Journal Entry // May 9, 2021
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Psalm 150:6 ESV
Positive and negative, praise and condemnation, light and dark, righteous and unrighteous, truth and lies, contentment and desire, love and hate, joy and sadness, peace and conflict, patience and anxiety, kindness and harmful, goodness and selfishness, faithfulness and betrayal, gentleness and harshness, self-control and covering.
Continue reading “God’s Remedy”
Journal Entry // May 7, 2021
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Psalm 145:18 ESV
The Lord is near. He is not far away from me that it requires him to delay in hearing me. He is here with me even now in this moment. As I call upon him in truth. His truth. His word of truth spoken through the lives of faithful men and women through the ages. His word kept pure and holy. His true word.
Continue reading “Near and Present”
Journal Entry // May 6, 2021
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.
Psalm 143:5 ESV
Remember, Meditate, Ponder… The good and faithful hand of the Lord is upon me in each and every situation at each and every moment. When my spirit and my heart are struggling, the mighty works of God are the prescription for healing and strength.
David is genuinely helpful when it comes to the matters of the heart and soul. He can write a psalm where he seems so negative and distraught, so completely honest before himself and God. He lays his feelings out before the Lord and brings them out into the open. He doesn’t let his fears or guilt or shame just languish within working bitterness and doubt deep into his soul. He brings this before the Lord.
This is essentially the same as what Peter tells us when he says we should humble ourselves before God’s mighty hand and cast all our anxieties onto him. Why? Because he cares for us. This is the truth of the matter. The heavy hand of God may be upon me bringing me to a point of humility. He allows and even ordains suffering and adversity to permeate my life because he loves me. He sets me in a place of humility because he cares for me.
This is why I need to remember, meditate, and ponder on God’s good works in my life. His faithfulness and love is my motivation for enduring suffering and adversity. Better than that, I can then see that the suffering and adversity is a blessing to draw me closer to Jesus. That as I continue to keep my eyes on Jesus, he himself will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish me. Maybe not in a way that the world around me recognizes or even honors. I may never again see leadership or influence as I previously had. But I know that I will have something far more than honors in this world.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the marks I want to outline my life. I want to be so engaged with Christ that this world and all that it offers fades away. That my eyes will be able to see through the lies and deception around me as the peace of God anchors me in his love and grace and mercy and compassion. Trusting in Christ alone.
Journal Entry // May 5. 2021
I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.
Psalm 142:2 ESV
I need to spend more time meditating over this entire Psalm as it speaks directly into how I am feeling at the moment. There is such a simple and honest truth about the words and picture that David uses in this psalm that convey his feelings and emotions. You can feel his desperation, his anxiousness, his fear as he works through his soul.
Continue reading “Holy Sharing”
Journal Entry // May 4, 2021
Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds
Psalm 141:4 ESV
I am struggling with feeling trapped in this current situation of life. I know that this is where God has placed me and I know that this is surely for my best in the pursuit of delighting in Christ the Lord. I completely and most assuredly understand that this path God has set before me is for my good and his glory. But I want to turn from it and set my feet upon a path of my own choosing.
Continue reading “Wicked Incline”
Journal Entry // May 2, 2021
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! [24] And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Psalm 139:23-24 ESV
Is this passage what I truly want the Lord to do in my life? It sounds so amazing and wonderful to ask the Lord to lead me in the way everlasting, but the steps involved in this process seem overwhelmingly difficult. The Psalmist is asking the Lord to search him and to try/test him. All so the Lord can know his heart and thoughts. In order for sin to be removed and righteousness to be developed.
Continue reading “Search and Know”
Journal Entry // April 25, 2021
But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Psalm 131:2 ESV
A calm and quiet soul is one that is at rest in the loving providence and care of Almighty God. This soul understands the fear of the Lord and in wisdom chooses to be calm and quiet. This soul does not eat the bread of anxious toil, but has decided to be humbly reliant upon his good good Father. To be like a weaned child with is mother.
Continue reading “Weaned Child”
Journal Entry // April 23, 2021
It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Psalm 127:2 ESV
What does it mean to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength? One indicator of how my life is oriented can be seen in this phrase, “eating the bread of anxious toil.” This is such a good and helpful picture to help reflect on my trust and rest in the Lord alone for all things.
Continue reading “Anxious Toil”
Journal Entry // April 18, 2021
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
Psalm 121:1 ESV
I like this picture that the Psalmist paints of eager anticipation for rescue. As I contemplate this image I remember those days of utter despair filled with anxiety and worry. My heart cry was similar after a fashion in that I too longed for rescue from the trial upon me.
Continue reading “Eyes Lifted Up”
Journal Entry // April 17, 2021
Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
Psalm 119:133 ESV
I really enjoyed reading through Psalm 119 this morning. What a great reminder and challenge to cherish the word of God and let it soak deep into your soul and prick your heart. There were so many verses that spoke to me this morning that it was difficult to choose just one. The theme that stood out to me was that I should be delighting in God’s word by engaging my heart and soul with continual meditation throughout the day.
Continue reading “Keeping Steady”