(Psalm 66:1-20) Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2 Sing the glory of His name;Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will pretend to obey You.
4 All the earth will worship You,
And will sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” Selah
5 Come and see the works of God,
Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of mankind.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through the river on foot;
Let’s rejoice there, in Him!
7 He rules by His might forever;
His eyes keep watch on the nations;
The rebellious shall not exalt themselves! Selah
8 Bless our God, you peoples,
And sound His praise abroad,
9 Who keeps us in life,
And does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For You have put us to the test, God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon us.
12 You made men ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water.
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was in distress.
15 I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat animals,
With the smoke of rams;
I shall make an offering of bulls with male goats. Selah
16 Come and hear, all who fear God,
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was exalted with my tongue.
18 If I regard wickedness in my heart,
The Lord will not hear;
19 But God has heard;
He has given attention to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His favor from me.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Our personal relationship with the Lord God Jesus Christ can be likened to both a child-Parent relationship, as well as a wife-Husband relationship (which is the closest earthly relationship one can have, as there is intimacy, oneness and committed love). In the marriage-like-relationship with Jesus, we have been given His indwelling Holy Spirit to be with us always, moving in our hearts to convict, prompt and guide us. In our relationship, we are able to share with the Lord our every thought, struggle and stride. It is in this relationship - only - that we can find our True Soulmate, who will "complete" us, fulfill us, and "get" us!
In the child-Parent relationship, we can count on the Lord to be our perfect heavenly Father, who is not just love, but He is also holy and just. God does and will punish the wicked and rebellious. But with His children, He will discipline us. Since He never forces anyone to love Him back or be obedient, as a good parent, He gives us that freedom. We should be ever so grateful for His amazing patience, tender-loving kindness and grace! And because He cares, He will allow consequences into our lives, to get our attention in order to draw us back to Him.
Even when we are doing as we should, God will allow tests and trials to come into our lives. As verse 10 says, He will refine us as silver is refined. All of this is only to make our faith and trust in Him stronger. In this, He will bless us, as we go "through the fire" while continuing to bless and honor Him, being obedient to His will in His strength, God hears, saves and helps the humbled heart.
I have been through a few things where, while I depended on God, I was expecting Him to fix the situation or fix the other person. But there were a few times where I was the one who needed fixing. As we go through any situation, it will always be an opportunity to learn and grow in the Lord! There is always something good that God is working out - even despite us and any clumsy, wayward mistakes.
As with any close relationship, because we love and care, we will make an actual effort to maintain two-way-communication. We will be delving into God's word, so that He can speak directly to us, and we will be constantly praying to the Lord, thanking and praising Him. When we don't bother with one or both things, we start to take this most precious relationship for granted and we will drift away.
Obviously, we are more valuable in any circumstance when we remain steadfast. It is in our obedience that we demonstrate our faith, trust and close relationship with the Lord, not because we have to, but because we want to. And whatever we are going through, the biggest "ah-ha" anyone should realize is that - the answer is always to ask and allow God to help! To be like little children who adore and rely on their Father for everything, He wants us to keep running to Him - for everything!
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