Psalm 56:8-13 – “You keep track of my misery.  Put my tears in your leather container.  Are they not recorded in your scroll?  ⁹ My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help; I know that God is on my side.  ¹⁰ In God—I boast in his promise—in the Lord—I boast in his promise—¹¹ in God I trust; I am not afraid.  What can mere men do to me?  ¹² I am obligated to fulfill the vows I made to you, O God; I will give you the thank offerings you deserve, ¹³ when you deliver my life from death.  You keep my feet from stumbling, so that I might serve God as I enjoy life.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, I was reminded of a vital reality that comforted and challenged me.   

• Never give up on God!
• Never stop praying!
• Never stop hoping in God!

The Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent creator is alive, alert, and active.

This Psalm gives incredible insight that is both challenging and comforting. 

• God keeps track of our misery (wandering, trials, and struggles).
• God puts our tears in His leather container (wineskin, a container made from animal skin symbolic of sacrifice to God).
• God records them in His scroll?”

In verse 9, we read, “I know God is on my side.” In verse 11, “In God I trust; I am not afraid.” And in verse 13, “You (God) keep my feet from stumbling so that I might serve God AS I enjoy life.”

Please notice that the word serve is as in the daily pursuit of life, we are to serve God.  God is entwined in everything we are and do.  He is cognizant of every detail of our lives.    Knowing that truth makes prayer even more important and gives us a reason to persist in prayer.   God is aware, cares, and can do something about what we face.

I was drawn to Revelation 8 in this thought about God and prayer.  Repeatedly, we read in Revelation and elsewhere that the incense offered before the throne represents our prayers.  Prayer is not a one-time event.   Our prayers continually ascend before God’s throne as a fragrant incense.  He never ignores them, and decades, if not centuries later, they are still before Him. Praying for the lost is never a waste of time nor an exercise in futility.

I do not want to take this out of context, but to present an idea or principle about prayer.  In Revelation 8:3-5, something captured my thinking.  The angel was given a large amount of incense and the prayers of the saints that ascended before God.  He filled the censer with fire from the altar and threw it to the earth.

Here’s what I saw that I believe came from the Holy Spirit.  Our prayers release the fire of God in the earth, and that fire (energy of the Holy Spirit) stirs hearts.   So, never stop praying!  As long as there is breath in the body, do not give up hope!

God is releasing His fire while the devil is releasing his.  One fire purges the dross, and the other destroys.   One fire brings life, the other death.  Our prayers help release God’s fire and are a shield against the devil’s fire.  God is measuring His temple and purging the dross.

Remember that those we love are worth fighting for, so do not give up, give in, or give out in your prayers.   Release the fire!   Let God’s fire purge and purify us so we can pray effectively with fervency for the lost!  Hold to the command and commission to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, and thy will be done in heaven and on earth!  “

Never stop!   Prayer prevails.   Prayers continue until they are answered.  They are a fragrant aroma to God.  That prayer or those prayers you’ve prayed continually rise from God’s altar in heaven!  Don’t stop!  Victory is not a whimsical fantasy; it is God’s promise.

May God inspire us to persist in prayer and hold to His promises!    Have a fantastic day!

Psalm 43:2-3 – “For You are the God who shelters me… (He was in the midst of difficulty, disappointment, and sorrow of heart, and his prayer grabbed me and shook me).  Reveal Your light and Your faithfulness.  They will lead me; they will escort me back to Your Holy Hill and to the place where You live.”

We are in a new week with new obstacles and opportunities!   God desires to turn our trials into triumphs.    He wants to transform the obstacles into opportunities and enable us to ascend into His presence rather than plunge into the darkness of self.   

What we allow will grow, either good or bad.   God allows difficulty to enable us to trust, not to harm or hurt us.   He desires us to have the gift of the Kingdom and live His abundant life.   That life has far less to do with things than Him.

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, something in Psalm 43 arrested me.  It reveals the two escorts I mentioned in the title – “Light and Faithfulness.”

As I was musing on the Word, I sensed the Holy Spirit tugging at my heart and mind, and this thought cascaded over me: Light = revelation, clarity, understanding.  Faithfulness = grace, long-suffering, and patience.

Notice what revelation and grace or light and God’s faithfulness do:

• They lead us!   
• They show us the path to take and assure us that we can walk in that path.
• They escort (walk alongside us) back to His Holy Hill. 

The word “Back” is interesting because back means we have strayed from where we should be.    Maybe we trusted something or someone other than or more than God.   That something or someone might be our ability, knowledge, or perceived path or method.

They will take us to the place where God lives!  Where does God inhabit or live?  The Bible says it is in the praises of His people.  Maybe we stopped being worshippers.   His light (revelation) and faithfulness (grace) reignite a heart and desire to praise and worship Him.

In that place, we no longer fear and are able to turn trials into triumphs through trust.   If we trust Him, we do not have anxiety.  If we trust Him, we do not look at what seems to be but at what He has promised.    If we trust Him, we have peace.

The question I heard in my heart was, “Do you trust Me?”   Then I heard, “Do you truly want to give everything to Me?”   Then I heard, “Show Me that you trust Me.”

LORD, make Psalm 46:1-2 our confidence and revelation.  “God IS our strong refuge; He IS truly our helper in times of trouble.  For this reason, we do not fear…”    The rest of the Psalm reveals the difficulties faced, and in the midst of everything, GOD IS.

Verses 7 and 11 are phenomenal reminders of Who God is and His power.  “The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is on our side!”   Give us pure hearts and resolute spirits filled with the Holy Spirit and the joy of God’s salvation.  We give ourselves and all of our cares or concerns to You!  You are our Light, and in You is no night or fright.

Full surrender equals full victory!

May you constantly be escorted by God’s Light and Faithfulness and be conscious of it!

Psalm 39:4 – “O Lord, help me understand my mortality and the brevity of life.  Let me realize how quickly my life will pass.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was brought to a new consciousness of human mortality.   I do not want to be morbid, but our brevity on earth is a reality we need to be aware of and live as though each day could be our last on earth.

In Psalm 39:4, the Psalmist prayed a prayer that we all need to pray. “O LORD, help me to understand my mortality and the brevity of life. Let me realize how quickly my life will pass.”

Time is a commodity most treat as endless on Earth.   Because we are unaware of its brevity and resist considering our limited time in the flesh, we waste time with frivolity or procrastination.

Time lost is lost at a great cost.   We should live every day with our mortality in full view.  That would propel us into action, help us avoid procrastination, and cause us to focus on purpose.

Time – how much do we have?   Something’s value is, in part, based on its rarity.  If it is in abundant supply, it is far less valuable than when it is scarce or limited.

We have been placed on earth with a purpose of heavenly importance. We invest our time (which is our lives) in what is most valuable to us. Most of us, most of the time, devote time to pleasing ourselves.   We labor to achieve contentment.   True contentment can only be found in God.

The Hebrew is, “Cause me to know my end and the measure of my days.” If we are conscious of our mortality and brevity on earth and of God’s purpose for our existence, then we will chart the course of our lives to pursue His purposes for us.

The Great Commission, Isaiah 61, and Psalm 91 become foundational elements of our lives. Matthew 6:33 becomes the starting place of every day. God first!

Investment of ourselves in God’s kingdom purposes is the only true way to redeem time. Time given to God is never wasted or lost. Whatever God has called us to do or wherever He has placed us should be where or what we invest our time in.

If we live as if today or even this moment could be our last, if God is our foundation, we will live more fully and freely than otherwise.   Stressing over a lack of time is distrust. If we pursue His purposes, we can relax because God is our hope!

Time is a gift granted to us to enable us to invest in His Kingdom. Awareness of its brevity causes us to seek His guidance and enables us to relax and rest. Psalm 39:7 gives us the right perspective: “But now, O LORD, upon what am I relying? You are my only hope!”
That’s the key – Give it all to Jesus!   Hope in Him and stop focusing on ourselves.  In Him, no time is lost.  In our own strength, no time is redeemed.

LORD, help us give you our time, hope, and dreams and live to the fullest every second. Time is our measuring tool. Eternity is God’s. In the new birth, we move from time to timelessness.   Live with the view that now is temporary. Redeem the time by investing it in Him.   We don’t need more time, we need more Jesus!

May your day be filled with a consciousness of Eternity!   Redeem the time you have and utilize it to the fullest!   Have a Great Day!

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing ² He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water.  ³ He restores my strength.  He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation.  ⁴ Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me.  ⁵ You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies.  You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full.  ⁶ Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all my days, and I will live in the Lord’s house for the rest of my life.”

As I read, prayed, and contemplated the Word of God today, I was drawn to an extremely familiar Psalm.   The Holy Spirit broke it down for me, and I share, not to impress you with some new revelation but to reemphasize the truth known.

Psalm 23 begins with the indispensable truth – God is!    God is our shepherd.   That is a vital truth.  This not only emphasizes Him as Savior but as Lord.   He is our beginning, our ending, and all in between. In the beginning, God.   This God, our Savior and Lord, is our pathway to life.   What do we have that did not originate in Him?   Only our sin.   All else flows from Him.

He provides our daily sustenance: “He takes me to lush green pastures.” He provides me with water.  The human body cannot survive without water, and the spirit cannot flourish without the water of the Word.   “He leads me to refreshing waters.” “He restores my strength.”   They that wait upon the Lord have a renewal of strength.   In Him, we have stamina.   In Him, we do not grow weary and faint. In Him!

“He leads me down the right paths.”   Guidance is critical, but notice something interesting.  It is not singular (path) but (paths). In every choice and decision of life, He guides, not drives, to the right choices. We have to cooperate, but He is leading.   If He is LORD, we have no lack of food, water, strength, and guidance. No lack!

“Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger…” Hope is my foundation.  I do not fear life, death, the devil, or people because… because He is guiding me.  He is Lord!  He is my source and sustenance.   He is my water of life.   He is my strength.   He is my guide. Therefore, fear is banished, and trust is my cornerstone.

“… Your rod and staff reassures me.”    I live in the assurance that I am protected.  That condition is one of fearlessness and confident expectation. It is life in the no-lack zone!   “You prepare a feast before me in the presence of my enemies.”

“You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full.”   The anointing is a full anointing that is constant, not an infrequent experience. My cup is full or overflows! His person pursues us (goodness, mercy, faithfulness), which relentlessly pursues us, looking for the opportunity to display that grace to and upon us.

The last is powerful. “I will live in the LORD’S house for the rest of my life.”   What house and what is in the house?   Was David talking about the palace God had given him, the temple not yet built, or heaven? Maybe all three!

In God’s house or presence is fullness of joy.   In God’s presence is provision, protection, power, peace, anointing, guidance, grace, strength, and life abundant.   What’s in the house?  Everything we need!  David declared that God would be his abiding place for the remainder of his earthly journey!   In that place, there is no fear, faltering, or failure!  The LORD is whatever we need when we need it and in the amount we need.

He is all we need! Focus on the Shepherd, and provision will become the natural flow. I encourage you to meditate on Psalm 23 and implement what the Holy Spirit leads you to. It is personal, “My Shepherd.”

May your day be filled with the awareness of His presence!