It’s been on my mind for quite a long time, to go back to what I wrote at the beginning of this year – when I wrote about this year being the year of Trust, to be precise. I wanted to go through that, and see where I stand now.
It wasn’t as easy as I thought, because apparently past me thought it was a good idea to write what I’ve been reading every day, as I was following the Daily Bread’s ‘Bible In One Year’ plan… But fortunately I came upon the message I composed right before the first Sunday of the year… and there’s where I wrote that declaration.
So, here goes.
All of this is in the name of recognizing a pattern in this Season: That is, a pattern of Rearrangement. There’s been rearranging when it comes to individual relationships. There’s been the end of certain ventures, and the opening of fresh opportunities. I’ve intentionally been rearranging stuff where I work, and where I sleep, even what I drive… I’ve also noticed that there’s been rearranging when it comes to my food intake.
In line with the declaration of this being the Year of Trust, was a realization that during those months I was in a season of Rearrangement. Indeed, things have ended and things were starting, both within my control and also without my intention to change.
This was enough reason for me to encourage all of us to pray more – or, rather, to have a little more appreciation of the opportunity we have in the body of Christ to speak so freely to the Creator of the Universe and all that is seen and unseen.
Back then, sure, I was praying more, considering that (1) it was the start of the year, and (2) I was seeing a whole lot or rearranging going on; However, today, I find myself praying more, because I’m not so sure there was still any rearranging going on as the months progressed, but I will definitely mention how things seemed to get a whole lot more difficult ever since April, which was coincidentally when I turned 40.
In this season of rearranging, we need to appreciate prayer – prayer is God reprogramming, rearranging our minds, and our entire beings.
At the beginning of the year, and before things escalated, I guess I already had the need for some sort of ‘reprogramming’ on my mind. Back then, and up until now, I’ve been praying a lot more than I used to. I’ve also been writing and reading more.
If rearranging is what it took for me to consider ‘reprogramming’ my being back then, today, it’s my observation of the need to get rid of deep-rooted, deep-seated self-sabotaging mindsets that has me on an even more aggressive approach to it. No accident that we just finished talking about Romans 7 at church, where I mentioned that we ought to keep reminding ourselves of the benefits of our salvation…
…That is, it’s a whole lot more than going to a place where we supposedly float on clouds and play on harps all day, when our physical bodies expire – No, here and now we realize that we’ve actually died: Yes, as Christ died so we (1) died to the Law, (2) died to sin, and (3) died to the flesh, or the sarx, or the rebellious mindset, the Godless way of thinking.
And on top of that we’ve been (1) brought under the grace of God, (2) made new creations by the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and (3) set free of the flesh to live by the Holy Spirit.
So you could see how, as we take all of this in – not merely in our minds but in our hearts, and vice versa – prayer helps, but we do so much more; And to clarify, these works that we do are not FOR our salvation, but FROM our meditation and consequent appreciation of our Salvation.
We’re certainly reprogramming a lot more, but is it still a season of rearrangement, this August? Probably, or probably not, but one thing I’m definitely sure I’ve seen in these past weeks is that I’m being placed in a season of recording and of documentation.
I’ve been writing a whole lot more – and not merely to make up for not keeping up with my quota to hit a thousand words a day for each day of this year. No, actually, writing helps me to make sense of anything and everything, especially since in the past days I’ve incurred massive losses from certain ventures I thought were smooth sailing from now on… we’ve also experienced setback after setback happen in other opportunities we’ve been waiting so long to materialize…
…and in the midst of these losses and setbacks, I’ve been brought to regret.
I’ve been brought to maybe condemn myself because I feel like my ‘timing’ is off, and like everything I set out to do – from attempting to shoot sunsets to making decisions in ministry and in business – doesn’t seem to turn out as I expect, more than usual level of tolerance of failure.
In light of all of this, and how I’ve been coping and handling all of it, I have, as I said, been pushing for said ‘reprogramming’ to maybe fix my ‘timing’ and to maybe get more capable and confident to take on what’s on my plate now, compared to the start of this year.
I’ve been brought to regret the bad ‘timing’ of the past, or the bad decisions I’ve made; Without naming names or going into too much detail, I’m apparently still reeling and just now starting to heal slowly from the fact that I’ve rejected people in favor for people who I never expected would fall short, and now I’m left with nobody.
And it’s not just the bad one-time decisions, but the consistent revelling in bad decision after bad decision in the form of bad habits, whose consequences I’m only feeling now after so many years, and way past what I ever realized when I was doing all of it so much back then.
I tell you, it’s hard not to go into detail, but I’ll just leave it all to your vivid imaginations. Anyway, just so I’m not leading us too off-track here, are we trusting in the Lord, still? Definitely.
Are we still praying? Yes, and much more than just praying.
Are we still in rearrangement? Probably, but we’re more in a season of recording and documentation right now, based on what I’m doing and what’s being asked of me in these recent weeks.
It’s not just me who’s been noticing an escalation of personal crises, and while I’ve been encouraged to keep on praying for myself, I’ve also been praying a good deal for other people… and in our praying for each other, Psalm 4 was one of the Scriptures that came up recently…
…So you could imagine my pleasant surprise to see that I actually also shared Psalm 4 as ‘Scripture I found meaningful along the way’, way back at the beginning of this year.
Guess it’d be nice to go through it now. After all this analysis, it’s nice to see how past and present me converge… in Scripture, of all places.
Psalm 4
Answer Me When I Call
TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A PSALM OF DAVID.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
Let us ‘Selah’, as David did… and let us meditate on what we just read. At this point, considering all that’s been said and done until this point in 2024, I say that I’m definitely not alone in realizing that there’s a much bigger need for us to call upon the Lord – for everything that’s happening that’s impacting the entire planet, down to what we and we alone are enduring personally.
And it’s just so assuring, and it gives us true peace (beyond human understanding), to know that we CAN call upon the Lord, much as we are ABLE to run to the throne of grace at our time of need… Not by who we are and certainly not by anything we’ve done, but because of Christ and His finished work.
Christ became sin so we could become His righteousness; indeed, we have been proclaimed so righteous to a degree that it is OUR righteousness.. and it’s only by this righteousness, only by this right-standing, and only by this reconciliation that we are able to cry out to God!
…and we can actually go even further than David did, because though the Spirit rushed into him when he was anointed as a boy, we have receive the Spirit as tongues of fire, this same Spirit of adoption that has us crying out to our FATHER, and not just our God!
Oh, praise You, Father, for responding with relief, every time I come with a distress call. Thank You, Father, for you not only hear my prayer, but you do so graciously, and I imagine, willingly – eager to hear us, not only able but WILLING to save us, to heal us, to comfort us… to MOVE!
And, see – David comes with so much confidence to the Lord, crying out to Him but also being able to communicate his lament to those who do come against him; At the same time that he seeks peace and encouragement, he reaches out to men in rebuke and correction, for their vain words and seeking after lies.
I could imagine what a heart David had, to have that degree of care and thoughtfulness, to think even of his foes when he composes his songs to the Lord. Consequently, in our lives here and now, we don’t necessarily pray for the downfall and ruin of our foes – I mean, sure, we’ve read other Psalmists call on the Lord to do terrible things against their enemies, but the way I see it now, all of it, no matter how graphic it could seem to us, is called for and asked for with hope: Not that they would perish, but they would, in their ruin, come to repentance.
That was a mouthful, but these are the sorts of thoughts that I believe we could only come upon and consider once we realize the righteousness we have through Christ.
But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.
Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
We’ve oft been told about how, when we consider how we’ve not only been made righteous but also holy, that this ‘holiness’ implies that we’ve been ‘set apart’.
I do appreciate wholeheartedly how Christ was the One who reconciled me to God… but when I here about how ‘the LORD has set apart the godly for himself’, I am reminded of how, prior to Christ’s birth, it was ALREADY in the Father’s heart to set us (‘us’ who would eventually be proclaimed godly by way of the cross) apart – and get this – FOR HIMSELF.
And I know that I prayed earlier, celebrating how God was willing to save us, but also, to move… but here I am reminded that the mere fact that He HEARS us is already much reason for us to have peace of mind.
Truly, to be set apart – to be known, and now even to be HEARD by the Creator of the Universe; Oh, what a beautiful thought! What a great salvation Christ paid such a great price for us to have, that we would realize that we could run to Him, we could come to Him, we can cry out to Him, and He is willing to see us, and more than willing to hear us!
Indeed, in our distress, may we remember Christ, may we remember our salvation, our reconciliation; May we revel in the Truth of all that Christ has done for us, to the point that any anger that lingers would be automatically be brought to His throne. May we find the silence and solitude that are just as much a result of our Salvation, just as we find cause to revel and celebrate.
Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD. There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”
Gosh, that’s me right now. I could easily make the claim that I’m on my way to better things, but that’s just according to my limited point of view.
No, let me give a sacrifice of praise, by way of saying that my trust is not in my own limited view of anything and everything; No, my trust is in the Lord, my hope is in God, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.
Father, indeed – I cannot show myself good! Nothing or nobody within the scope of Your creation can show me good; Father, it is only through Christ that I cry out, for you to show good in all that’s bothering me, all that’s grieving me right now! Indeed, I thank You for Christ, through whom I call, as David did: Lift us the light of Your face upon us, O Lord! Look upon me, look upon Your people with favor in these escalating times of turmoil, chaos, and fear!
I tell you, there has never been more cause to pray than here and now – and may I remind anyone who just happens to read this, it’s not that we PUSH, or Pray Until Something Happens… no, for me personally, it’s PUIFB – Pray Until I Feel Better.
Funny how prayer fits in everything we’ve explored in this article, up to here.
You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
This was the final set of verses for Psalm 4… and I think I should share, in case I haven’t shared this before – that these verses were close to my heart at an early age, specifically during my pre-teen years when I had trouble sleeping, especially alone.
It was just that last verse that got to me – He makes me dwell in safety, so I could lie down and sleep in peace – but, now that I’m going through it again, that second-to-the-last verse packs a punch too, doesn’t it? For we not only have peace in safety that only the Lord gives, but we also have a joy so abundant that it surpasses what the world gives!
In all this, whether we’re being brought to realize His goodness, or our hopelessness on our own.. Now, as in more than 6 months ago, the reminder is to pray, and to keep on praying.
I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart,
I will enter His courts with praise;
I will say, ‘This is the day that the Lord has made,’
I will rejoice for He has made me glad.
He has made me glad, He has made me glad,
I will rejoice for He has made me glad.
Thanks for bearing with all I had to share here. I pray – yes, I pray – that as the Lord moves in our midst – fighting our battles, moving in a supernatural way in our minds and in the minds of others, in faded relationships and broken hearts – that all this time, we are kept in peace and safety from the outside in, just as we are filled with joy from the inside out.
May we find our comfort and assurance in the Truth – the grace of God, the finished work of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. In the name of Christ, our Savior – amen.
Until the next post, may our Father bless us all, greatly and abundantly. Amen.
225715/365000
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a comment