“Then you will delight yourself in Adonai, and He will give you your heart’s desire.  Commit your way to Adonai; trust in Him and He will act.” Psalm 37:4-6

There are two verbs here that stuck out to me: give and act.  They have something in common.  Neither have anything to do with me!  My usual thought is to ask God, pray about something, and then do something, maybe “helping” it get going.  I give the situation to God, and then I act, assuming that I’m doing what He wants me to do.  But these verses are pretty clear.  HE gives and HE acts.  All the action that involves doing is done by Adonai, not me.

So what am I supposed to do?  Sit there?  Well, yes, sort of.  I have to delight in Him (trust, settle in the place He puts me, and feed on His faithfulness), and I have to commit my way to Him.  I have to believe and trust.  Trust is inaction in action.  I can believe and then do nothing about it, acting contrary to my “beliefs,” but trust implies that I act on my trust (or in this case, not acting, but rather waiting an allowing Him to act, which I believe will be a good thing because I delight in Him and He loves me).

Once again, my actions are unnecessary.  God does the acting.  God does the giving.  I don’ t need to “help” Him.  I just have to release control, let it go, and find joy in the One who loves me with a passion that is unfathomable!  And that is amazing!

A friend asked me recently what verses came to mind when I was stressed out, or which I could think of off of the top of my head.

I was a deer in headlights.  I froze.

I couldn’t think of anything.

She then asked me if I had a verse or two that could be considered a “life verse.”

Ummmm. Not really.  No.

I could do the cliche and quote the one about “For I know the plans I have for you…”, but that doesn’t really strike my soul.

And then…

I was reading a few mornings ago and found it!  It kind of jumped off the page at me.

“You ADONAI are a shield around me; My glory and the One who lifts my head.” (Psalm 3:3)

There is so much wrapped up in that one, relatively small, verse!

My shield: He is my protection, my guardian, my redeemer, my rescuer, my hedge.  I hide behind Him and in Him when trouble comes.

My glory: It’s His reputation instead of mine, His power that makes all things possible, His honor for which I was created and gifted ,  His fame that He uses me for.  I worship Him in His glory.

The lifter of my head: There is such incredible compassion in that one simple movement!  When I am ashamed, afraid, sad, humiliated, I hang my head and I’m afraid to meet the eyes of my Abba.  When I have broken a law (like Esther), I approach with my eyes low, awaiting my fate.  When I am in awe of His immensity and power, I bow my head in reverence.  And He gently touches my chin and raises me up until my eyes fall into His.  In this one phrase there is compassion, kindness, mercy, hope, adoption, and so much love.  Here is one who buys me back from the darkness, who says I am worthy to bear His name, who forgives me when I am wrong, who mixes judgement with mercy, who knows my weaknesses and gives me strength to stand, whose love washes everything else away.

And in that, so much is said.  He is my all.

neurons by http://www.flickr.com/photos/zooboing/

I am victorious!

Revelation 21:7

He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

These things mentioned in this verse are:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, ⁴and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

⁵And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new ” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

⁶Then He said to me, “It is done I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. …”

Because I am victorious in Christ Yeshua, I am given water from the spring of life and God will dwell with me among His people.  And when I am too weak to fight, the Holy Spirit himself intercedes for me (Rom. 8:26).

God is good, but I struggle to truly KNOW it.  I know it in my head, but it seems to hover over my heart instead of sinking in.  I keep waiting for the other shoe to fall.  I keep expecting God to be watching and waiting for me to mess up so He can crush me like a bug or punish me with something painful.  Intellectually, I realize that goes against everything I know… and yet, that’s how I’ve always experienced authority – as Big Brother waiting for me to make a mistake so I can be punished or smushed.  I yearn to know God differently, but as difficult as life has been, it’s difficult to see how He’s different (even though I know it could have been so much more difficult and painful).  I’m praying that head knowledge becomes heart knowledge.  Feel free to pray with me.

the dance (photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yanivg/)

I am holy and without blame before Him in love.

Ephesians 1:4

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love

I don’t usually feel holy or blameless, yet I know that through the forgiveness of God and the blood of His son, Yeshua, I am blameless.  It’s hard to wrap my mind around.  Before YHWH created the earth or brought any order to the chaos of the void, He already knew who I was and who I would be, and He knew that His Son would make me holy.  And, technically, since all time is present tense to God, I already was and already was holy.  Try wrapping your brain around that!

I also think it’s important that I’m before Him.  I’m not relegated to some obscure corner.  He not only loves me, He wants me before Him.  That is awesome and incredible!

Psalm 122:9

For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

Spock, on Star Trek, always believed that the good of the many outweighed the good of the one.  Today that’s a somewhat shocking thought; however, he’s probably right.  And he’s probably closer to the truth, too.  That’s not the point I wanted to make today though.  I thought this was a good verse for me to remember this year (and hereafter).  I seek the good of others, not for my own sake, but for the sake of the house (family) of God.  When I seek the good of others (even my enemies) it blesses everyone around me.  I heard Skip Moen say that the part in the Bible where it says to pray for your enemies and thereby heap burning coals on their head actually means that you will heap blessings on their head.  The Hebrew pictograph for blessing literally shows “flames on the head.”  I think this is a similar concept.  It’s a good thing to remember as I sort out issues with my past job and endeavor to excel at my present job.

Psalm 119:37

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, [And] revive me in Your way

Take my eyes from considering emptiness; return me to life in Your manners/moral character.  Sometimes I’m very selfish.  Probably more often than I’d like to admit.  It’s especially bad when I’m tired.  I also tend towards being non-confrontational and hesitate to voice my frustrations, because I know the reception to them won’t be pleasant.    And then the mousehole/molehill becomes a mountain, and a minor annoyance gets blown out of proportion.  Maybe when I find myself in this kind of situation, I should remember this verse.  Emptiness or emptiness of speech (vanity, worthlessness) is my selfishness.  The true thing to look at is my ability to bless others, to love them even when they don’t deserve it.  Yeshua did that for me.  God does that for me.

All that being said, I’m not always sure how to respond when I get frustrated by a situation, especially if I’m stuck doing something that someone else should have done.  But then again, Yeshua got stuck paying for my failures that I should have paid for…  So, once again it comes down to becoming more like Him in my actions and putting aside my agenda or desires in order to love those around me in the manner in which He first loved me.

This is so much easier said than done!

Galations 2:20

I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

This is one of those verses that is very deep and is often quoted in Christian circles.  The part that caught my attention today wasn’t the first half, though, but the last.  I live… by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me…  I like that.

This week it’s really been rough for John (and me by default).  It seems that everywhere he turns something is crashing down or falling to pieces.  Yesterday it was the schedule that he had written at work, as  several people called in last minute and he was left scrambling to cover their positions.  Before that it was an irate guest and a demanding client.  At his work, only he and his supervisor are the only ones that haven’t been fired (or quit), so it feels like the rope is fraying and it’s just a matter of time before they get replaced, too.  At home things are touchy and kind of like egg-shells.    We are truly in the hands of God right now.  But for His mercy, John would be unemployed and we would be in big trouble.  We (or at least I) live by trusting God to provide for us each minute of each day.  And He’s been so faithful to put people in our lives who love us and give us opportunities to make up the differences.

He loves me.  It’s such a simple statement, but it’s so profound.  And it makes all the difference in the world.  If He didn’t love me, nothing would matter.  It’s His love that keeps the sun rising and setting.  It’s His love that protects me and my family.  It’s His love that provides for us.  It’s His love that holds me through rough times.  I am blessed by His love.  I am blessed to still have a job when so many are unemployed. I am bless to have such a wonderful husband and children.  I am blessed in so many ways.  And it all starts with His love.

1 Corinthians 14: 1-3

Let love be your highest goal, but also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives, especially the gift of prophecy.  For if your gift is the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking to God but not to people, since they won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious.  But one who prophesies is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them.

I’ve found that the gift of speaking in tongues is either greatly sought after or greatly despised.  To some degree, it seems much more common than the gift of prophecy.  I’ve only known a handful of prophets, but I’ve met many people who speak in tongues.

The verses make an interesting distinction between the two gifts.  Speaking in tongues is speaking to God, but it doesn’t necessarily edify or help others in the church.  But prophecy can be helpful, encouraging, and comforting.  This is very true.  I have a dear friend who has the gift of prophecy, and her words have encouraged me countless times when I was struggling and frustrated.  In a sense it’s a little confusing sometimes, if the prophecy comes in the form of a vision, but it’s also very soothing to be reminded in a physical sense that God’s it worked out.

I think the gift of prophecy would be an amazing gift to have, but I’d imagine a prophet would need lots of courage.  I tend to think of prophecy as always encouraging, but I’m sure there are times when God sends a message that is less welcome to the recipient.  That would be a bit scary to deliver.  Think back to some of the prophets in the Bible, like Elijah and Elisha.  Boy, people were so happy about their messages that they almost got killed on a regular basis!  Thankfully, I don’t think the dangers are quite so extreme today, but it could still be an act of faith to speak a message that is not wanted.

But, to those of us who don’t have these amazing gifts, like prophecy, there is love.  And Paul says that this is greater than any gift.  Yeah for us!  Love is something everyone can do and everyone has access to.  It’s not something that we have to be given (although God pours it on us continually) and it’s something that we can easily do for others (small acts of love and kindness aren’t that difficult).  So, while I think it would be amazing to be able to prophecy, Paul says that my highest goal should be to love others.  And that’s something I can do today with the people I have around me… starting with my classroom full of students.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God.

I’m starting a new semester today at my job.  And because we’re on block scheduling, one of my classes will be completely new and the other two will be a little mixed up with new students.  It’s always a little nerve-wracking walking in on that first day of class to discover what those students will be like.  Last semester my kids were, for the most part, great.  I had a good time teaching them.  I’m hoping and praying the same for this semester.

Sometimes it’s really  hard to remember to do things that glorify God when I get frustrated with my students.  There are a lot of times when I don’t show God’s love very well.  And especially with my students, many of whom come from families where they don’t see their parents much or don’t have a parent to live with, I may be the only person who cares about them during the day.  That’s sad and scary, especially when I get irritated and am short with them.

So, as I start this new day with new students (mostly), I’m praying that God would give me a supernatural love for my students, exceptional patience, and joy in the students that I have this semester.  I’m also praying that I would truly be “Jesus with skin on” for my students and show them the love that Jesus showed me.

… And if you’re a praying person, would you mind praying that, too?