In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book,

And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.

19 The humble also shall increase their joy in the LORD,

And the poor among men shall rejoice

In the Holy One of Israel.—Isaiah 29:18-19

Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.—2 Corinthians 3:16-18