Be Still… – Page 495 – Relevant Reflections to Let God's Word Back Into Your Hands and Heart

Psalm 33

So many good word pictures and strands of thought bound together here. Again we have a psalm of praise, a response to the goodness of God and what he does to protect and rescue us, those who believe, follow, trust and fear.

Did any of the verses speak to you today? For me, it was the very first verse, “Let the godly sing with joy to the Lord.” Not sing with perfect voice, harmony or such, but with joy! Joy is a condition of the heart, and it can be ours when we are tune with our God. Doesn’t God deserve our songs of praise, a “new” song of praise? Indeed he does. We worship our God with our songs of praise, the way we live, with the words that we speak. God’s unfailing love fills this earth — we all need to remember that amidst all the negativity. All of that is only clouding the truth!

I love how this psalm applauds God! By speaking it so, this magnificent world came to be. That is a mighty God who is in control. With such majesty isn’t it only fitting that we should have a reverence and fear of our God? The promise here is that God watches over those who fear him. We can certainly put our hope in a God like that.

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father your magnificence and power overwhelm me. That you would care for and protect me makes my heart overflow. I pray for those around me who do not yet know you and your provisions. Help me to reflect you today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 32

Read Psalm 32

Oh what joy an eraser brings! I’m always glad when I’m using a pencil when writing because I can use the eraser to remove my mistakes. If written in pen, it’s pretty permanent. In the same way, God uses an eraser and forgives our sin. Our sins are forgiven and forgotten, erased like our mistakes on paper. We can rejoice! We get a do-over!

But, if we refuse to confess our sins, think it’s not necessary to do so, and keep them hidden inside, they will only make us miserable. The psalmist warms us of this very thing. Guilt is ugly but forgiveness is freedom. And there’s more! God promises he will guide us, watch over us, advise us. That is totally comforting, isn’t it? God is our hiding place, our protector. That is reason to rejoice!

I see this psalm as a foreshadow of the one to come. The Lord has “cleared our record” and he does that through the blood of Jesus Christ. What sins are you holding on to and not confessing to God? Ask, “why am I doing that?” Think of the spiritual cleansing and showering of joy that will result by confessing and purging that sin.

Let’s pray. Father, thank you for taking my sins far from me, those that I freely confess. I know I harbor bad feelings, regret, the need for approval, lack of empathy for some, pride, envy, procrastinating spirit. Lord help me to hand those over to you as well. You are my refuge and my strength! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 31

Read Psalm 31

It’s time to delve back into the Psalms and reflect on the messages found there. I’ll take another diversion at some point. Leave a comment if you have a particular book of the Bible you’re interested in investigating.

What a roller coaster of emotion! Underlying it all – TRUST! The psalmist is all in for his God, knowing that no matter what befalls him, he can rely on God to be with him. So many of the psalms are a similar cry out to God for rescue, protection and saving of some kind. The psalmist is in such a dire condition, it is almost too hard to fathom the depths of despair and fear.

Many times I try to place myself in the time and place each psalm or Bible passage is written, and I find that difficult. Have you ever done that? I don’t believe that as we focus on the psalms this is the proper way to appreciate them. Stylistically, they fall in the “poetry” section, so I should be reading them in that context. Yet, trying to put myself there to a degree helps the beauty of the psalm to shine through — the heart of the psalm is revealed.

So, in today’s psalm, to feel David’s pain, emotion or fear helps us to graps what it means to trust – the step beyond faith and belief – the action of what we do with that faith. God heard his call and answered. There is the key. God hears and answers. We can have no fear.

As I read this psalm, I pictured President Trump, and thought to myself this would be the perfect psalm for him to pray everyday, to call on the Lord for guidance and protection. We all know the opposition he is facing. Or maybe we should pray for him?

Think about the fears in your own life. Have you cried out to God to help you with these concerns? Are you TRUSTING God to work it all out?

Let’s pray. Father we ask for guidance and rescue for our leaders and for us. Thank you for the many blessings you give, help me to relish in those provisions and trust you completely. May all I do and say today be to your honor. May I be that spark that ignites others to follow you. Use me and empower me with the words to say. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:11-21

Read 1 Timothy 6:11-21

Today we have Paul’s final instructions to Timothy, but let’s read them as if they are to us today. What do we see? We see action. As followers of Christ we need to:

RUN from evil
FIGHT the good fight
HOLD tightly to eternity
OBEY Jesus’ commands

We will encounter evil, you can count on that. We will need to be wise to recognize it for what it is and then flee from it. If we try to “fix” it, we run the chance of being caught in its snare. When we are questioned about our faith, maybe even put to the test and ridiculed, what are we to do? Paul tells us to fight the good fight and stand up for our faith. We belong to a God who loves us beyond all comprehension, how can we turn from that? Where else can we find total acceptance and love, forgiveness and reconciliation.

We know the answer to “Do you know where you’re going when you die?” It is our destiny to spend eternity with our Lord. There is a great hope that wells within us at the thought of seeing Jesus face to face. Hold on to that image when faced with a struggle or persecution. Jesus has gone before us, suffered and died so that we might have life in him. He is the only one we can trust for he is truth. The only way to the father is through him. We should yearn to obey him at all costs.

Well, you might be thinking, this all sounds good, but is it really that easy? How do I succeed in this life? We are not called to be rich, but to share the riches we do have with others. This is true success. Look at the need around you. If at first you cannot see it, look harder. There are needs so great, and we can be used by God as his hands and feet. What an honor to be used in this way! Take a moment now and ask God to give you the eyes to see the need he’d like you to fill today.

Let’s pray. Father we come to you eager to obey and follow you. We a sk that you fill us with your compassion so we are ready to do your work in this world, to share what you have so generously given us, to make a difference to those around us. Thank you for your provision. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:1-10

Read 1 Timothy 6:1-10

I’m not sure what version of the Bible you read from, and if you follow the link above it takes you to New Living Translation, one of my favorites. In fact, it’s the version in my study Bible. So, today, as I was reading from my Bible, I noticed a very distinct difference in how this passage begins. In my Bible it says, “Christians who are slaves…” where in the NLT version on Biblegateway.com (source of the link above) it says “All slaves”. Interesting. I won’t spend a lot of time on this, but from a context perspective, it is my understanding that in the times Paul is writing, there was a huge gap between slaves and their masters. However, if a slave and master were both Christians, they became spiritual equals, or as we might say, brothers and sisters in Christ. To me, it is then that the rest of the verse makes sense.

As the reading continues, Paul is masterful in assuring us that what he has prescribed for godly living is sound and from the teachings of Jesus–what greater authority can there be! We all know that person, however, who likes to stir the pot or question these truths. There is so much behavior in our culture today, and I’m sure in Paul’s time, that is counter to this and many feel constrained by a life devoted to Christ.

Read v. 6, “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” Ponder this for a moment until you feel like the richest person on the planet. You may need to put aside your current financial needs for just a moment lest they interfere with your feeling the enormous blessing you have as a follower of Jesus.

I’m struck again by the truth of verse 9. While I am not striving to be “rich”, I am hopeful that my current endeavors allow me the freedom for travel, and helping to build an orphanage in Haiti. I am asking God for provision for those dreams. What are you striving for in your life?

Let’s pray. Lord help me to stay focused on you and you alone. Don’t let the pressures of the world creep in and entice me to believe in something false. Help me discern and be faithful. As I look around at our world today, I am saddened by the hate, the anger, the doubt. I trust you have all this worked out, and I pray wisdom for leaders and not arrogance. I pray for love and not hate for all people. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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