SLEEPING = TRUSTING GOD

When something really awful happens to me or someone I love - it is on my heart and in my mind and I find it hard to quit thinking about it.  There are times when I will sit and try to figure out ways to change the situation or methods of helping the person who is struggling.  A few times when I have felt that I was under attack personally by someone I found it hard to think clearly or to sleep well.  We all react differently to hard things in our lives.  Each of us will react in some way when a son or daughter is hurting, or when a friend or relative turns against us and slanders us to others.  For many it will mean having a hard time sleeping as thoughts and emotions churn away in our minds.  That is why this Psalm is such a challenge.  Let’s look at it together.

PSALM 3:1-8  (NLT) A psalm of David, regarding the time David fled from his son Absalom.

[1] O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. [2] So many are saying, "God will never rescue him!" [3] But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts my head high. [4] I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain.  [5] I lay down and slept. I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me. [6] I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side.  [7] Arise, O Lord! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked! [8] Victory comes from you, O Lord. May your blessings rest on your people.

The title of the Psalm tells us WHO wrote it and when it takes place.  Absalom had slandered his father, King David, and rebelled against him.  He had gathered and army of traitors around him and he was trying to hunt down and kill his father.  With very short notice David had to pack up and run for his life. He went into hiding until Absalom could be caught or killed.  The heartbreak in this was awful for him.   He loved Absalom and yet his son was doing something evil.  The anxiety and fear for himself and for his son must have been terrible.  Yet in the middle of all of this David remembers that God is his protection his SHIELD.  David remembers that God is the one who answers when he cries out to Him.  So he can sleep with confidence, peacefully, knowing that God is watching over him.  He trusts God enough in the middle of this terrible crisis to sleep and let God handle the problem.  I wonder how many times have I lost sleep because I did not TRUST God?  How many times have I stayed up trying to figure out a way that I could make it all work out rather than casting myself on God and His Mercy?  What an amazing lesson. In he midst of the chaos and turmoil caused by Absalom, David sleeps and Trusts God to take care of him.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you that You are TOTALLY TRUSTWORTHY.  Thank You that You are in Control even when it seems that ALL of the things around me are spinning out of control.  Help me to put everything that I am facing, all those things which cause me to worry into YOUR hands and to trust You to do what is best. 

WHY GOD LAUGHS AT THE NATIONS

One of the disadvantages of global TV coverage or the Internet is that things that happen in other places of the world come right into our homes.  I have to admit there are times when I just don’t want to hear one more world leader blustering and threatening.  When I hear a national leader bullying another nation,  when I hear world leaders speak as if there is no God or as if there were many gods,  I get very, very weary of it all.  It does however, remind me that someday God will RULE.  It helps me to remember that no matter what the nations may say - no matter what they believe - GOD is still SOVEREIGN over the nations.  Let’s look at these verses together.

PSALM 2:1-4  (NLT) Why do the nations rage? Why do the people waste their time with futile plans? [2] The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. [3] "Let us break their chains," they cry, "and free ourselves from this slavery." [4] But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.  

Psalm 2 is called Messianic Psalms because of the references to the coming Messiah.  It is also quoted in the New Testament carrying through that same theme.  In verses 1-3 the nations are making plans to rebel against God.  (Perhaps a prophetic reference to some of things mentioned in the book of Revelation.) However, I love God’s response.  He sees the nations and knows their plans and simply laughs at them.  They cannot catch God by surprise and they do not have the power to attack God no matter what their plan may be.  Why does God laugh at the nations from his throne? The Life Application Bible Note says this:  "It is the laughter of a father when his three-year-old boasts that he or she can outrun him or beat him in a wrestling match. The father knows the boundaries of power of his little child, and God knows the boundaries of power of the nations. Every nation is limited, but God is transcendent. If you have to choose between confidence in God and confidence in any nation, choose God.  ...God is all-powerful. He created the world, and knew about the empires of the earth long before they came into being (Daniel 2:26-45). But pride and power cause nations and leaders to rebel against God and try to break free of him. Our world has many leaders who boast of their power, who rant and rave against God and his people, who promise to take over and form their own empires. But God laughs because any power they have comes from him, and he can also take it from them. We need not fear the boasts of tyrants - they are in God’s hands."

PRAYER: Lord, I am so grateful that I cannot fool You, or take You by surprise.  Lord, please help me to remember that You have all the power necessary.   You can do ANYTHING  that must be done in this world and my life. Lord, help me to TRUST YOU and YOU alone.  Help me not to put confidence in myself or my own efforts but to humbly submit to You and Your plans for my life.  

WHY SAY AMEN?

Well, here we are it is almost October. The weather makes me think that Fall has finally come. I love the changing seasons, the constant progression from Spring to Summer, to Fall, to Winter. I have to admit though, I wouldn’t miss winter all that much if it disappeared. But Winter is a great contrast for Spring; and when Winter changes to Spring, I love watching everything come alive again.  When it comes to the promises of God, I’m so Glad they do not change. Every promise that God has made - He has kept. There is not one example of something He promised that He had to take back or change. What an amazing God we have! Let’s look together at what this verse says about God’s promises.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV) For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT) For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” ascends to God for his glory.

God has already answered YES to the promises which He made in His Word. So, when we pray for those things which He has promised, we can celebrate our agreement with God by saying Amen.  “Amen is a word taken straight over into Greek from Hebrew without any translation just like it has come into English and most other languages without any translation. In Hebrew it was a very strong affirmation - a formal, solemn, earnest I agree, or I affirm what you just said or This is true. Most simply ‘Amen’ means a very earnest YES in the context of addressing God.” ...AMEN means, Yes Lord, you can do it. It means, Yes, Lord, you are powerful. Yes, Lord, you are merciful. Yes, Lord, all future grace comes from you and has been confirmed in Christ. Amen is an exclamation point of hope after a prayer for help.” (Future Grace - Piper pg. 100,106)

PRAYER: Lord, may I believe your promises and Trust You to fulfill them. Lord God, help me to Celebrate the fact that I can come into Your very presence through prayer, and that with You there is ALWAYS hope.

HOW SHOULD I LIVE?

Another politician got caught in a lie.  Who?  That is not the point I’m trying to make.  The problem is that for the most part, politicians who do something wrong, seldom pay the penalty for what they have done.  It has to be pretty extreme for them to be forced out of office and it is only rarely that they actually go to jail.  On some level that upsets me.  It should.  Injustice and sinful disobedience of the Law should not be something that we put up with.  There have been times I have cried out to the Lord in prayer and say O God they have gotten away with it.  The answer that comes back from scripture is clear - NO they have not.  Let’s look at these verses together.

2 Peter 3:10-13 (NIV) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. [11] Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives [12] as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. [13] But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

The Day of the Lord - is the beginning of the end.  It will be the start of God’s judgment of sin and the start of eternity.  Peter tells us that the day of the Lord will come  - sometimes we move so quickly into the rest of the verses that we miss this phrase and how important it is.  Peter is telling us this day WILL COME there is NO doubt.  Then he tells how it come and what it will be like.  But the fact is that DAY will come.  It will come in God’s perfect time.  How should the assurance that this day WILL come impact us?  It should cause us to live HOLY and GODLY lives.  It should cause us to look forward EAGERLY to the return of our Lord Jesus.  WHY?  Because the new heaven and new earth will be OUR home.  They will be the home of the righteous - those who have been made holy through the cross of Jesus.  So as we look forward to THAT DAY when perfect Justice will prevail, THAT DAY when we will see and enjoy God’s Rule over the Universe, THAT DAY when there will be no more sin, or struggles, or suffering let us Honor Jesus Christ NOW TODAY by the way that we Think, Talk, and Act.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’m ready for You to come.  I long for that day when I will no longer have to struggle to live the godly and holy life that I want to live.   I want to see Your glory and be in complete and total AWE of You as I fall before You.  Until then May I live with You as my Focus.  May I live out the TRUTH of Your Word in practical real ways.  Help me to be godly and holy as I walk with You in the Yoke.

TO WATCH YOUR MOUTH - WATCH YOUR LIFE!

HALT - stands for Hungry Angry Lonely Tired.  Why is that important.  Because when we experiencing any one of those things we are in a situation where we have to be even more careful of what we think about, what we say, and what we do.  Just think back in your own life when was the last time that you were really unkind with your words?  When was the last time that you were self-focused and self absorbed in your thinking?  Were they times when you were struggling with one of these things HALT?  When I think back to some times when I have done or said things for which I later had to repent and ask forgiveness - many times it was because I had given in to something which was made worse by being either Hungry Angry Lonely or Tired.  That is why this verse is such a good verse to remember. 

Psalm 39:1 (HCS) I said, “I will guard my ways so that I may not sin with my tongue...

The word WAYS is a rich word with a depth of meaning.  It means direction - Train a child in the WAY he should go Prov.  22:6.  It means BEHAVIOR - ...all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. Gen 6:12.  It means to LIFESTYLE - ...or stand in the way of sinners... Ps. 1:1 

Why do I go into all of this?  Because as I read this verse I realized that the writer was making a connection between how we live and the way that we talk.  He was showing that there is a link between the direction we are going in life and the vocabulary that comes out of our mouths.  He is saying that our lifestyle impacts the way that we speak. So to take the verse literally we are to watch or guard our ways - SO THAT - we do NOT sin with our words. I think guarding our WAYS will mean being careful and aware that when we are Hungry Angry Lonely or Tired.  Why? We may be in a weakened state physically, emotionally or spiritually.  So it will be easier to stumble and fall in our thoughts, Words, or Actions.  That is why this is such a powerful verse.  It is not just saying watch your mouth or don’t say bad things.  It telling us to WATCH YOUR LIFE because the way that you live will impact the things that come out of your mouth.  

PRAYER: Lord God please help me to be more and more aware of the way that I live and how that will impact the WAY that I speak.  Please Lord I do want the words that come out of my mouth to be pleasing to You.  So help me to Guard the WAY that I live.  May I be following You closely and walking with You so that my lifestyle and my vocabulary are impacted by You and not the things going on around me. 

Have You Ever Been ABANDONED?

Have you ever felt abandoned, left behind?  When I was in High School I went on a short Term Missions project to Europe.  We had been told over and over and over - “do not ever get on the bus or go anywhere without your passport, and the list of addresses of the places we are staying.”  We were also warned “if you are late for getting back to the bus you will be left behind and you will be expected to catch up with us at your own expense.”  Then we were reminded one more time to always carry our documents.  Sure enough early in the trip my friend did not get back to the bus on time.  When he got to the spot where the bus was supposed to be - we were gone.  Here he was in a foreign country and everyone he knew had left him.  (Yes, it was his own fault - but that is how he felt).  It took him a couple of days to finally catch up with us.  Imagine what it would be like to be left behind and never be able to find those who left you again.  That is the emotion that David is capturing in verse ten.

PSALM 27:10-14 Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.  [11] Teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the path of honesty, for my enemies are waiting for me to fall. [12] Do not let me fall into their hands. For they accuse me of things I've never done and breathe out violence against me.  [13] Yet I am confident that I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living. [14] Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. (NLT) 

As horrible as it would be to be abandoned our Mother or Father or even a close friend.  GOD never Abandons us.  What an amazing thing.  God never turns away from us and just leaves us.  So if we are feeling distant and God seems a long ways off.  Guess who moved?  It was not God.  David asks God to teach him how to live and he asks God to lead him on the right and true path.  David brings his fears to God and then goes on to state his confidence in God’s Goodness.  Many times when we struggle it is because we do not believe God’s goodness is for us. We believe He is good - to others - but we do not believe He is good when it comes to us.  Part of that is the way our selfish hearts define what is good.  The other part is that we need to speak to ourselves the way David did.  He challenges himself and us by saying WAIT PATIENTLY for the Lord.  No matter what we face no matter how difficult a situation may seem we are supposed to TRUST the Lord and WAIT PATIENTLY for Him to act.  It is always worse when we try to act or live on our own without God. 

Prayer: Lord Your Goodness is awe inspiring.  When I get discouraged or down help me to go back and think about Your Goodness to me.  Lord, patience is not something I am good at but I do want to Trust You.  Help me to grow and to learn in my ability to TRUST You and to WAIT for You to act.  Help me NEVER to be in rush to do things in my own way or in my own strength.