Sorry, I’m pretty late for this one.
What was supposed to be the introduction to today’s devotion and reflection became an article on its own.
Sorry, I said I’d follow up with this ‘very soon’.
What was supposed to be an entire day spent at home became an afternoon spent on the road, catering to the needs of my household.
But we’re here now. Happily finished 10000 steps, warmed up for another workout… but not before I spend some of this endorphin rush on the Word.
And speaking of which… Thank You, Father, for the reading of Your Word.
Psalm 30
Joy Comes with the Morning
A PSALM OF DAVID. A SONG AT THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE.
1 I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
Call me fanatical… call me ridiculous and insane to be so fixated on the Bible, and so fixated on Christ, that it’s all that you’re reading here; But, let me tell you, I’m only sharing it because it’s been constantly good to me.
The Word has indeed served as Spirit and Life to me personally, and I have no reason not to continue testifying of the goodness of God, by way of His Word – simply because, it’s what’s keeping me together. It’s what’s keeping me sane.
In this world, this absolutely insane world where it’s looking like everything is happening all at once, I actually have even more reason to meditate on the Word, and to share what I have coming out of my brain.
I’m not creating for attention. I’m creating because God has His full attention on me, and because of Christ and His finished work, I have no cause to fear – The Word says that God is always thinking about me, and the God loves me and all in the body with an everlasting love.
I write, my friends, because my God is as a good Father to me and to all of us (that includes you, dear reader) – lovingly thinking about us.
And so we praise Him, because as He is always loving us and always thinking about it, so He is not lax to allow those who call themselves our enemies, to trample over us, to triumph over us.
We do not just run to Him – No, David shares here that He’s also the One who draws us in, pulling us to Him; That though we would be surrounded or threatened, our foes would not rejoice over us.
It’s not just true for me – friend, surely as Christ died and rose again, He guaranteed this to you, as well. There’s not strenuous ritual to perform – there’s only the decision to believe that Christ was the One who did the heavy work, taking on the heavy burden and giving the ultimate sacrifice; All for you to be saved. Friend, I’m praying you would consider the legitimacy and reliability of this report, and that you would see His goodness.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
3 O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
This is our Father who not only heals us, but also rescues us. And you may not see everyone in the body of Christ so miraculously brought back from sickness, or so quickly delivered from calamity… but, the truth of the matter is, it’s in the timetable of the infinitely powerful and the eternally wise Father – and all we need to do is to abide in His Word, to meditate on Him; Ultimately, all we need to do is to trust Him – and, friend, we shall not be put to shame.
Indeed, even if it comes to a point that our own physical bodies fail us, the truth of the matter is, even in the lowliest of times, our Father will not leave us ashamed.
The help we receive from the Lord is equally for His glory, as much as it is for our peace.
Friend, I have no other reasoning to use to contend; There is no reason to contend. I am merely saying that it is not I, but God who keeps His Word. Trust in Him.
4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
Gosh, I’m sorry, but I’m thinking about someone in particular – even if there’s no chance this person is reading this, I’m sharing with this person in mind anyway.
I don’t want to preach, nor am I trying to brainwash myself or anyone else…
…but it just couldn’t be helped. God has been so good to myself and to His people, that even in all that’s going on, even in all that’s weighing down on us, and in all that rises against us, we STILL find cause and reason to praise the Lord in song, we STILL find no discouragement or hindrance in leading others into song as well.
We encourage the congregations we are blessed with, to sing along with us: That the God who healed us then is healing us now. That the God who saved us then is saving us now. That the God who hears us and answers prayers back then, is certainly hearing us, listening to us, and answering our prayers according to His great wisdom, power and love, here and now – simply because He has done the same for us, and we want the same for us, moving forward.
That’s right, it’s not like everything in our own lives is peachy and happy – we have the same messed up lives in risky and dangerous environments! But what keeps is going is that we proclaim for ourselves, as we want others to sing, that the God who HAS been faithful to us, IS faithful to us, here and now! Call it foolish, but it’s really more for us than it is for God (because He needs no convincing, considering that His Son’s finished and complete work); We continue to sing His praises, that we have peace, knowing that through the sudden and brutal pain, or the slow, drawn out pain of rejection, we are as well taken care of here and now as we were, and as we will be!
Indeed, we weep in the night, but joy comes with the morning – that is, with His mercies that are new with every morning, as well. Every day has its troubles, but every day for everyone in the body of Christ is sweeter than the day before – in that we have joy, and that we have fresh new mercies each and every day!
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed.
8 To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!”
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
And so I continue to reflect on His word. Even though it does seem at times as if He is far away, even if the odds are just so against my favor that it almost seems feasible for me to stop believing in Christ, and all He has done for me – well, I believe it is the Holy Spirit that moves in and through me to realize and to assert, that all the darkness in the world reminds me of the true Light of the world. All the chaos in the world reminds me that I have a Spirit of power, love, and of sound mind. In the face of all that’s being torn apart, I am reminded that in Christ, all things are held together.
That’s how it works for us. We may mourn, and we may even think against our Father – but that’s only because we’re that confident in Christ’s finished work, to be totally honest with Him… We may even come to the point of complaining, and/or arrive at our wits’ end… but the Truth of the matter remains – ultimately, the finished work of Christ guarantees that eventually, our mourning shall turn into our dancing, and rejoicing.
Eventually, no matter how the tides turn for us or against us, whether or not we see resolution for our past mistakes, no matter how things in this world unfold, in our own personal lives, up to the events that shake entire continents… eventually, we shall be clothed with gladness.
But here, and now, we give thanks to the Lord, as we shall always give thanks to Him… forever.
7 Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die):
8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me;
9 Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the LORD?”
Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.Proverbs 30:7-9
Here’s another perspective to our need for contentment, which is deeper than relief from lack and far above bank-breaking riches:
We shall find contentment in the Truth, infinitely superior to deception, falsehood and lies which promises ultimately temporary ‘relief’ at the very best. We shall find contentment, not in the blessings that come from the Lord, but in realizing that the greatest blessing is the Lord Himself.
And, see, this is personal for me – because I felt how it was to have lots more than you could imagine in your bank account, and I saw all of it go away. I can’t tell you that I was as vocal about the Lord as I am trying to be now. But the point is, though I swayed to the left and right with and without money… Oh, God be thanked and praised – He was with me through it all.
Before, during, and after disaster, and even now, our Father is with us. Faithful and true. Willing and able. Trustworthy. Reliable.
He is the Truth that remains and causes us to stand strong, no matter what we have, and no matter what lack we experience.
The rest of the Proverb contains the rest of the musings of a certain Agur, son of Jakeh. There doesn’t seem to be any cross-reference as to where else this man is mentioned in the Bible, but I’m sure there’s a reason why his words were included in the book.
It touches on topics such as the value of honoring our parents, and the mysterious yet fascinating lessons we can learn from the lowliest to the most magnificent of animals.
It touches on how our own nature is no different from actual nature – from how we’re never satisfied as fire, to how astounding it is for us to hunt prey down, just as animals do, without feeling any sort of remorse.
If anything, as I’m writing all of it, it circles back to the verses I mentioned – where what we need, most of all, is to trust in our Creator, just as the rest of Creation ought to… and may very well be doing already, in its sort of way.
I’m reminded of a conversation I had with a fellow pastor earlier this afternoon. I’m not going to go into specifics, but he shared what he heard from another fellow brother in Christ – that is, that we’re called human BEINGS, and not human doings.
The rest of non-human creation is only doing what they are created to to – they are doing from being. Perhaps we ought to do the same… BUT for those of us in the body of Christ, this goes back to realizing who we are, now that Christ saved us.
Of all the things He’s done for us, He’s ensured that the old (being) has passed away, and behold, all things have been made new. Part of our living out our salvation, and, actually, working out our salvation, is realizing who we are now, understanding what’s been made new, and how we’ve been made new.
And I suppose the first place to start is for us to understand that we are most definitely dependent on the Creator, who is our Father, now that we’ve been made new.
Our being and existence in this world, now through Christ, is in inseparable union with our God, and full dependence on our Father.
…and, really, it’s not something that we do, more than we just go ahead and realize, by the grace of God, the finished work of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. We could not help but go deeper and deeper into this Truth of our righteousness, our BEING in right-standing with God, now and forever.
Not sure how to end all this, but I suppose I go back to what we’ve been preaching all this time: Trust in the Lord, and you will not be put to shame.
Let’s keep at it, folks.
Thank You, Lord, for the reading of Your Word.
God bless you.
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