Psalm 56:4, 9 O God, I praise your word. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me? … On the very day I call to you for help, my enemies will retreat. This I know: God is on my side. Today I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by everything that I need to get done in the next week. There are a lot of important tasks that I’ve taken on (at least important to me), not so much because I was asked but rather because they bugged me (not necessarily anyone else) and I’m the only one who can fix them, or because they were my idea and past history has shown that if I let someone else do them, they’ll won’t turn out the way I want them to and I’ll be disappointed (and because I’m so particular, I’ll end up redoing them anyway). But that’s my own personal issue, and I’m okay with that. This verse, is great. First of all, it worships and praises God and the words He gives to us. I believe that this project, this school, is a word from God. It’s a dream and a desire placed in us by Him. Last night at our meeting, one of the other board members shared some things he learned in a devotional he got. One of the things was that when God gives us a desire or a dream we should go for it. Don’t be afraid of it. That’s what got the servant who buried his talent in the ground in trouble. He was afraid of his master so he never used the gift. Our Master is our Father and He loves us and gives each gift to be used. The other lesson was that we should be passionate about our dreams. If we’re not passionate, then why should God be passionate about helping us achieve them? This was from the story of Elijah, the king, and some arrows. The king was told to hit the ground with the arrows, which he did, but he only did it a couple of times. Elijah scolded him for his half-hearted attempt because if he had been more passionate about it then God would have completely destroyed the enemy. However, since he only hit the ground a couple of times the enemy was not completely destroyed (and I’m guessing the king died or was taken prisoner, but I can’t remember). Anyway, good lessons. Back to the verses… so Praise is due. But also, when I get afraid and overwhelmed, I should remember that God is on my side, what can mere mortals do? I love that part about mere mortals. It’s such a great reminder that relative to God and His power, we’re pretty puny. God is on my side. And the very day I call for help, God begins to work. The very day! Not several days later… That very day He begins to move mountains. He is for me. He is for the dreams He plants in me. He is by me every step of the way. So, my conclusions are that my God is AWESOME! He plants dreams and stands by me, helping me, as I jump into those dreams with courage and passion. Hang on! It’s going to be a wild ride!
Daniel 2: 29-30 “While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen. And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart…” Nebuchadnezzar had demanded that his wise men, which included Daniel, tell him what his dream was and what it meant. When the other wise men couldn’t do it (being mere mortals and not believing in God) Nebuchadnezzar ordered them all killed. Daniel though, goes to the man in charge of killing everyone and, after asking for a day to pray and ask God about it, asks to be taken to the king to tell Nebuchadnezzar his dream. Once there he does tell the king his dream, but he acknowledges that it’s not because he’s any better or wiser that he knows what it is. He gives the credit to God. He also says that God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to understand what he was thinking about, what was in his heart. In the same way, God wants us to understand Him, too. God answered Daniel’s prayers for wisdom and understanding and protected Him from being executed with the wise men. But Daniel makes the important point that his knowledge is from God and that God wants him to understand. God isn’t keeping information about Himself and His will a secret. He reveals it when the time is right because He wants us to be in the center of His will. And that’s a good thing!