Author: kezha1

Nothing has changed from the time that David wrote this Psalm to today. Our source of trouble, disaster, and harm continues to be both internally and eternally caused. Our personal sinfulness and the consequences of it constantly overwhelm us…with guilt and shame piling on like a burden too heavy to bear. (Psalm 65:3) On top of that, we live in a very broken world filled with every kind of evil bombarding us daily. But just like David, we must acknowledge our transgressions, turn from our sins, and put our hope in the Lord. This eternal hope is summed up in Psalm 73:26,28 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge.”

In this prayer, David freely acknowledges that all things come from the sovereign hand of God, and apart from His blessing, we are powerless and hopeless…unable to bring anything to God that He hasn’t already given us. And because of this great love, compassion, and care God has for us…we in turn should care for others. We must be willing to give freely of our time, talents, and self in the divine service and sacrifice of being the hands and feet of Jesus to this broken world…for in reality that’s really all we have to offer.

Comparing ourselves to someone else will never turn out well. We will either determine that we are better than them , which gives way to boastful pride…or that we are shamefully worse, wicked, and unworthy…which can only lead to discouragement and even covetousness. We are to examine ourselves as individuals before God, rather than drawing comparisons (good or bad) from other’s…in II Corinthians 13:5, that’s called testing ourselves…where we are approved on our own merit, faith, actions, and good works by God.

Another Scripture that goes along with this one is Proverbs 14:29, “A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.” Between these two verses, we can see the contrast of patient, good judgment vs explosive flaring of uncontrolled emotions – on display for all to see as this Proverb points out. Which dove-tails perfectly to this last phrase in Ecclesiastes 6:9, “for anger resides in the lap of fools.” If something is in “the lap of” it means that it’s in charge or control of you…or to think of it in another way, if something is sitting in your lap, people can only see it – not you.

This verse may be short, but it packs a wallop if you consider not only what it says, but the order in which it’s said. First, we are to live in harmony with all people…not just our friends and family or others who treat us well. It tells us here that it’s our responsibility, as far as we’re able, to preserve the peace…wherever and whenever we’re called upon. Leading to the next part of this verse, that says while we are making this effort to live in peace with others, we are to remain holy. But sometimes that can a pretty big order…I not only have to live in harmony with that person, but bless them in the process! But just as Jesus never retaliated with insults or threats when He was persecuted…we shouldn’t either. That’s because, call it holiness or sanctification, it is a life-long journey of purity and building others up… with the end goal being eternal life and experiencing God’s Presence.

Problems arise in all our lives…the fact is no one is immune to them. But how does a problem turn into a conflict between you and someone else? This verse shows us that the root of any division is our own evil desires. Admittedly, problems can cause uncertainty, difficultly, and even hardship in our lives, but they don’t have to create conflict. It’s only when one or both people are operating out of a selfish and worldly value system that we see blame-shifting, anger, and self-centeredness. Suddenly all their energy is being directed at what they want and not towards finding a mutually agreed upon solution. Titus 3:9 & Romans 7:23 tell us to avoid such controversies, for they’re stupid and can only make us a prisoner to sin.

When we consider the word of God, it is both mystery and magnificence…for no matter where we are in our journey with the Lord, He can use it to encourage, exhort, convict, and teach. Saint Jerome wrote this about God’s Word, “The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for the Theologians to swim in without ever reaching the bottom.” Regardless if we’ve been a Believer for 1 day or 90 years, have never opened a Bible before, or have a PHD in Religious Studies…God’s Word is relevant, alive, and able to speak to our hearts. That’s the profound mystery of God’s Word…a multi-faceted image of His revelation for us, as we receive it in faith.

Loving-kindness is part of God’s character and tied closely to His Covenant with His people. God draws our hearts to Him with a love that is forever and without change. He remains faithful even when we are unfaithful…He is loyal when we are far from it…He is steadfast when we become fickle…He remains true when we rebel. The tender mercies of the Lord for us are incomprehensible, especially as we look at our sinful life…and yes, we are more wicked than we know or admit to – but we need to remember that we’re also more loved by God than we’ll ever know or imagine.

Our purpose as Christians is to be the visible representation of the invisible God to others. Paul in II Corinthians 5:20 summed it up like this, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors…” But when we allow our selfish desires to take over, our purpose gets confused and we end up trying to make a name for ourselves, not God. Many times we’ll aspire to be like some fellow Christian we admire rather than striving to be Christ-like. And what then happens is we end up following the pattern of man rather than the design of God. So ask yourself this today, What kind of example am I displaying to others? Is it me they see, or the Lord? Am I representing Him in a positive light, or not? Remember, we are to be the visible representation of the invisible God for the world to see. And for some, you could be the only example.

I read this the other day from Paul David Tripp, “We wander, God pursues and reconciles. We stumble and fall, God forgives and restores. We grow tired and weary, God empowers us by His grace.” We will never be able to fully appreciate God’s grace for us this side of Heaven. Think of it, God extends to us this unfathomable gift of grace…this unearned and unmerited favor lavished on us even when we are faithless, rebellious, and outside His Will. God will continue to love and pursue us even when we are unlovable, and He will continue to forgive as we fall short. For in our weakness we are made strong by His sovereign and Almighty grace…and His plan and purpose will be accomplished to perfection in our lives as we rely on Him.