Mind clearing.
Psalm 17
In the Shadow of Your Wings
A PRAYER OF DAVID.
1 Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2 From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!
3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
With give thanks to our God, and we praise our Father, for He responds to our cries, and our pleas for help and rescue – first and foremost, by way of reminding us of His presence, or asserting His consistent closeness to us. And it is in His presence that we behold our vindication, by way of His righteousness, by way of our own mind filled with Truth, and our lips set free from lying and deceit.
Indeed, we are reminded each and every time we remember our always being in His presence, that our mouths have been made new, taken away from transgression; We are reminded of our hearts made new, by way of the finished work of Christ – so renewed, in fact, that even in the night, and even when we are tested in the darkness, He will only find Christ.
I’m just trying, with the best of my abilities, to get the rest of my being to follow suit in realizing, right here and right now, in the face of all that’s attempting to sabotage me from within, and everything that’s trying to tear me down from the outside, and the unnecessary self-inflicted pressure, combined with the heavy demands of this world…. My eyes and my mind are doing their darndest to stay locked in on the absolute Truth of our righteousness in Christ, that the rest of my being would follow, in realizing that we are always, always in good standing with God, so close to Him that we are able to call Him our Father.
Yes, Father, we praise and thank You – I praise and thank You – for these moments when confusion and consequent anxiety are trying to strike, and in these moments, as in many other moments as of late, when the stakes are clearly high. It’s in these moments, Father, that Your light shines ever brighter; Indeed, may Your everlasting love burst forth, and may we be immersed fully in Your amazing grace!
4 With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.
Through our Savior, Jesus Christ, You have caused us to be new creations, no longer obligated to have anything to do with the flesh and the old, deathly ways of this fallen reality – You have made us new, righteous unto eternal life, and our entire beings ushered into eternity, fully dependent on You, that we stay on Your paths (as You are the Way); We have not slipped, nor have we taken the ways of the violent.
Oh, Father, thank You! Thank You, that even now, in the face of loss and challenge, in the face of condemnation associated to seeing how low we are now compared to the heights we were once so used to – Father, thank You, that even now, You continue to surround me with songs of deliverance, and You continue to restore to me the joy of Your salvation! Here and now, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I am reminded in the darkness of the perpetual and eternal presence of the Light and the Life, in me as I am in Him – Thank You, Father, for all that You are, for Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit!
It is CLEAR that I am not making any sense here, and all I’m really doing is just letting out whatever is in my head – and, you can see, it’s a mess up there.
Hence, the prayer. Hence, the words, typed out here hoping to match my desire to shout.
6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.
7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,
9 from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11 They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
12 He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.
You hear me, Father. Thank You. My calls and my prayers, these words are not in vain, for, yes, O God, You incline Your ear to us – You hear our words; Or, in this case, You read my words. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You, for You hear us, listen to us, and care for us, especially when we are on our own, with nothing to show for ourselves.
And in these lowest of conditions, Father, I praise You – for even here, You show Your steadfast love. Even when I have nothing to say, nothing good to think and nothing positive to produce, You continue to keep me as the apple of Your eye; Indeed, oh Father, who AM I that You are so mindful of me?! How is it that You, the perfect standard, the Creator infinitely superior to all creation; How IS it that You care for someone like me?
Through Your only Son, and through the finished work of Christ, You have shown us how You have hid us in Your wings, keeping us from those who surround us and do violence against us, arrogantly and without pity. Through Christ’s birth, death, resurrection and ascension, You have fully reconciled us to You – and the prowling enemy, ready to ambush and to pin us to the ground as a lion… no longer has any power or sway over us.
I am well taken care of; Through Christ, I am protected, and I am preserved… Thank You so much, my Father!
13 Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14 from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.
15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
Thank You, Father, for Your presence. You are here with me now, in all my hesitance, in all my uncertainty, in all my inaction, in all the inner conflict, in all the frustrations, in all my weakness…
Indeed, in all my weakness, Your power and strength is made perfect.
Indeed, Jesus, Your grace is truly enough – it is sufficient, good for me.
Let me revel in Your glory and grace… But, also, oh Father, let Your glory and grace be poured down upon all my concerns, and all that concerns me.
These times are never wasted, because through Christ, Your glory and grace abound in me and all my being, and, again, in all I’m thinking about.
My burdens are Yours, Lord. Thank You for Your rest.
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