When I’m not about to jump into what I’m supposed to be doing, and when I want to pass the time… Best use of my time is in Scripture.
Let us meditate, and be blessed as Isaac was blessed. Let us dwell on the Word, and continue to be established as trees planted by the streams of water.
Thank You, Father, for the continued reading of Your Word.
Psalm 132
The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion
A Song of Ascents.
1 LORD, remember David And all his afflictions;
2 How he swore to the LORD, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a place for the LORD, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
I remember reading of David’s desire to build, only to be pushed back by the Lord. God told him he couldn’t build the dwelling because his hands were stained with blood, and instead promised David a son of peace who would do it for him. This son the Lord promised was Solomon.
Here’s a reminder that the Lord answers according to all that He sees, which certainly is infinitely more than what we consider; Also, the Lord responds according to His complete will, and not according to our limited expectations.
In a conversation we had earlier while I was driving, we talked about how the Lord certainly blesses us with good, and that which has no sorrow added to it – He blesses us with descendants, AND land for them to dwell, just as He blesses us with land, WITH descendants to take care of all of it.
Consequently, we ask the Lord for money, but I suppose we don’t receive it 99% of the time because we must be willing to receive the wisdom to be good stewards of said resources. Sure as land and descendants come together, I proposed to those within the sound of my voice as I drove, that money and wisdom must also come together.
That’s when Solomon came to mind. The Lord offered Solomon power, resources, or victory over his enemies. Or, okay, I could have that list wrong, but we know how Solomon responded. He chose wisdom.
He chose wisdom, and in response God didn’t just give him this wisdom, but ALL the things He offered before that – (at least) power and resources/riches. Oftentimes we think this was because God was impressed with Solomon’s answer, but we also considered Solomon got what may have been the greatest package because he now had the wisdom to handle all that blessing.
With this wisdom, and with all in his disposal, Solomon was who God promised David he would be – a man of peace who would build God’s temple. And, what a temple that was – I believe there was no temple that would ever match Solomon’s, in both quality and quantity.
But that’s when I also realized that the one thing that did Solomon in was women – God didn’t offer women, and he didn’t ask for women.
Countless generations followed. The time of the Kings ended. Israel was conquered again and again, finally by the Roman Empire.
In the fullness of time, Christ was born, died, rose again, and ascended to heaven. The Holy Spirit descended upon His church, leading to the events of Pentecost… and in more than one instance in the Pauline Epistles, he reminded the body of Christ that we were all… temples of the Holy Spirit.
The points I’m driving at here are (1) God’s blessings truly are good in that I believe they come complimenting each other, and that they truly do not add any sorrow… but also that (2) God’s blessings are not only for us, but span across millennia, across countless generations.
God loves us with blessings, deep and wide.
Something to think about as we continue to simplify, and as we continue to be calm and to rest.
Which is what I’m about to do now.
So… It’s around 30 minutes later. There’s about an hour left until sunset, and I’ve needed to head upstairs to charge my phone.
And, really, so much can be revealed in half an hour, or at least in a conversation. I shared with Pastor Ronnie that a verse that’s really on my mind right now is that one about how everything (truly) good comes from the Lord, and He adds no blessing to it.
He recently came from the States, and, on top of sharing that verse, I couldn’t help but remind him of the wonderful beaches he’s been in. He went on by telling me that it’s different on each coast, but they’re all absolutely beautiful. I told him about how, if we weren’t in the body of Christ, I’d have a trace of envy and jealousy – but, praise God, I told him I was genuinely happy for him, as if I was experiencing all the joy he had at the time.
Besides being thankful, I believe he opened up a little more by saying that he kept catching himself in sheer awe and wonder – He was in the States! He was standing on the ground that he kept seeing in screens!…
…and around here’s when we were in agreement – we’ve all been amazed by one grain of sand which represented all we believed that the Lord could help us out with, and bless us with, but the truth of the matter is that His goodness and greatness is the entire ocean… and, from that perspective, we’re already amazed by the view of the ocean and the late afternoon sky, but there’s also the wonder of all that’s going on under the coastline, behind the clouds, and in the skies further above…
Truly, and indeed, no eye has seen, no ear has heard the depth, width, length and height of the love of God! The prayer we had, as we walked back for a drink of water (and me charging my phone, using up my battery, etc), was that we would go beyond appreciating being saved FROM death, but also saved TO eternal, blessed life.
It may not necessarily be what I want to hear, considering all I’ve been lamenting about in the past days, and me just wanting to give up on all of it… But it’s certainly bringing me to rest, and to behold Christ.
So before the day comes to its conclusion
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him, all creatures here below
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
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