Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Trust me. A prayer for relief....Psalm 123-125



It's January again. Which statistically speaking is like a month of Mondays. This is not me being negative. It's science people. Many just get sad in January. For some it is sickness, for some it is bills, and for some it is just the everyday ups and downs of life. I am not immune from this affliction. And from the conversations I have been having with friends, you aren't either.

My life line over the past few days, this piece of scripture that has been trying to infuse my soul is Psalms 123-125.

Psalm 123 Unto You I lift up my eyes,
O You who dwell in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us.

3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled
With the scorn of those who are at ease,
With the contempt of the proud.




I lift my eyes to You! Until you have mercy on me. I wait.
Lord. Have mercy.
I am filled with contempt.

I want to be filled with you.

I will look to you. Until you have mercy. I will look to you. I will not stop. Relentless.
Because.......

The Lord the Defense of His People

124 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,”
Let Israel now say—
2 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have gone over our soul;
5 Then the swollen waters
Would have gone over our soul.”

6 Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us
as prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers;[a]
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help
is in the name of the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.




If it had not have been for the Lord....Let Israel now say! If it had not been for the Lord who is ON OUR SIDE!!! Say it with me people, He is on our side!!
IF it had not been for Him, they would have swallowed us alive.

What is swallowing you alive right now?
Your job? Your health? Your relationships? Your commitments? Your schedule? Your failures?
If not for the Lord.
This tells us that the waters will NOT overwhelm us, the streams will NOT go over our soul. Because of the Lord.
Our snare is broken! We are FREE!
But sometimes it doesn't feel like freedom. Sometimes it feels like frustration. Because we need chapter 125.

The Lord the Strength of His People

A Song of Ascents.

125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.




Trust. Those who TRUST in the Lord. They cannot be moved. They cannot be shaken. Trust. When you are truly trusting, frustration fades.
Because frustration comes from fear. Fear of pain, disappointment, misery, loneliness, ridicule, rejection, sickness, failure.
Fear.
What are you afraid of?
God is bigger than your fear. He promises that if we trust, we will not be shaken.
I have felt shaken today. And yesterday. Yet the Lord keeps reminding me, since I first laid eyes on this passage and have been chewing on it,
Trust Me. Trust Me.
Trust me with your time. Trust me with your responsibilities. Trust me with your schedule. Trust me with your planning. Trust me with your relationships. Trust me with your family. Trust me. With every piece of your day that didn't go like you hoped it would go. Trust me and feel the freedom I have given you.
Walk in Faith. Not frustration.
I believe. Lord, help my unbelief.
Read over those three psalms again. Print them out. Pray them. Hear the Spirit say...
Trust me.
Trust. Me.
And you will not be shaken. You will be Free. You will not be overwhelmed.
And then 10 minutes later. Hear Him again. All day long. He wants us to trust Him. When you feel that frustration rising up in you, reflect. Hear Him again.
Close your eyes and hear Him say:
Trust Me. And remember that Lord surrounds His people. From this time forth and forever more.
Amen.









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