The heavens declare the glory of the LORD The moon hides its face in shame at the mere reflection of Your beauty. The stars for all their twinkling light can never match the magnificence of Your glory. Though the sun may shin with all its might it will never be but a shadow of Your brilliance. O God, You reign in the heavens! Your majesty humbles all creation. Though man lifts his face against You he is but a speck of dust, blown swiftly away. You honor those You choose and humble those who strut around in pride. You hear the smallest of Your children’s call yet You command the most violent of storms. All creation bows to You It sings Your praises! Though man works evil against it Your power and might prevail. Your cleansing blood overwhelms their efforts, Purifying Your world, Proclaiming Your might.
These are thoughts in light of the current state of affairs in life. It was part of a longer post, but the beginning of the post is repetitive, so I cut it. In the Wilds It’s a chance to truly walk by faith. What else can I do? Out in this wilderness there isn’t any food except what God provides from heaven. And there isn’t any water if He doesn’t open a rock. There is nothing but thorns and rocks, and my feet hurt from stumbling. Yet, in the sunrise there is brilliant color painted across the sky. And there is laughter as my children play with the tumbleweed and examine the delicate patterns embedded in the stones. There is a cool breeze caressing my cheek that whispers “remember His faithfulness.” And there is a stillness and a quiet, where, over the pounding of my heart and the tears in my eyes, I am not alone. I will learn to hear, and to wait, and to walk. But mostly, I will learn He is Holy and sovereign and faithful. Hear, Obey, my child. YHWH is GOD, He is One. And I am not alone.
I haven’t yet begun to grasp The immensity of your sky of stars. I haven’t started to see your hand In the tiny details of my mundane life. I haven’t fathomed the deepest depths Your love was willing to go Just to be with me. Who am I? Who am I? Who am I that You should see me In a world so full of beauty? Who am I? Who am I? How could You love me When You know me? When You know inside of me? I can’t even start to dream Of all the million many details that You paint. I don’t know where to start When I look around at all Your art. I don’t understand the greatest lengths Your love was willing to walk Just to be with me. Who am I? Who am I? Who am I that You should see me In a world so full of beauty? Who am I? Who am I? How could You love me When You know me? When You see so deep inside me? My darkness trembles My fear begins to shake. My anger melts before Your grace The light erases me. Who are You? Who are You? Who are You that You can love me You can change me so completely? Who are You? Who are You? So much holy, holy are You So much love and passion are You So much light and life are You And You yearn for me to know You. You gave up everything Just to be with me. Note: For some reason, the song “Here’s My Life” by BarlowGirl is stuck in my head: God I’m crying out tonight ’cause I’ve given you my life but I’m tired and I’m missing what’s behind so once more here’s my life
Silence cuts more cleanly than a knife A back turned is a jagged shard scraped across my heart A disgusted retreat is a thousand glittering points plunged deeply into my soul I don’t know how a tear became an ocean I don’t know how a word became a wall When did one question asked in peace towards comfort Turn so dark, so deadly, so full of rage? Now I am alone Not quite alone I don’t know how to apologize for a crime I’m unaware of I don’t know how to mend a tear I didn’t know I caused. Are these shadows of the past Come to haunt and taunt and torment me? Are these old wounds left to fester until accidentally jarred? Are these freshly caused by me or Are these year and years more old? When I thought the thing was whole, When I thought all was resolved The the winds howled suddenly louder The the rain came lashing down And the silence was a slamming door at your back The lock so finally turning the rumbling thunder in the dark. My tears are spent My heart is frozen My hands tremble as I write. It is empty I’m confused It is quiet I’m shaking Is it done?
“Peace I give to You” Almighty One I need peace; Rest and comfort to calm my soul Help and order to sooth my mind. Confusion roils through my heart I seek Your truth I seek Your way But I find that I don’t find The answers that I seek I find that I don’t know Who You are or What to say. Do the small things count? Do the mundane things matter? When I talk to You Do I presume with my questions? Are requests too selfish? Are my askings out of line? I feel I’ve lost my tongue, My voice is blind. I know you speak and answer I know You’re always here I have no doubt You love me I have no doubt You’re mine. Yet I wonder, is it personal with You? If the Plan is more important What’s the point of asking You? Do I take Your “promises” Out of Your context When I apply them to me and myself? My foundations are crumbled My understanding has faltered My heart is confused: Are You Friend and Father? I know You created the universe huge I know You created each person on earth I know You created each tiny (annoying) bug I know You created each one of us. Who are You? What importance am I? How should I relate to the maker of Life? Who are You? Who am I to You? What can I whisper to the creator of Life? Who are You? How does this all fit? How should I walk in this relationship With You?
Psalm 34:17-22 17When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. 20 He keeps all his bones;not one of them is broken. 21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. I learned the other day that often when Hebrew poets wrote they used a pattern to emphasize points. The pattern is ABCBA, like a mountain. In this psalm we see that pattern 3 times. The first 2 times, Skip talks about them in his talk on Psalm 34. This is the 3rd pattern. Verse 17 is parallel to verse 21: In the first, the righteous have trouble but are saved, and the last contrasts the righteous with the wicked who hate them: they also have trouble but are killed. Verse 18 is parallel to verse 20: God is near those whose hearts are broken, He delivers them (implying there was something to be saved from, a problem), and none of their body is broken (broken hearted, broken bones). Verse 19 is the climax: Even though the righteous have many trouble, God will deliver him from them ALL. All in this verse also means whole or in totality. The last verse, 22, adds emphasis to the climax, reminding the reader that God’s servants are always rescued, they are redeemed because they take refuge. So, when we take refuge in God, we are delivered, our bones are not broken, our hearts are bound up to heal. And those who hate the righteous do not have that protection and will ultimately be destroyed. That’s pretty cool… the pattern part.