relationships (Psalm 7:1-17) Getting Through Consequences and Tests

(Psalm 7:1-17)  O Lord my God, in You I have taken refuge;

     Save me from all those who pursue me, and rescue me,
2   Or he will tear my soul like a lion,
     Dragging me away, while there is no one to rescue me.

3   O Lord my God, if I have done this,
     If there is injustice in my hands,
4   If I have done evil to my friend,
     Or have plundered my enemy for no reason,
5   Let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it;
     And let him trample my life to the ground 
     And lay my glory in the dust. Selah 

6   Arise, Lord, in Your anger;
     Raise Yourself against the rage of my enemies,
     And stir Yourself for me; You have ordered judgment.
7   Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You,
     And return on high over it.
8   The Lord judges the peoples;
     Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9   Please let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous;
     For the righteous God puts hearts and minds to the test.
10 My shield is with God,
     Who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
     And a God who shows indignation every day.

12 If one does not repent, He will sharpen His sword;
     He has bent His bow and taken aim.
13 He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself;
     He makes His arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice,
     And he conceives harm and gives birth to lies.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
     And has fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His harm will return on his own head,
     And his violence will descend on the top of his own head.

17 I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness
     And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Becoming a believer through Jesus's work on the cross is the only thing that will shield us from judgment, punishment and eternal death, because we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.  Repentance and confessing our sins is what makes our hearts upright.  Being clothed with the righteousness of Jesus is our hope.  God will only judge and reward His children on their good deeds done with righteous motives.  

Meanwhile, here on earth, God will allow us to experience consequences when we mess up.  In verses 3-5, David even asks that he receive God's discipline if he has done anything wrong.  In this way, we can know to return to God and His will, in order to reconcile these matters with God and those we have hurt.

Even when we haven't done anything wrong, God will allow us to go through tests, which will help us to grow and mature in our relationship with the Lord, as well as be a testimony to others.  In all these things, the only way to pass the test is to look to Him for all our answers and solutions. 

The Lord should be the most important relationship we have  It is Jesus who gives us true hope, joy and purpose, contentment and fulfillment.  Only Jesus can "complete" us.  When we realize this and embrace Him, we will desire to serve, give thanks and sing praises to our Lord and Savior, and we will be very eager to work on our relationship with Him!  And in doing all of this, the Lord will help us work on all other relationships around us.