It's a cruel...cruel cruel summer.....-time to review! I Samuel 26-28, and some Psalms

It's a cruel, cruel, cruel summer....

Summer....it can't be over yet. Seriously, where did it go? What did I do? I keep trying to remember, but the thing is, this has been one of the hardest summers of my life. Hands down. A lot of loss. A lot of pain. A lot of trying to keep my head above water and keep doing laundry when all I wanted to do was cry.  But there was also a lot of joy, love, and beauty in the midst of the pain. I haven't done a devo blog in about a month. But when I sat down tonight to do one, I realized it was time for a recap. (I try to recap every 5 chapters or so to really meditate on what God is teaching me, and it has been more than that.) The crazy part is that these 7 or so devo blogs I needed to review, covered the entire summer.  So as I am trying to recall and review what exactly what happened to this summer, I sit down to type out a devo and what is up next for me to study? A review  of what *God* taught me this summer. Pretty cool. Pre-tty cool. God's timing. It's amazing.

I Samuel 26- Excuse me, your fear is showing.

I Samuel 26- Click here to Read it!!

In chapter 26 David displays a healthy fear of God when given the opportunity to end Saul's life. He feared God more than he feared Saul. And this was to his great credit. We could learn a lot from David here.  Too often we fear man more than God. This truth is displayed any time you try to hide a sin from someone, or fear admitting a mistake. Newsflash: God already knows! Yet too often we can try to hide sin from man, foolishly thinking it matters more what man thinks than what God knows.

Here is a list of things that we fear, and how we show that we fear man more than God:

Pain- afraid of pain? Drink it away.

Disappointment-afraid of disappointment?  Don't love others. Than you will be safe.

Loneliness- Afraid of loneliness? Date that guy/girl that you know is wrong for you. At least you won't be lonely.

Failure- Ignore God's calling. It's too scary. You might fail. 

 

Yet fearing *God* leads to freedom!

David knew that Saul's days were limited, because of God's promise. David knew his victory was going to come directly from the hand of God. He feared God, not man. He was free.

So many things that stress me out during the day are related to fear. I would challenge you to think about  this as you go through the day and find your own stress building.  Don't let that moment pass you by. Examine yourself before the Lord as we are told to do time and time again. Discover what is causing you to fear. Revisit the above list. Identify the misplaced fear and replace it with freedom. 

Fearing God leads to trusting God.

Just like our actions give away our source of fear, our actions also display our lack of fear. If you do not fear God, it will show.

This is what the Bible says about those that fear the Lord.

Prov 14:26-27 He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
Ps 34:9  Fear the Lord, all you his holy people; for those who fear him lack nothing.
Prov 19:23  The fear of the Lord is life; he who is full of it will rest untouched by evil.

Ps 118:4  Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever."

I Samuel 27- Enough already!

Click here to read I Samuel 27-

The first five words of this chapter tell us all we need to know about where David is headed. These words here:

Then David said to himself,

This is where the trouble begins. This chapter would tell a different story if it had a different beginning. Oh how I wish this chapter started with ….

“Then David sought the Lord”

Because I am just a little tired of people seeking their own hearts for counsel. It is a recipe for disaster.

Humans have this amazing and simultaneously ridiculous ability to convince themselves of anything.

But back to David:

“Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.” 

 

David felt like he had no choice but to follow his feelings. He acted powerless. So for protection he ran to the Philistines. Seriously David? I mean, you don't have to be a Bible scholar to know that the Philistines are not who he should be running to for protection. Did David forget his famous standoff with one giant of a Philistine? And now he is running to them for protection. How embarrassing.

 

 

So I refuse to seek my own heart for counsel. The heart is deceitful and wicked. Who can know it?

Instead I will:

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 55: 6-7

Read what John Piper wrote in his blog about seeking the Lord:

Seeking involves calling and pleading. O Lord, open my eyes. O Lord, pull back the curtain of my own blindness. Lord, have mercy and reveal yourself. I long to see your face.
The great obstacle to seeking the Lord is pride. “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him” (Psalm 10:4). Therefore, humility is essential to seeking the Lord. 

 

 

When I see you smile..Psalm 17

 

 

I love the Psalms because David feels every emotion and shares every emotion with God and consequently with us. Nothing is sugar coated. But in the end, he encourages himself in the Lord. And that is where I need to be. In that place of encouraging myself in the Lord. At the beginning of chapter 17 we find David in this place of desperation. Running from Saul he took refuge with the Philistines. Why David? How deceived do you have to be to seek refuge with your enemy. He is at the end of his rope. He doesn't want to fight anymore. So he cries out to God for us to read in Psalms 17

Hear a just cause, O Lord,
Attend to my cry;
Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.
Let my vindication come from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright.

HEAR ME!

Uphold my steps in Your paths,
That my footsteps may not slip.

HOLD ME UP!

I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;

O You who save those who trust in You
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,

Listen to me.

Show your loving kindness.

Keep me

Hide me.

Arise, O Lord,
Confront him, cast him down;

He has run out of ideas. He doesn't know what to do. All He knows is that He wants God to do it for him.

And I can relate.

Lord, I am out of ideas. I don't know what to do. I am praying. I am seeking. I am reading. And I am tired. But you. You are good. Hear me. Hold me. Keep me. Hide me.

As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

I want to be changed into his image. And the truth is that I become most like him when I have partaken in the fellowship of His sufferings. Sometimes we are called to act. Sometimes we call out to God to act on our behalf. But always, He goes before us. And He is able! And through it all, in this world filled with pain, I will be satisfied in Him. I will see His face in righteousness. And that is enough.

Don't Settle for Substitutes! Psalm 35

Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take hold of shield and buckler,
And stand up for my help.
3 Also draw out the spear,
And stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”

Say to my soul. "I am your salvation" 

I AM. 

He is. Whatever you need. He is.

"I am your salvation"

This is definitely my new "Print it out in about size 80 font and stick it on the wall verse."

 I need to see this all.day.long!

When I fail - He is my salvation.

When I am weak- He is my salvation.

When I feel strong- He is my salvation. 

It is just Him.

7. For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit,
Which they have dug without cause for my life.

The enemy is digging pits. And he knows exactly what bait to use. His goal? To substitute. To get you to fill your God given craving with a second best substitute. How? Ok, for you it may not that need for communion. For you maybe it is love. We all have that need to feel loved. It was implanted by God so that we would draw close to Him. But when we feel that need for love, where do you turn?

 Or what about approval? Validation? Defense? 

When someone wrongs you, do you take it to Jesus? Do you cry out like David, "Stop those who pursue me. Fight those that fight against me." Or do you pick up that phone as fast as you can so that someone can know how wronged you have been?

9. And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
10 All my bones shall say,
“Lord, who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”

Where do our souls find joy? In the Lord. In the Lord. In the Lord! JoyFULL. Then we are full. We are free to pour out that joy, that love, on others.

His name saves- all day long! Psalms 54

54 Save me, O God, by Your name,
And vindicate me by Your strength.
2 Hear my prayer, O God;
Give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have risen up against me,
And oppressors have sought after my life;
They have not set God before them. Selah
4 Behold, God is my helper;
The Lord is with those who uphold my life.
5 He will repay my enemies for their evil.
Cut them off in Your truth.
6 I will freely sacrifice to You;
I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7 For He has delivered me out of all trouble;
And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

The power in a name.

There is power in my name. "Mommy said!"

There is even more power in my husband's name. "Daddy said!"

Power.

In the spirit of full disclosure,however, in most circles, my name does not hold any power. Zero. But in my house, in my family, in my own little world, my name holds a lot of power.

But there is One whose name does hold the ultimate power.
 This is His world. His creation. His name.

Save me O God, by Your name.

He saves my soul. He saves my sanity. He saves my heart, my mind. All of it. I need to be saved. All day long. From myself. From my flesh. From temptation. And that is ok. Because His Name.
It saves! But why?

Because:

It is good.

An earthly name has power, but it is not always good, and a bad name holds destructive power. Yes there are certain names that you do not want to be associated with. Names can even  go from good to bad 

in.an.instant.

 Names can even hinder you, not help you.

But not God's name.

Jesus' name. It is good. Always. His name is sweet. Say it out loud.

His name is the quickest prayer. The quickest call for help. And the most powerful.

Jesus.

And what is the proper response?

I will freely sacrifice to You.

I will praise Your Name, for it is Good!

Call on His name today. All day. Every day. Praise His name. Praise it to all that you meet. Tell of His Good Name! And because we are saved, we will sacrifice, freely.

 

Thirsty? Psalm 63

Psalm 63
 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

This is such a powerful realization. I believe that this awareness is a key reason why David was God's choice for king. Above all, he recognized his thirst for God. We all have this thirst. Eternity is written on our hearts. But we try to quench that thirst with the things of the world. And they sustain. For a moment. But it doesn't last, and not only is the initial thirst magnified, but now we add in the frustration that comes from failing to fill that need. If we go to God first, what refreshment we will feel. Over and over David acknowledges His thirst is for God.We would save so much disappointment if we went to God first to fill our needs. Not to a spouse, a family member, a friend, a social network, and shopping trip, a refrigerator, a drink. God. Early we should seek Him because it is HIM for which our souls thirst.



2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Approach God with expectations of seeing His power and His glory because we have already, so many times.

3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

Do we believe this? His lovingkindness, better than life? The only response will be praise.
Praise.
 Lifting our hands in His name.


5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:
6 When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
The last devo blog was on the power of the name of Jesus. And as is the norm, that devo was mostly for me. But I had no idea how much. I have been so anxious these last few weeks. Anxiety is real. You can tell yourself that your problem does not compare to "real" problems. You can remind yourself that it will be over soon. But in those moments, trying to sleep, trying to function, trying to focus, what helped me? What word kept escaping my lips in a cry for help?
Jesus. One word. Meditating. He was my help, and I will rejoice!

8 My soul followeth hard after thee: 
 
So that's where that song came from!

Thy right hand upholdeth me.

Today I am thankful for God's mighty hand that upholds me. I am thankful that His well of living water does not run dry. I am thankful that while I may be surrounded by noise and distraction, His voice breaks through, and He responds with power when I call out His name. Fill yourself with the Living word of God. Quench your thirst in His presence with a position of prayer. And you will see His glory and His power! Amen!!