Psalm 140:12-13 - Decemeber 26, 2009

Ps 140:12-13: I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.

Are you confident in the Lord’s justice? You can be. Throughout the pages of scripture the Lord consistently reinforces the commitment that He has in His heart to maintaining justice. He presents Himself to man as firmly committed to dealing with man in a balance of both justice and mercy. Job, who lived as one of the most righteous men in recorded history, endured a season of painful tragedy. In his heart he wrestled with the confusion that sprang up within him as he sought to understand how a just God could allow such painful trials to beset him. Job cries out to God in his pain and yet finds himself tormented by accusations against God that afflict his thoughts. In Job 19:7 he declares "Though I cry, 'I've been wronged!' I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice.”

The helpful aspect of the book of Job is that we are allowed to see the entire journey of a righteous man enduring a season of painful trial. Too often our human tendency is to evaluate God and His justice based upon a particular span of time in the course of our lives or the lives of others that we know. We endure or see others walk through a painful season and we form conclusions about God and His character. But we do not see both the human outcome and the eternal outcome. We do not understand the end from the beginning the way that God does. Nor do we grasp the greater work in the human hearts affected by these trials that may be the greater goal of God’s dealings in the midst of these hardships.

God allowed the people of Israel to endure slavery for 400 years, but those 400 years were the incubator in which a nation was born. He allowed them to endure captivity for 70 years but those years were the years of discipline intended to chastise them for their rebellious ways; not to destroy them but with a goal of restoring them to a right relationship with God. What is even more profound in regard to Job’s season of trial is that the primary work of God in regard to Job was taking place in the context of the invisible realms of the spiritual kingdom. God is at work to confront Satan and his accusations against God in the courts of heaven and He engages Job in this spiritual confrontation without Job even being aware of the work that is taking place in the realms of the spirit throughout his trial.

God points to Job as a testimony of an upright life and uses him as a testimony in the courts of heaven. Job’s trials are in fact a reflection of God’s confidence in him. Though Job does not understand the process that is taking place, God is making a statement through Job’s righteous response to trials and his confidence in the character of God throughout his suffering. Chapter one of Job contains a powerful example of Job’s confidence in God’s justice as it says in Job 1:22 “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” Even though he could not comprehend the reason that his life was under such pressure he would not accuse God.

The justice of God is clearly seen in the outcome of Job’s story. His heart is sifted, his circumstances are pressed in unimaginable ways but in the end twice as much as was lost during his trials is restored to Job’s life. Equally powerful in this story is that Job not only receives justice in the form of material restoration, he receives the blessing of a deepened intimacy with God. His testimony end the end of this season is not bitter resentment towards God as so many people yield too, but instead he declares in Job 42:5 “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” Though seemingly he experienced great injustice from God the testimony that accompanied the end of his life was this: Job 42:12 “The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first.”

God is faithful and just and His watchful eye is upon the needy. We may have seasons where we do not understand what God is doing, but we can rest in this knowledge. It is certain that either in this life or eternity God’s justice will catch up to us and the testimony of our lives will be that God’s blessing rests upon us. Do not judge God based on your now! Confidently hold to your confidence in God’s commitment to justice regardless of what you see. As Elihu exhorted Job in the midst of his trials; Job 34:12 “It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice.” The Lord is faithful, though His ways and His timing may not always be comfortable to us in the “NOW” of life!

Psalm 139:23-24 - December 25, 2009

Ps 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Are you ready to be searched? Are you willing to let the Spirit of God test your heart and your thoughts? How will you react if He shows you that you are living before him with anxious thoughts rather than faith filled thoughts? David lived with such honesty before God. Not perfectly, but consistently he demonstrated a pattern of returning to the Lord even after great personal failures, and laying his heart open before God to be restored to a clean conscience before Him.
One of the greatest examples of David’s life before God is reflected in how he responds after being confronted by the prophet over his sin with Bathsheba. David is rebuked, confesses his sin and then demonstrates two powerful heart responses to the Lord’s dealings. When judgment strikes in the form of his new son becoming ill and near to death David has the confidence in God to fast and pray for mercy for the child. He does not let the knowledge of His personal failure heap condemnation upon him. After confessing, he is confident to come to the Lord with fasting and prayer on behalf of his son. The second powerful example of David’s response to the Lord is how he receives the Lord’s “NO.” David has repented, sought the Lord’s mercy with fasting and prayer and still the child dies. In the midst of this tragedy David does not fall into bitterness or self-pity. He does not listen to any condemning voice blaming himself for these events.
Look for a moment at David’s response to this event. 2 Sam 12:19-20 “David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead." 20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped.” David presses in until the outcome is final but then he is able to surrender his sorrow to the Lord and return immediately to humble place of surrender in worship!
David lived in the sure knowledge that there is a way that leads to life and that way is the Lord’s way. David lived confident in the Lord’s goodness and surrendered to the work of the Holy Spirit to purify his heart and guide him into the ways of life. Offer yourself to God’s searching presence today without fear and know that He will direct your heart into paths of life through the refining of His gaze. Open yourself to the Lord and you will find a deep work taking place that leads you into rest and peace.

Psalm 139:17 - December 24, 2009

Ps 139:17 "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"

Do you value the thoughts of God? David understood the nature of inspired thought. Except for those moments in his life when he lost focus and his eyes turned to earthly things David lived before God in a consistent life of worship. Moved by the Spirit of God, he wrote this amazing collection of Psalms that not only contain the memoirs of a rich life of worship, they equally contain a consistent flow of inspired, prophetic statements that point both to the coming Messiah and a diversity of end-time events that have shaped Christian thought and insight for thousands of years.

As a worshipper, David displays a clear understanding of the difference between his own human thought and those times when he is living in a God directed flow of revelatory thinking. He knew God’s searching hand. He knew divine direction. He understood what it was to be chastised by the Spirit of God and he embraced the correction and instruction of the prophetic vessels that God had placed strategically around him. He knew the ways of God as revealed in the Torah, the book of God’s laws and ways. And throughout his life He demonstrated a commitment to living by those words as an expression of God’s thoughts concerning Him. He not only accepted them as principle, but as personal! He embraced the word of the Lord as God’s thoughts concerning HIM!

In 2 Sam 7:20-22 he confesses to the Lord, "What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. 22 "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD!” And when tempted by his followers to kill King Saul and take the throne prematurely it is David’s love for the word that holds him steady before God as he accepts the season of waiting and refining that shaped him into who he is to become.

David lives his life cherishing the thoughts of God! This is the power of his life. The fact that David lets the word of God be his guide is reflected in the fruit of what he passes on to his son Solomon who wrote in Prov 6:23 “…these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life.” Throughout his life it was consistently recorded of David that he “inquired of the Lord.” He didn’t want to live out of his own wisdom or his own will. He understood that his life was an extension of God’s greater purposes in the earth and for the most part he consistently demonstrated a submission to the thoughts of God in his pursuit of personal and national direction.

May the Lord give each one of us this same revelation of our connectedness to God’s greater purpose and His desire to have relationship with us. As we esteem His thoughts, seeking them earnestly as David did, we can be confident that He will draw near and open our understanding to receive what has already been freely given. The scriptures declare in Col 2:2-3 that in Christ are “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Paul also continues elsewhere in 1 Cor 2:16 by saying to us “…we have the mind of Christ.” These things are already ours and are available to those who will let the thoughts of God become their precious treasure! Esteem the thoughts of God as the essential ingredient to a successful and satisfied life and you will find that He is already waiting for you!

Psalm 139: 13 -16 - December 23, 2009

Ps 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. NIV

God knows you from the inside out! He knows your deepest thoughts. He understands you body soul and spirit. From the moment of conception God is conscious of your entire life. He knows where you have come from and He knows the fullness of everything that you will ever do. This truth is a vital aspect to living life to its fullest. David reflects not only on the wonder of God creating his human body, he is conscious that God created the inner being as well as the outer being. When God created us He didn’t just create a body, He placed within us our spirit and soul. These are the eternal parts of our being. Our bodies will decay and pass away, being replaced by a new glorified body for those who believe, but our spirit and soul will live forever with God.

Two principles make this knowledge vital to a full life: When we grasp the reality that God has formed us and that we are HIS wonderful creation it places great value on our lives. The Psalmist states I am…wonderfully made, and … your works are wonderful! That means that as God’s creation, I AM WONDERFUL! Secondly, when we understand the value of our lives it compels us to live that life to the fullest for the glory of God. Knowing that every day of our lives, past, present and future is already in the mind of God from before we are created invites us to live a life of purpose. If every day of our lives is recorded in the book of God then the implication is that every day matters.

Even when we were unformed, God was watching. God is a master craftsman and it is He who formed us and ordained our life purpose for us. It is because of this that David’s heart is filled with praise. God desires to fill your life with wonder as you live in the reality of the miracle that your life represents! God is intimately involved with your every moment on a level that is far more vital and engaged than most of us have comprehended. In verse 4 of this Psalm David marveled at this same principle Ps 139:4 “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely.” Each one of us would be greatly benefited by continually stirring up this knowledge in our hearts: “My life matters and God is not only watching, He is working with me to make the most of my days!” Live today in the reality of the divine partnership.

Psalm 139:7-13 - December 22, 2009

Ps 139:7-13 "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." NIV

Have you ever felt like the Lord was far away, so far that His voice was only a dim echo drifting on the breeze? You are not alone. Throughout the ages, seekers of God have entered into and passed through those dark times of confusion and doubt. This psalm was written as comfort for the weary heart in just such times. When we feel weak it is good to have the promises of God to hold on to, to give us strength and anchor us in the knowledge of God’s ever present help.

Where can I go from your Spirit … the heavens… you are there…. the depths… you are there… the far side of the ocean, yes there to, in the darkness, your gaze is upon me! In all seasons, at all times, through every trial, in the midst of every victory God is there. David lived in the reality of God’s abiding presence. He was confident in the knowledge of God. These verses in Psalm 139 evoke images of seasons of running from God, seasons of depression (the depths), time and space, even night seasons of the soul and yet the answer of David’s spirit man as he reflects on the nature of God’s dealings with him is “You are there!”

David proclaims the assuring fact that no matter what we are going through God is with us, can see the way through our darkness, will guide us safely through and will hold us fast in his protective arms. How much more can we ask for! David has been seasoned by great trials and many times of personal failure and yet his testimony is that God will guide… God will protect. Let David’s confidence become your confidence! No matter what you are going through reach out to God in the knowledge that His watchful eye is upon you and He is faithful to bring you through to green pastures and heart of rest.

Psalm 139:5-7 - December 20, 2009

Ps 139:5-7 You hem me in — behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

David speaks of the wonder of knowing God’s divine restraint. He states, You hem me in. How many people do you know that rejoice in the knowledge that God has limited their options? How many people find comfort in the fact that God has restrained them and taken away some of their choices? Perhaps there is a wisdom here that we need to consider for our own lives. Many people that I have known complain against God for the things that He has NOT done for them or allowed in their lives. And yet I know that had I succeeded in some of the things that I set my heart after I would have never turned in repentance and given my life to the Lord. My success would have separated me from my consciousness of needing a savior.

Barnes Notes commentary references this passage from the writings of David in very simple but articulate terms. It defines this way of God as being too “closely surround, so that there is no way of escape.” (from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft) Have you ever felt like you were in a season where there was no escaping from the dealings of God. David did, and it caused him to live in thankfulness not resentment. It caused him to live in wonder at the ways of God not complaint at divine mistreatment. When God restrains us it is for our good! There are times when He limits us. There are times when He applies pressure to us in such a way that turns us towards Him. There were times in David’s life when if left to himself he would have self-destructed. Consider the ways of God in dealing with David’s sins concerning Bathsheba and her husband. God did not violate David’s free will and stop him from committing adultery, but in the midst of his sinfulness, when God could have turned his back on David and rejected him for his sin, instead God hems him in by sending a prophetic word to turn him back to God. God speaks in such clarity and timeliness that there is nowhere for David to turn but to the Lord in repentance.

God knew that David was a man after the Lord’s own heart and so when He saw David choosing poorly He honored the desires of David’ s heart above the weakness of his flesh. The weakness of David’s flesh would have disqualified him and destroyed him. God in his goodness dealt with David in accordance with the heart of love that He knew was underneath struggling against the desires of his weak flesh. Because of this the Lord hems David in and retrains him from further evil so that David can be rescued.

It was the knowledge of God’s mercy that was at the heart of David’s revelation. He understood the fact that God was reaching out to him to help him live the way he wanted to live in the depths of his heart. He understood that he was so undeserving based on the measure of sinfulness he had fallen into and yet God in His goodness has placed divine restraints around him to restore him to the standard that he desires to live by.

For each one of us it is important that we get this same revelation. Perhaps you are angry with the things that God has not done for you or allowed you to succeed in. But perhaps the very restraints you are struggling to break free from are a gift from God not a curse. God knows your heart and knows the outcome of every path! We are walking in the forest and can only see to the next curve in the road, but He can see what He is sparing us from by His divine restraints. Use your energies to seek Him not to struggle against Him. Embrace the seasons of divine restraint with joy and trust that He has His very best in store for your future! Embrace the wisdom of God above your own understanding!