Good morning y'all,
Above is a picture of my cozy place. If it's too chilly or humid to be out on my porch with my Bible, peanut butter toast and tea, then this is my next go-to and my favorite spot in the living room.
[Speaking of bargain finds from the last post: that extending floor lamp cost me only $5. Take that, mocking husband.]
[The side table was left in the house by our landlord and both chairs were unwanted by grandparents. Can you say blessed?]
So I've been reading a Psalm a day and then reading through the Gospels as they correspond to each other.
This morning I was to read Psalm 18. And boy is it long-winded. (Sorry, David.) And boy does it have a lot of man-terms talking about battles and war against enemies and "the Lord is my strength against my enemies". It's kind of hard to not just breeze through it. Especially when it's early in the morning and I'm tired and have a hard time keeping my mind from wandering.
So I took a few minutes (that ended up being my entire quiet hour) to let this psalm steep in my lap and in my mind.
What can I learn about God's character from this testimony of praise?
Well, basically the reason it's so long-winded is because it's describing certain tasks and scenarios and afflictions that seemed impossible and super daunting -- but God accomplished victory in His own strength (and timing).
So God makes impossible things possible.
But of course He can -- He has power over all things, which we see here.
I also see the Lord being our strength as an obvious sign that the Lord is with us from day-to-day. He sees His people. He is an active, personal God. He is willing to fight on our behalf.
Not only is He our strength, but He can also be our safe-haven, our refuge, our place of rest.
I like verse 16 here:
"He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters."
Many waters makes me think of drowning and that panicky, helpless feeling that comes with it. How many times have I or do I feel like I am drowning? Yet He wants to pluck me out of that situation and feeling and give me peace and rest. He is my refuge; the rock on which I climb upon and stand above all those drowning waters.
And through this action, I see He is (again) a compassionate God.
David goes on to say that these victories are rewards according to his righteousness and standing before God. This tells me I can always count on God to be my strength, my deliverer, my refuge, my fortress because I, too, stand before Him righteous and blameless in the name of Jesus. That status never changes, so I can count on reaping the rewards and blessings of God's mighty help.
Finally, I can't help but notice this long-winded, beautifully eloquent psalm of praise to our God: David -- a very busy king -- took a lot of time out of his day(s) and made it a point to compose these psalms -- so many of these psalms! He made it a priority to spend purposeful, intentional time praising God for what He's done and Who He is.
And I am slammed with the realization that this kind of long-winded, intentional praise is totally lacking in my own life.
And He is not any less worthy of such praise today.
This psalm starts with the words "I love you, Lord."
It's ok to tell God (our Father) that we love Him. This is a form of praise and therefore worship. What parent doesn't want to hear "I love you" from their kid? I'm literally counting the days until I can hear Katie say those words to me.
It feels irreverent to me sometimes; but because of my standing in Christ as a blameless child of God, those feelings are a lie.
Maybe this is part of loving God with all our heart (soul, mind, and strength).
"The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made."
Psalm 145:9
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