Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. The last few nights my little Mr. G has had a tough time sleeping. So I’ve been going in and singing to him, praying over him, and telling him Bible verses. The sad thing is that I remember so few verses. I realized the other night as I was telling him the 23rd Psalm, that I barely remembered it! In fact, I couldn’t remember verse 6 at all! Wow! Not cool. I had to go look it up after I finally got him to settle down. One thing I think I really like about this verse is that goodness and lovingkindness (goodness, kindness, and faithfulness) follow me. I’m not hunting them down or chaining them to me in order to have them in my life. They hunt me. Although, an interesting thought just occurred to me. If I’m walking backwards (rowing backwards up a stream), then they might even be “before” me since my back is to what is ahead. Either way, it’s pretty cool that they follow me and not the other way around. Where I go, His faithfulness is with me, as is His goodness. Even through the dark valleys and in the enemy’s presence. That’s pretty awesome. (Hmmmm, incidentally, I just realized I forgot verse 3, too. That one’s pretty important: He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.)
I don’t know what to say this morning. I don’t know how to pray. Everyone seems to have an order or formula for it, things to do or not to do, the right way and the wrong way. I don’t like coming with a laundry list, but that’s what seems to happen so often. In the early morning I’m afraid to close my eyes for fear of falling asleep again. But with my eyes open I am so easily distracted. Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. I don’t know how this works. I often feel I know so little, but isn’t that a trap, too. Sometimes I wonder if God thinks, “Just shut up and pray! Stop worrying about how much or how little you know, and talk to me!” And then I get stuck because I know I’m not perfect, and I know there must be things I need to confess, but I can’t think of any (perhaps my brain is still asleep), and then I wonder if there’s something blocking my relationship with God that I can’t remember. It’s a vicious, swirling mess. And how often does it block my ability or desire to pray. Here’s an interesting post on this very subject, oddly also from this morning (I really do think God is saying to “Just pray already!”): Read it here.
God is always faithful. He is. Even when we don’t see it, He is. (aside: for an interesting article on the difference between Greek seeing and Hebrew hearing, read this.) I’m not always the best example of remembering this, but I was reading an update from a woman who was miraculously healed, recently moved, and is now searching for a job in Spokane, Washington, and was struck by her perseverance and faith that God’s got it under control, even when it seems chaotic or uncertain. The bigger thing that struck me is that she is part of my community. We live on opposite sides of the country, but we interact and pray and study with a group of people together. This same community gave my family a gift when we were struggling, and when we can, I hope to be able to give back. Small contributions are never unimportant. The widow who put in two small coins was commended by Yeshua because she had given sacrificially and because she had been faithful to Torah in her giving to the Temple and because she had come to the Temple when perhaps, given her financial situation, it would have been easier to stay away. Interestingly, this is what I read today: Psalm 20 (NASB) Prayer for Victory over Enemies. For the choir director. A Psalm of David. 1May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! 2 May He send you help from the sanctuary And support you from Zion! 3 May He remember all your meal offerings And find your burnt offering acceptable! Selah. 4 May He grant you your heart’s desire And fulfill all your counsel! 5 We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. 6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. 7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God. 8 They have bowed down and fallen, But we have risen and stood upright. 9 Save, O LORD; May the King answer us in the day we call. This is a prayer for myself, but also for this woman in my community. I love verses 5 and 6: 5We will sing for joy over your victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners May the LORD fulfill all your petitions. 6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. We sing for joy over the victory He gives! God does save with the strength of His hand! He is faithful and reliable! Amen!
Numbers 23:3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill. This sounds familiar. When people who know want to hear from God, they get away from the noise and the crowds. Jesus did this, a lot. Moses went up on Mt. Sinai alone, he saw the burning bush alone, he went into the Tabernacle alone, and he heard from God, a lot. That’s one reason that I love my early mornings – alone. It’s quiet and I can hear. That’s not to say I hear a lot… my mind is sometimes just as bad as other noise. But it’s in these quiet moments that I get a few minutes of peace, when I can read God’s Words without distraction (for the most part – I just got distracted by looking up Jewish schools to see if my kids could learn Torah – sadly, since neither John nor I am Jewish, I’ll have to find another way), and when I can reflect on what I read instead of rushing through it…. And now G. is up and I must go. So much for quiet reflection. God is laughing at me.
Numbers 9:8 And Moses said to them, “Stand still, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning you.” Does anyone else think it’s interesting that Moses told the men who had come to inquire about Passover to be still so he could hear from God? The word for stand still here also means to stand firm. In other words, don’t run! But it does mean to stand still. It implies that until they stop and are quiet and rest and listen that Moses won’t be able to hear God’s voice. What does that mean for us today? Maybe we need to stand still, too. I know that I spend a large portion of my day running around like crazy, chasing children, discussing a lesson plan, listening to music or commentary, blaring the TV, etc. I am rarely still. When I am still, it takes all of 5 minutes for me to pass out from exhaustion. My life is often quite non-conducive to hearing from God. I have no idea how to be still. The only truly still time I have is in the morning when I write here in this blog (and even that is often disrupted by a sleepy little monkey who thinks 5am is a perfectly acceptable time to be awake). It’s hard to hear when we’re moving. So many things distract us (like not falling over something, navigation, the wind rushing by, the scenery). I need to learn to stand still so I can better hear what God has to say to me. No one said the lessons of the Bible were easy to apply. Sigh.
Psalm 56:9 On the very day I call to you for help, my enemies will retreat. This I know: God is on my side. I’ve been listening to Skip Moen’s classes on Living the Biblical Worldview where he explains the way the Hebrew writers of the Bible thought and how it differs from the Greek way of thinking that we are saturated with today. It’s pretty much rocked the foundations of my world. I’ve realized that many of the things I thought I knew and understood are not what I believed, and are built of a philosophy of thinking that is alien and opposite to the philosophy and mindset of the very people who wrote the book that makes up the basis of what I believe. I’m not particularly sure I’m even articulating what I’m thinking. I cannot recommend enough these classes (they’re on downloadable CDs on Skip’s website – http://skipmoen.com/products/). Anyway, the Psalm in which today’s verse lies is one of my favorites. It’s one where it talks about God collecting all my sorrows and tears in his bottle. It’s a beautiful image. This verse reminds me that God hears me. He’s never far away and He’s never not paying attention. His answers come quickly (just not always in the form I expect). It may be that to answer my cry for help, other events get set in motion, some depending on the obedience of another person, ultimately resulting in the answer I need.
Psalm 25:15 My eyes are always looking to the LORD for help, for he alone can rescue me from the traps of my enemies. I find that when I get in trouble and need rescuing, I look to God, but I also look to people around me. When I’m hurting, I go to people to talk. People are tangible. I can see them and touch them. I can get the comfort of a hug if I need it, too. Sometimes it’s hard to go to God for help. Not because I don’t believe He can help, but because I can’t see Him. However, this verse is a good reminder that rescue isn’t going to come from anywhere else. God is the only one who can truly set me free and keep me from harm. People are good, but God is better.