Saturday

Psalm 30: 11-12 - March 28, 2009

Ps 30:11-12 "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever." NIV

Throughout the pages of scripture one of the most consistent themes that continually emerges is the lesson that our God is famous for reversing negative situations and turning them into great breakthrough and miraculous victories! It doesn’t matter what the circumstances nor does it matter how great the obstacles, the scriptures declare concerning the Lord in Jer 32:17 that “Nothing is too hard for you.” In the same way the angel spoke to Mary concerning the measure of the Lord’s great power and said, Luke 1:37 “nothing is impossible with God.”
When the mountains of our struggles stand high over top of us God’s power is higher still! When the valleys of our discouragement seem insurmountable God’s strength carries us through to the other side. David is celebrating the transformation of his suffering into God’s victory. “You turned my wailing into dancing,” what a contrast between extremes. David knows the joy that comes when the darkness is turned suddenly to the light of God’s victory. Story after story in the message of God’s word teaches us that it is pointless to become consumed with looking upon our circumstances. We are challenged by the Word to place our eyes on the Lord and nothing else. For Ps 121:2 says our “help comes from the LORD.”David has tasted sorrow but now he is clothed with joy. So often it is easy to allow our trials to cloak us in garments of despair. God has a new set of clothes for you! It is the way of God to allow us to taste the futility of attempting to succeed in our own strength. He allows life to prove that we are no match for it apart from God. The Apostle Paul experienced the breaking of the Lord as Christ confronted him on the road to Damascus. Jesus declares to him in Acts 26:14, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Paul has enjoyed the praise of men, living as an emerging leader in the Jewish community and yet God brings him to the revelation that he has been in denial; “It is hard for you” to keep resisting the testimony you have seen. Once strong in himself and his stubborn beliefs, now Paul’s testimony in 2 Cor 11:30 has become, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” And also in 2 Cor 12:10 he proclaims, “for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Paul has learned the secret of the strength of God, the wisdom of God and the timing of God. No longer content to lean upon himself, Paul delights in leaning on God. When we lean, we give God room to move! When we trust, we give God an opportunity to show Himself strong. When we wait we give God the opportunity to create a miracle that brings him great praise and us great joy! Both David and Paul established a legacy of divine intervention. Each one learned to rest in God and to look to the Lord for triumph. In due time God will vindicate Himself and your confidence in Him, as you lean on Him like David and Paul, He will turn your mourning into dancing and clothe you with joy.

Friday

Psalm 30:4-5 - March 27, 2009

Ps 30:4-5 "Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." NIV

Does the Lord really ever get angry? According to the pages of scripture He does. Our God is infinitely patient with the weaknesses of mankind. As Ps 103:13-14 says, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” Nehemiah even goes so far as to say, Neh 9:17 that God is “a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.” And yet, even so God in His patient understanding still reaches the point with mankind both individually and nationally when his anger is aroused against man and he his justice requires that he raise his hand against us. Throughout the pages of scripture God continually issues a call to obedience to His Word, requiring of us that we honor his commands in holy fear. Again and again his Word warns of the consequences of rebellion against his commandments and yet too often man continues in His way, confusing God’s patience and kindness with an inability to act or as a sign that he does not exist.
Even now tokens of the Lord’s anger can be seen throughout the earth for those who have eyes to see. Death and plague, the land losing its fertility through drought or blight, domination by unjust or godless government, shattered economies, these are all under the dominion of God’s control and in Ro.1:18 He warns those who have an ear to hear that, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”
We must live in a holy reverence for God, honoring His Word, conscious of his patient endurance with the sinfulness of man and seeking to live a life that is pleasing to him. The good news is that for those who love the Lord, Rom 2:7, “To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.” To those whose sin is the sin of human weakness not willful rebellion he says, Ps 78:38-39 “Time after time he restrained his anger and did not stir up his full wrath. 39 He remembered that they were but flesh.” To those who desire to please God but struggle with the conflict between soul and spirit we are comforted in Ps 103:10-12 with the knowledge that “He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
David has learned to live in a right fear of God but this is not the driving force of his relationship. David reminds us of the need to fear God’s anger but quickly brings us to the contrasting favor that comes to those who fear the Lord. Why dwell on his anger if our ways are not rebellious in his sight. Fear the Lord all those who choose to defy him! Rejoice all you who seek his face, for his favor lasts a life time! David is calling us to live in the confident expectation of God’s favor. Even when the world around us is under judgment, when economies are shaking and businesses are closing we can join in the celebration of David where he announces in 2 Sam 22:36 “You give me your shield of victory; you stoop down to make me great.” Don’t look to this world for your comfort. Don’t look to your bank for peace. Look to the Lord in confident assurance that his favor is upon you if your heart is directed towards him. Do not be shaken by momentary tribulations that may touch you briefly for God’s word declares that we are not of this world. The principles of the kingdom of God transcend the kingdoms of this earth and we are called to walk in joy and prosperity, safely hidden in the shelter of God, shielded by his victory on the cross!

Thursday

Psalm 30:1-3 - March 26, 2009

Ps 30:1-3 “I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. 3 O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit." NIV

Have you ever felt like you were down in the depths? David obviously did, and he is testifying to the victory that the Lord has brought him into. He cries out “O Lord, you lifted me!” When we learn to reach into the presence of the Lord, he lifts us up above our problems and gives us the victory over our enemies whether they are affecting our relationships, spiritual lives, emotions or circumstances. God delights in bringing us into victory so that our praise becomes His testimony in the earth. When God’s people overcome through the comfort and power that He gives, He is glorified! There is no praise when our enemies are triumphant over us, and so it is for the sake of His own reputation that God works to be vindicated in the life of His people. Our victory is His victory!
These first verses of Psalm 30 are a celebration of God’s victory in David’s despair! David has been down in the depths, he has felt the breath of his enemy breathing down his neck, and he knows the pain of sickness coming in the midst of difficulty. And yet in the midst of all of this David has found the source of his deliverance. Experience has taught him that there is no hope in looking to man and that his own abilities and wisdom are insufficient, but throughout his struggle he has discovered a God who is sufficient for every need. “You healed me…brought me up…spared me from going down:” David is celebrating the knowledge of a big God!
How big is your God? Do you live in the reality that “God will supply all of your need according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus,” Ph’p. 4:19? David lived and praised in the light of an all sufficient God and these verses are an invitation for every one of us to discover this same all sufficient relationship.

Wednesday

Psalm 29:1-9 March 25, 2009

Ps 29:1-9 "Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning. 8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, "Glory!" NIV

Glory and strength belong unto God, he is deserving of worship, even the angels are only a shadow; created beings in contrast to the uncreated eternal God. This psalm is a call to reverence. This psalm is a call to holy fear. This psalm is a call to acknowledge the power and splendor that belong only to the Lord Almighty! David has seen the splendor of God. He was obviously rich in revelation concerning the Lord. Every one of his psalms is a reflection of his understanding of God’s infinite greatness. Above all beings God is set apart and glorious. There is no other God like unto Him in all of the heavenly realms. And it is in the light of this reality that David is calling to us; “Ascribe to the Lord…” as if to say, “give Him the praise that He deserves, recognize His worth, surrender to His power, worship His majesty.”
Psalm 29 is a living contrast between the natural power and beauty of a thunderstorm and the eternal power and beauty of the Living God and his powerful voice. “The God of glory thunders”... what an image this paints of the power of the Lord? Who has not been awed by the power of a giant thunderclap as it shakes the heavens or felt the ground tremble around them at the booming sound of a powerful storm. Every one of these is but a dull reflection of the glory that is the Almighty God.
David invests seven verses in describing the wonderful power and majesty of the voice of the Lord. On one hand he is describing it from the context of its might; powerful, thundering, majestic. On the other he speaks of its authority over creation; changing nations, stripping forests bare, twisting, shattering as if to say that nothing created can withstand the voice of the Lord if its force is directed against them. What a powerful motive to fear the Lord. What an intense call to fear the Lord and yet what is so wonderful about the Lord is reflected in the diversity of how he presents himself throughout the pages of scripture. If this were the only image of God speaking we would be left to conclude that he is powerful but not loving, not intimate. But our God has chosen to display his strength in one passage and other facets of his person elsewhere as is reflected in the story of Elijah on Mt. Horeb in I Ki. 19:11-13. In this encounter with Elijah God speaks to him and reveals himself to Elijah but He is not in the wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire. Instead God chooses to reveal himself in a whisper. What a contrast! Our God can make himself known as the God of power and might or the God of infinite whispers, so deep that they speak into the very depth of our soul. It is important that we recognize God’s power, that we accept his dominion over us, but at the same time it is vital that we embrace the whispers of God as well or we will miss out on the fullness of who he is to us. Today, take time to listen for the whispers of God.

Tuesday

Psalm 28:6-9 - March 24, 2009

Ps 28:6-9 "Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. 7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. 8 The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. 9 Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever." NIV

Are you living with the confidence that you have been heard! There are two basic ingredients presented throughout the scriptures that are necessary for a person to live with this confidence: right standing before the Lord and humility before him. As David writes this psalm he is living in this assurance and it brings him great confidence. “Praise… the Lord… he HAS heard my cry!” Have you ever felt that place of desperation where you question, “God, do you hear me?” This is a state of mind that no one enjoys and we long to be quickly on the other side of when we are walking through it. Usually we find ourselves praying that old faithful prayer, “How long, Oh Lord!” Do you remember that one!? One of the powerful benefits of this portion of Psalm 28 is the reminder to us that we CAN have that assurance. We CAN be comforted by the knowledge that God hears our cry.
David understands the Lord as his strength and shield. The Father wants to build us up and protect us from the oppression that surrounds us, seeking to separate us from his abundant life living in us and through us. This Psalm is wonderful for its communication of one of the foundational concepts of David’s life, “My heart trusts in Him and I am helped.” Oh how much anxiety we will all be spared as we learn to trust in the Lord. Our heavenly father is the world’s greatest heart specialist!!! One of the root definitions of the word grace is “divine influence upon the heart!” David has learned what grace is all about as he has grown in his trust in the Lord. As we learn to lean upon the Lord, confidently trusting Him in the midst of our needs, His grace, His divine influence comes upon our hearts and brings us the help of His comfort and presence.
Even as David is reflecting upon the Lord’s impact upon the condition of his heart the tone of his writing changes as if he is receiving a fresh impartation of faith through his own meditation. “My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song!” When is the last time that you were so happy that you just had to sing about it!? David’s meditation is moving him to genuine gratitude and rejoicing! This is the fruit of taking your eyes off of your problem and placing them confidently upon the Lord. Once again, “My heart trusts in Him and I am helped!” It is as if David is reliving the impact of divine help to his soul!
This passage calls to us like a joyful chef who has just completed preparing a great meal and cries out “come and get it!” as they eagerly await the sounds of joyful delight that overtake those who taste of their creations! In the same way, hear the voice of the Lord calling out to you today, “You can have a taste also” … “Would you like to sample a life of peace!”… “How about some joy”… “There is more than enough!” Come to the Lord today with eyes firmly fixed upon him, casting all of your cares upon his loving heart as you confidently wait for him in prayer and his grace will come to you to meet all of your heart’s needs as you find strength from His Word and from His Spirit.

Monday

Psalm 27:13-14 - March 23, 2009

Ps 27:13-14 "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." NIV

Wars, persecution, betrayal, delay, confusion and uncertainty, these are the shadows that have followed David’s steps for most of the years of his adult life, and yet at whatever point in time he is writing this psalm (a question of uncertain conclusion amongst scholars) David is anchored firmly in his confidence in God. What a declaration of his assurance of God’s character that David makes. “I will see the goodness of the Lord…” in this life. David is not questioning, he is asserting his faith as if to say, “I know my God. I know who he is. I know what he is like… and I trust him!!”

David has seen dark times and evidently he is still facing great challenges because this declaration is a forward looking expectation of good that is yet to come.
This is such a tremendous example of a faith proclamation. David is speaking with a prophetic spirit as he encourages his own soul as well as all of those who would hear his psalm in the days and years to come. What we focus on becomes what we speak and what we speak is released into our lives by that same proclamation. David is operating in a gift of prophecy and is releasing God’s kingdom purpose even as he speaks. He is also providing a sword for generations to come as we take up this testimony of confidence in God and speak with assurance these words of faith. In this instance it is almost as if David is speaking to someone of weaker faith seeking to build them up so that they will have strength to stand and yet it is apparent by the season of his life that it is his own soul that he is strengthening. His own words are providing for him a testimony to fight with in the same way that the book of Revelation instructs us that one of our weapons in defeating Satan is the word of our testimony.
David begins with this affirmation of his confidence in God but then he speaks almost as a counselor instructing his disciples. “Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” David is speaking to a great human tendency as he cautions his audience. When we are under pressure and are longing for breakthrough in our circumstances our natural inclination is often to fall into an anxious striving. Too often we will begin to try to force change or pressure our way into the answers that we are looking for in our own strength instead of trusting God. The problem with this is that the results that we produce with that kind of striving seldom come without a significant degree of attached negative consequences that rob the breakthrough of much of its intended blessing. In many cases the results of human wisdom and striving is actually a worsening of circumstances. Abraham and Sarah are such an example of this principle. For over 3,000 years mankind has been suffering through the negative consequences of Sarah and Abraham’s loss of faith and patience as they tried to fulfill God’s promise in their own wisdom.
We are charged by this psalm to strengthen our hearts in the knowledge of God’s goodness. When the fires of difficulty are burning all around us this portion of Psalm 27 is a call to wait. It is an appeal to resist the temptation to run off and make something happen to relieve the pressure! We are called to strengthen our hearts in the knowledge of his goodness and to wait confidently upon him to move the mountains that stand in our way. This psalm provides great hope that if we will be strong and wait on Him we too will taste and see the “goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!”

Sunday

Psalm 27:8 - March 22, 2009

Ps 27:8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. NIV

This passage paints a clear and simple picture of the contrast between desire and response. For most believers there is a great gap between the genuine desire for more of God in our hearts and the reality of our follow through in actual pursuit of Him. Our hearts are more easily stirred than they are disciplined and so the body of Christ is full of people who are gripped by great longings and limited reality! One of the significant characteristics about David is that his passions have become his reality! This verse is a declaration of the resolve that has taken a hold of David’s heart. Not content to simply feel a desire for more, David is moved to a place of determined action. “I will seek!” Lord give us this seeking heart!
Jesus reflected on the human tendency to be moved in our emotions without being moved to action. In Matt 7:21 Jesus warns, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” In one of His parables Jesus relates the story of two sons, Matt 21:28-32, "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' 29 "'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30 "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. 31 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did.”
God is greatly pleased by the heart that acts in response
to his voice.
The Spirit of God comes to us awakening desires, stirring us with impressions and leadings that are intended to enlarge our experience of his kingdom. The Father wants to increase our sensitivity to this touch from heaven and to bring us to the place of obedient response. When our hearts are stirring with a call to prayer, do we stop and pray? When the Spirit’s touch points us to a person or situation moving us to be a reflection of the kingdom of God in that moment do we overcome our fears and distractions to yield to his leading? The reality of the kingdom of God is swirling around us and within us, seeking for opportunity to be expressed through a divine partnership with our hearts. Lord please give to us this responsive heart of David where desire and actions meet, where leading and response come together so that God can be glorified both through our examples of obedience and the fruit that grows from that obedience.