As we’ve dug deeper into prayer, I’ve begun to notice God working more and more… I went in to speak with my Principal about some tech questions, and ended up talking about ways to work with teachers to improve technology use and about leading the 9th grade English team! Definitely not expected! But pretty awesome! Today I went in to speak with my Principal about the tech job I had applied for and then withdrawn my application from. I wanted her to know so she didn’t hear through the grapevine and wonder why I hadn’t told her. I was nervous that she’d be upset that I had even considered it, but when I told her and explained why I didn’t end up applying, she was so kind and appreciative and encouraging! It was awesome! I finally feel like I’m moving forward a little. So much of my teaching career feels like I’ve stood still and never stood out (in a good way). And, it’s pretty awesome to see some of the amazing things God is doing! Yay! So, I realized I used “awesome” about a million times. Why are there so few words in the English language that express that kind of exuberance?
I am the apple of my Father’s eye I am sweet, overflowing, and beautiful I am protected by His hand and opened wide to let in light Given out to bring hope, I am useful Thoughts for the Day Genesis 1:22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Did you ever notice that there are only two things that God blesses and commands to multiply? It’s true. He blesses the creatures in the sea and the birds of the air, and He blesses the man and the woman. I think it’s interesting that He doesn’t bless the animals on the land or anything else that He created. I wonder why this is? Maybe because the creatures of the sea and the birds were intended to be food and therefore needed to be plentiful. I don’t know, but it’s kind of interesting.
Psalm 21:1-5 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. O LORD, in Your strength the king will be glad, And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! You have given him his heart’s desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. For You meet him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head. He asked life of You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever. His glory is great through Your salvation,Splendor and majesty You place upon him. A while back I looked at a pattern that is repeated in Psalms. A-B-C-B-A. It’s here, too! Verse 1 (A) is related to verse 5 (A). Verse 1 speaks of how the king is glad and rejoices in God’s strength and salvation. Verse 5 relates those things to his own life – the king’s glory is great because of God’s salvation, and God gives him splendor and majesty, too. Verse 2(B) is related to verse 4 (B). He asked God for his heart’s desire and it was given to him. Verse 4 tells us that this desire was life, eternal life perhaps (length of days forever and ever). And verse 3 (C) is the pinnacle, the top of the mountain. It recognizes that God blesses him with good things! Pattern is important. Events in the old testament are often repetition of patterns. In Matthew he shows how events in Yeshua’s life are often patterned after events in the old testament (the Torah and Tanak). In Genesis, it’s written with and event and then genealogies then events then genealogies and so on. Maybe these patterns persist even today, except that we don’t see them since we’re so busy (and because we aren’t looking). We can be glad and rejoice in God’s strength and salvation (rescue in a literal sense, rather than the more “Christian” sense) because we are strengthened by God’s hand and rescue. We ask Him for our heart’s desire and He grants it. If we think in typical terms, this could apply to an eternal relationship with God. And He still blesses us with good things! Neat, huh?!
Psalm 119:2-3 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! The word edah is the word used for testimonies and it’s interesting that, according to the dictionary, it’s always plural and always about God’s law. The word for keep means to preserve, so it’s about not changing or losing His law. Over time, politics and philosophy tend to seep into the text, but those who preserve (or seek to be able to read) the original will be blessedness (remember ‘esher is a noun). Side note: to be blessedness seems to mean that you bless those around you by your actions. So perhaps by preserving and obeying God’s law we spread blessing and are a blessing to others. The last part of the first verse actually reads” whole heart seeking”. It means the same thing, but it’s prettier. So another way a person is blessedness is by seeking God with his/her whole heart. No part held back or hidden. No part chasing after other things. That’s probably easier said than done. I know it’s not the easiest thing for me to do. I’m very easily distracted. “They also” could be translated as “so much more they who”. Using that definition gives this verse an interesting twist. The word for also (or so much more, therefore, etc.) is always used as a conjugation showing greater than status. So David says, basically, that it’s even better to do no unrightousness (interestingly the word for this is evel – sounds like evil). It’s about action. Don’t just know it cognitively, do what it says. Walk in His ways! Walk in His manner of life (which is what ways means). Basically, it does seem to ask the question, “What would Yeshua do?”
Psalm 119:1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Psalm 119 is one of those books that some people tend to shy away from because it’s so long (they shy away from the books in Numbers where it’s all about geneology, too). There are 176 verses! For some reason last night I started reading it in my NLT Bible, and it was so beautiful that I decided to read it and see how the Hebrew says it. So, I got as far as verse one! The first thing that caught my attention was the phrase “the law.” I’ve been listening to a lot of people discuss what that means and whether or not it’s even relevant today. I don’t want to get into a long discussion of this because I don’t know all the best arguments or anything like that. It just makes sense to me that the law is relevant today as a guide for living, not as a means of salvation. Anyway, I looked to see what word was used for “the law” and found that it was towrah (torah). There are two sets of laws: the Torah (the written law given by God to Moses that He says will NEVER pass away) and the Talmud (which, as I understand it, is the “oral law” as given by the various rabbis through the ages). If you want a really interesting discussion of Torah vs. Talmud, you should read some of the information on this site. It’s really interesting, and while there is obviously a huge amount of controversy here, it makes a lot of sense (especially in light of some of the questions I’ve asked over the years). Anyway, the word used here is Torah, the law given by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The next thing I did was look at the other words. Here are some interesting things that I thought about: 1. Blessed is a noun. So, it’s more like “a state of blessing.” 2. Way is a way of life or course of life, manner of living, etc. (definitely something that is done – a verb) 3. Blameless is complete or whole, innocent and unimpaired. 4. The second half of the verse seems to clarify what it means to be completed or whole. It’s to walk (definitely another verb – something that is done) in the Torah of YHWH. So altogether the verse is saying that a state of blessing for those whose way of living is complete and innocent which is to walk or live according to the Torah. Living according to Torah won’t save you or redeem you from judgment. It will, however, make life more blessed and complete. The final thing that caught me was that this verse is all about doing. It’s not about just knowing about YHWH or about Torah. It’s about walking – the things we do every day. Do my actions reflect my love for God? Do I give lip service and not walk out the things I believe? If I don’t act on them, do I really believe them?
Psalm 13:6 I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me. I have always loved this verse because it tells of how songs often come from the overflow of our bounty. However this verse is hiding something (actually, it’s only hidden in English). The part where is says “He has dealt bountifully with me” actually consists of one word, gamal, repeated. Repetition is always important, especially in Hebrew where it’s used for emphasis. So David’s not just saying, “Hey God, I’m singing because you’ve done a lot for me.” He’s saying that God has done a ton, doubly bountiful, above and beyond regular gifting. It’s one of those moments where he is utterly overwhelmed with everything good God has done and how he’s been blessed. Interestingly, it comes at the end of this psalm where David cries out to God, asking Him how long He will hide from him. He talks about his desperate need for God’s counsel so that his enemies don’t overcome him. He cries out for God to enlighten his eyes, to shed light on his situation. Without God’s wisdom, his decisions could be deadly. He remembers at the end that he has trusted God’s love and faithfulness, and reminds himself that, just as God has been faithful to rescue him in the past, so He will be his “yeshuw-ah” (salvation) again. Ending by remembering the bountiful blessings, made doubly so by the repetition of the bounty, purposefully removes his mind from the fear and frustration where he started. So, what’s the point? Well, there are several things: First, it’s okay to ask God questions. Who better to ask, anyway? Even if I’m upset, seeking His face for guidance is the critical first step. Acknowledge that without His input and His guidance, I’m as good as dead. Praise Him! Even before I see an answer, remembering all the ways He has bountifully blessed, bountifully blessed (!) me is reason to rejoice in Him. Making this choice to remember and praise Him for what He’s done in the past, is a conscious choice I make to dwell on His faithfulness instead of my fear. And no matter what the circumstances, don’t forget to remember: His past faithfulness in answering prayers and in my life. His past faithfulness in showing up at the moment of greatest need with reinforcements (don’t you love how the word for salvation is “yeshuw-ah” – we pronounce is yeshua… Yeshua… Jesus…). When our hour was darkest and we were in greatest need, our reinforcement, salvation arrived, and we are not overcome after all. I told someone the other day that worship (praise and worship) is like prayer. It runs the gamut of emotions from anger and fear to joy and exultation. Like David’s psalms, it’s a human expression of love and conversation. Worship comes in many flavors – standing, sitting, kneeling, prostrate on the ground, dancing with jubilation… and all of these are ways we pray, too. Our songs rise to Him as an expression of our hearts most deeply felt needs and aches. How many times does a song express the deepest pain or the uncontainable joy of our hearts? Songs, like prayer, break down our walls and break our hearts before God, and we pour out our longings, tears, gratefulness, love before Him. It’s intimate conversation from the depths of our hearts straight to the heart of God. Yes, even when we ask, How long will you forget me O LORD? Yet, He is holy. He is faithful. He has dealt bountifully, dealt BOUNTIFULLY (!) with me!
Psalm 63:2-6 (2) Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. (3) Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. (4) So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. (5) My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. (6) When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, In Hebrew it’s got that ABCBA format: Sseeing God’s holiness and remembering and thinking about him are parallel. His goodness is better than life and it satisfies his body with fullness causing joy – these two parts are parallel. And the centerpiece is that I will bless Him as long as I live, lifting my hands in His name. Cool! Here are a couple of notes about the translation. (2) Thus I perceive/behold Your apartness/sacredness, see Your strength/might and glory. (3) Because Your faithfulness/goodness is better than life my lips praise You. (4) So I praise You while living; I lift up my hands to Your name. (5) My whole being is satisfied/full with choisest abundance and the fatness of blessing. My mouth praises praises with a joyful shout from my lips. (6) When I cause to remember You on my bed/couch, I muse/meditate in the night watch. Some thoughts: I praise God each day I’m alive because I can see how sacred and apart He is, how strong and glorious He is, and because He is so faithful and good. I love that the word “halah” which means praise also means to make a fool or or act like a madman! Maybe that’s why David danced so wildly when he returned the ark to Israel and his wife scorned him because he was acting like a fool… Perhaps worship is not a sedate and composed act. Maybe it requires that I give up my dignity to lift my hands and be joyful, unafraid of looking a little silly. I also love verse 5. When I looked at the Hebrew that verse got so much fuller (haha!). Maybe I missed something that indicated that I’m wrong, but in Hebrew it seems to be talking about fullness of abundance and blessing. And it’s not just good stuff, it’s the choicest of the abundance and the fatness of blessing. It’s like the cup that is filled and running over. Every bit of my being is full with His goodness, and my response is to burst forth with praise and to think about Him and truly see Him in each day. The word remember in verse 6 isn’t like “Oh, I just remembered something!” It’s deliberate, a causing myself to remember. Maybe I leave myself notes to think about the things He’s done, or maybe I can choose to read His word before bed. Remember, in the Hebrew world, the day starts in the evening. So, in the case of this verse, David is starting His day by remembering the things God has done for him and thinking about God. The first part of his day is spent with God. Maybe I wasn’t so crazy when I had my quiet time at night! Application: Be deliberate in remembering what God has done and who He is. Be uninhibited in praise. Be satisfied and satiated by the abundance and blessing He has given me.