May 21, 2024

Psalm 120.1 (NIV)
I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me.

Persistent prayer stays the course until his perfect answer comes.*

We say that we believe that God hears and answers our prayers. We are told that “no” and “wait” are answers, and this provides us a small measure of comfort when God seems silent. But deep down I have to wonder if such ambiguity is really what God has promised us. According to the psalmist in this verse, God answers.

As someone has observed, “We utter a prayer, wanting immediate results. . .  . By the time God’s answer comes we’ve forgotten we asked.”* This has been true of me more often than I would like to admit, but I can also testify that I have occasionally heard God’s answer clearly and timely, especially when my request was for direction or assurance rather than for some thing. Often it was an immediate and personal reply heard inside my head. Many times he has led me to a passage of Scripture that practically shouted at me. Frequently, God has spoken through a sermon, a lesson, a group discussion, or the words of another writer.

I have found it helpful to journal my prayers and seek God’s answer through the process of elimination. I list all the things I might do to solve this problem for myself. As I follow each scenario to its logical conclusion, I usually find that God is clearly telling me that he wants me to wait. A definitive “no” often takes a little longer to comprehend as I stubbornly cling to my selfish desire to get what I want.

We are not all natural-born good listeners. I have been practicing my listening skills with my friends and I have been blessed for it. How much greater the blessing if I learn to listen for God’s answer!

Persevere until the answer comes. Prayer is supposed to have an answer.*

May 20, 2024

Psalm 119.105 (NIV)

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

If your God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that he is mighty enough to light your path?*

God’s Word illuminates and reveals. Relying on our own wisdom is like carrying around a flashlight and neglecting to turn it on. When we compare our lives to the Word of God, we will be shown what we’re doing wrong and what needs to be done to put us back on the right path.

By the light of the lamp of the Word, we can see the difference between true and false doctrine.* It informs us of his will and shows us how to follow the right way and avoid the wrong one;* it reveals what is amiss and dangerous; and “it directs us in our work and way.”*

But the Word by itself is only the switch by which we turn on the lamp. The Word of God does not become a light until our “eyes are opened and enlightened by the Spirit of God”* - which does not happen except by means of the Word. The step-by-step procedures might look like this: 1) we read the Word; 2) the Spirit works; 3) our eyes are opened; 4) the Word lights our path.

It’s all well and good to carry around a powerful lantern (the Word) but a light is of no use to a blind man.We need the Holy Spirit to heal our blindness so that we can see the light of the Word.

It [the Word] is not sent to astound us with its brilliance, but to guide us by its instruction.*

EXTRA SPLASH: Discernment.  To detect with other senses than vision. To recognize or identify as separate and distinct.

May 19, 2024

Psalm 119.71 (NIV)
It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.

A season of suffering is a small price to pay for a clear view of God.*

While still in high school, my twin sons started dating the young ladies who eventually become their wives. One of these couples did not live happily ever after - one son’s wife left him for a young man that my son thought was his friend. Meanwhile, another couple they knew from college was splitting up. The husband - a youth minister - left his wife for a girl in his youth group! Long story short: God brought my son and this young lady together and now I am proud to call her my daughter. Recently she shared on Facebook how her trials had refined her. She said, “I don't think I ever would have ‘gotten it’ if God had not stripped so much from me.”

Does God strip things from us or does he just allow it to happen? We aren’t Job – God’s object lesson! Many of our afflictions are the results of our own poor choices; others are the result of someone else’s. Some of our choices are made out of rebellion, others out of ignorance. Life is full of pivotal moments where the only control we have is over what we decide to do – not over what happens as a result. This was brought home to me by my attorney during my own divorce as we were discussing my soon-to-be ex-husband’s visitation schedule with the boys. I was still pretty bitter and was all for cutting him out of their lives completely (though I couldn’t, legally) but my lawyer reminded me, “You chose him to be the father of your children.” She was right. I had made the choice though I had no idea how it would turn out.

Beware! Not everyone benefits from affliction. What sets apart those who learn submission through adversity from those who don’t? The psalmist doesn’t mention it here but other passages point to a surrendered heart that chooses the right attitude. We, like Job, may experience the benefits of suffering without ever knowing why we suffered in the first place* but, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.”  (James 1.2)

Suffering is inevitable, misery is optional!*

May 18, 2024

Psalm 119.55 (NIV)
In the night I remember your name, O Lord, and I will keep your law.

God speaks to us through the Bible in new ways when we reflect on it deeply and repeatedly.*

At first glance, the psalmist appears to be awake for bad reasons. Anxiety. Guilt. A very long “to-do” list - the things that typically bring on a bad case of insomnia. Read the subtext: “In the night (I am scared) I remember your name (I call on God) but I do not turn from your law (if I keep his laws, he will show me the way and knowing the way will calm my fears).”

Many – if not most – people have their quiet time with God at the beginning of their day, and I agree it’s a great way to start the day. But I have been programmed to sleep until there is only enough time do what has to be done before heading out the door. Even if I did allow time for my devotions in my morning routine, it would still have to end on schedule; whereas, at night, even if I stay up past my bedtime, the time-slot is more flexible.

 

It is possible that our psalmist is a night owl, too, who might just be awake by choice. Perhaps this night he has given up sleep to meditate on God’s Word.* What are the results of his nighttime rendezvous with God? It is a beautiful chain of events in which we could participate: to give up sleep in order to meditate and pray; to finally fall asleep with God’s Word on our minds; to wake up to live for him.

Reading the Word of God is not the only practice we need to engage in, but it is foundational to cultivating our relationship with the Lord. We need to read our Bibles; we should read our Bibles; and hopefully we want to read our Bibles.*

May 17, 2024

Psalm 100.5 (NIV)
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

The whole story of the Bible is a love story between God and his people.*

When it comes to love, we’re all about the feelings. When we are reminded that “God is love,” we picture a big ol’ huggable Teddy bear, don’t we? But do we know any feelings that last forever?

“His love endures forever.” Interesting choice of words. Endures implies that there is a challenge or struggle involved. He loves us so much that he is willing to put forth the effort that it takes to make it last and the effort required to demonstrate it. His love is so much more than just a good feeling. How can he feel like loving us? He loves us because he is love. That’s it. No other reason.

 

So how much effort do we put into loving God back? Are we waiting until we feel like it? That might not ever happen. I’m not sure if God ever “feels” like loving us but love is an action and he never stops doing it.

How can we cease praising him when his love is everlasting?

He cannot not love us.*

May 16, 2024

 Psalm 94.19 (NIV)

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

Psalm 120.1 (NIV)

I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me.

Divine consolations are the effectual relief of troubled spirits.*

These verses do not refer to the physical disorder that displays itself in shortness of breath and accelerated heartbeat. For that kind of anxiety, one should (prayerfully) consult a physician. But when one’s anxiety is caused by life in a fallen world, one needs to call upon the Great Physician.

In the original language, the word translated “anxious thoughts” referred to the small branches of trees, all tangled and entwining themselves together. Isn’t that what anxiety feels like? In presenting your thoughts to God, try following each anxiety from a loose end until you have traced it to its source. I find journaling to be very helpful in untangling anxious thoughts.

Being able to call upon God in our distress is a stress-reliever in itself. We can vent and be ourselves without fear of rejection or ridicule. We don’t have to be afraid that our feelings will be belittled. As if that weren’t enough, he also answers us. He speaks through his Word, through a Sunday sermon, through the counsel of a Christian friend.

Once you have allowed God to untangle your anxious thoughts, you will be able to echo the psalmist’s sentiments and testify to the joy of his consolation.

There is as much difference between heavenly comforts and earthly, as between a banquet that is eaten and one that is painted on the wall.*

May 15, 2024

Psalm 90.4 (NIV)

For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

He’s got all the time in the world.*

Time for us here on earth is a matter of perspective. When you’re a kid, the days before Christmas are long, while the weeks of summer vacation pass by in a flash. As adults, we find that dreading a future event hastens its arrival while anticipation causes time to drag. We measure time by clocks and calendars while Moses, the writer of this psalm, gauged time by the heavens.

  

Time doesn’t travel at the same speed for God as it does for us. As someone has said, “Years and days measure only the duration of created things.”* God has created us to be limited by time and so he works within those limitations.

This is certainly the verse to remember when we are waiting for God’s will to be revealed or for him to act on our behalf. And while we know that our viewpoint affects our perception of how quickly God is moving, we must also keep in mind that often events have to play out somewhere else in order for him to arrange a blessing for us in our place and time. (There is a great story in the book of Daniel which illustrates this point. Read about Daniel’s encounter with an angel in Daniel 10.4–21, paying special attention to verse 13.)

Keep in the mind “the enormous leisure of God”* and that he is never in a hurry! And be thankful that God is orchestrating your affairs for your benefit and his glory.

We cannot rush the timing of God.*