(Psalm 90:1-17) Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were bornOr You gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You turn mortals back into dust
And say, “Return, you sons of mankind.”
4 For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it passes by,
Or like a watch in the night.
5 You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep;
In the morning they are like grass that sprouts anew.
6 In the morning it flourishes and sprouts anew;
Toward evening it wilts and withers away.
7 For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And we have been terrified by Your wrath.
8 You have placed our guilty deeds before You,
Our hidden sins in the light of Your presence.
9 For all our days have dwindled away in Your fury;
We have finished our years like a sigh.
10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is only trouble and tragedy;
For it quickly passes, and we disappear.
11 Who understands the power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?
12 So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
13 Do return, Lord; how long will it be?
And be sorry for Your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with Your graciousness,
That we may sing for joy and rejoice all our days.
15 Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the years we have seen evil.
16 Let Your work appear to Your servants
And Your majesty to their children.
17 May the kindness of the Lord our God be upon us;
And confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
God has always been our refuge, even before He created everything! This means that He has loved and cared about us for all eternity... His love has no beginning and no end. Liken this to saving ourselves for marriage... because we already love that person who will become our spouse and we are committed to remaining faithful, even before we know them.
Like us deciding to have children so we have more to love, even though we know there will be bumps along the way, and we cannot force our children to love us back, it is worth it. Just like that, God knew many people would reject Him, yet He still created us and He still came to earth in flesh to die for all of our sins!!! For Him, it is all worth it, in order to give us the opportunity to choose to want to know Him personally, and love Him back, and humbly rely on Him as our salvation and refuge!
Now in the meantime, for us believers, there will still be bumps along the way. But we have to realize that because we have placed our faith and trust in the Lord, our eternity is secure, and it is all very worth it! And there are benefits and blessings in walking closely with the Lord and abiding in His will.
I remember a particularly long stretch of time in my life where I pleaded for God to just give me a break from all my troubles, and He did give me a break. Although, after a few years, I started wondering when I was due for more troubles, since it had been a while. Then, I thought back over the peaceful reprieve and realized that there had been "troubles" - I had just given them all to God for Him to sort out. In all that time, I had been simply resting in His strength, wisdom, peace and guidance; so there was a quick "note to self" - remember to do this - ALWAYS!!!
Being created in the image of our Creator, means that we will have a desire to create and build and work. As believers, it should be our desire to have God approve of what we are doing. And what is pleasing in His sight are the things we have done in His strength and guidance. It stands to reason that whatever we try to do in our own strength and wisdom will fall short of what the all-knowing, all-powerful and eternal God can do. So there's another "note to self" - always remember to ask God to do things in me and through me, as well as to do them FOR me!
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