Psalm 16:8 I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. I feel pretty shaky a lot these days. Between proposed education bills that would base my livelihood on the motivation that my students have to strive to do better and congress pushing huge bills that push us closer to socialism than to republicanism, life seems rather turbulent. Things seem so up-in-the-air. Hope is working on funding, but it’s an arena I’ve never entered, and I feel at a loss during this stage. This verse reminds me that I’m not alone. God is always right beside me to be my strength, my guide, and my protection. I can stand tall and firm because He is there. I just have to remember that when I’m freaking out.
Psalm 31:3 You are my rock and my fortress. For the honor of your name, lead me out of this peril. Psalm 61:2a From the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help, for my heart is overwhelmed. Psalm 91:5-6 Do not be afraid of … the disaster that strikes at midday. Psalm 91:14-15 The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them. Psalm 31:15a My future is in your hands… Psalm 31:19 Your goodness is so great! You have stored up great blessings for those who honor you. You have done so much for those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world. I am overwhelmed, a little crushed, and a little fearful. When unexpected hurdles rear up right in front of you creating an insurmountable blockage, what can you do? Me? Remember to breathe. Pray really hard… and finally realize that God is more glorified in the most challenging of circumstances than He would be if everything went like clockwork. If everything was easy, where would be our need to cry out to Him? There would be no need for miracles, and fewer opportunities to see His hand at work in the situation. However, if you take an already difficult event (like our Gala) and throw in a few twists and turns and last minute tangles… Well, then you have the basis for God to come in and do something awesome, something super-human, something only attributable to Him. For all the world to know and for His glory, what are a few little kinks in our human plans? We have the God of the Universe, the Way-Maker, the Almighty Lord Most High on our side. He saw the problems before we even began planning. And He knows the solution already, too. So what more is there to say? God, have your way. Please make a way where there seems to be no way. Work miracles, please. Glorify Your name.
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!
Romans 12:9 Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. This is an area where my husband really shines, and I wish I could do better. He stands up for what is right all the time, even when it’s not popular or easy. He hates injustice and works really hard to make sure he’s fair and good to his employees. At his work place, he constantly fights to make sure those under him don’t get thrown under the bus by corporate and often stands up against those higher up than him in order to make sure somebody says what is true and right. I, on the other hand, tend to be more timid and less courageous to stand up when everyone else is doing something else. It’s gotten me in trouble in the past, and it frustrates me that I’m not always strong enough to stand firmly in what I know is right. Now, I’m a horrible liar, which is a good thing, so if someone asks me what I think I’ll probably tell them (couched in the nicest possible terms, of course). This irritates me about myself. I want to be courageous and bold, but I’m not. Pretending to love people is something that I see a lot, especially in workplaces. It’s expected that everyone will smile and be nice to each other and generally “fake it.” As mentioned above, I’m awful at lying and am pretty bad at the smile and fake it game. This can be really annoying, or it can be really good. At my job right now, it’s bad because my boss wants everyone to have “a good attitude” which equates to smiling and being happy and cheerful and positive all the time. I struggle with this because I’m not always thrilled with things all the time and pretending that I am makes my stomach flip. However, being “real” with him about my concerns and frustrations would get me fired. Sad. So, from this verse I realize two things… my husband is an awesome man (I already knew this, but it’s always nice to be reminded) and there are ways I wish I could be more like he is, and I need to work on loving everyone in my life, even the unlovable ones who drive me nuts.
Zephaniah 3:17 For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song. You know, it’s a little scary to read all the prophecy books, because there are some definite similarities between our nation (American) and the nations that God is angry with for their pride, arrogance and cruelty. A lady at the grocery store where I was checking out told me that they’ve started removing “In God We Trust” from the money that’s being printed! I haven’t noticed it, but it (sadly) wouldn’t surprise me too much. We have become arrogant enough to trust in ourselves and declare it to the world! Ah, but these words are beautiful. They’re soothing after all the destruction of the prophecies. I can only imagine the beauty of God’s voice singing! I think of the most beautiful voices I know (Emmy Rossum, Sarah Brightman, Kari Jobe, to name a few) and it’s even more amazing than that! I love how His love calms my fears. He is glad of us! And, so, despite the depravity and chaos, there is hope and something to look forward to. As much as I love aspects of life, it will be a great day when God sings over me.
Zephaniah 3:17 For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song. This imagery in this is great, and it tells a lot about God’s personality! I would love to hear the sound of God’s singing! I’ll bet He has the most incredible voice ever! I can picture him exulting – dancing and jumping, like my 2 year old when he gets really excited about something – and grinning and clapping His hands. It’s cute in a little child, but when it’s my Creator who’s excited and happy about me… Wow! That’s gotta be incredible! I also love how His love calms all my fears. Right now, with things kind of crazy like they are there are a lot of fears. But His love is the remedy for all of them, because if He loves me (and He does) then all His plans are good which means I don’t have to be afraid of the plans He has. And nothing happens arbitrarily or by chance (although there are still consequences to my poor choices if I step outside His will). My might Savior! How awesome is He! He rejoices over me! He calms all my fears! He sings a happy song! He exults over me! What a great way to start the morning!
Jonah 1:19 The sailors were awestruck by the LORD’s great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. I’d have been pretty awestruck, too. Imagine! There are 10-20 foot waves crashing around your not-so-huge boat. You’ve thrown everything you can into the boiling, churning water in a desperate attempt to stay afloat. The rain is whipping around like nails, hammering the deck in a thunderous applause. The deck rears up, throwing people and the few objects left from one side to the other, threatening to knock everyone into the deadly sea. The sky is black, and the water is blacker. All hope seems lost. But then, a crazy guy who can sleep through a storm this bad, admits to angering a God you’ve never heard about and offers to be thrown overboard. And the minute his feet leave the deck on his way into the water, instantly the sea is calm, the driving wind and rain become a gentle breeze, the clouds vanish and the sun shines down. Yeah, I’d be awestruck! Even though Jonah disobeyed God and brought a great storm on these guys, there was some good that came from it. No, Jonah didn’t really learn a great lesson because when God didn’t destroy Ninevah he was very upset (You should watch the Veggie Tales version – Jonah and the Big Fish – to get a great illustration of this point). But these sailors, who had just thrown their livelihoods overboard, became servants of the Most High God. Our disobedience affects other people. Jonah’s probably cost the sailors tons of money. But it doesn’t have to be all bad. God used Jonah’s sin to show His power, punishment, and mercy to the sailors who might never have heard of Him otherwise. I’m not advocating sinning just so God can use it for good. I’d imagine that far more good comes from our obedience; but since we are constantly fighting our fleshly, natural natures, sin is inevitable (remember that verse… all have sinned – Rom 3:23….yeah, that would be me and you and everybody on earth). It’s a bit reassuring to know that God can bring good from our stubbornness and selfishness and pride.