Blessed.

Psalm 145:13b-19

"[The Lord is faithful in all His words and kind in all His works.] The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them food in due season. You open Your hand; You satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them."

God truly is so faithful! I cannot believe how good He has been to me. He has blessed me with so many things. The fact that I have been privileged to be at Lee is a HUGE blessing. A Holocaust survivor spoke in chapel today and he kept telling us to stay in school and to pursue an education because so many people do not have this opportunity like we do. We so often take our ability to go to college-- specifically, a Christian college-- for granted. When you really think about it, we are extremely blessed to be here. Gosh, we are free to talk about and study the Word every single day! There are people all over the world who give their lives in order to read even one page of the Bible!

I was walking to work one day this week and had a major epiphany about my job. God has been so good to me! I have the best job on campus. I never take time to really think about it and thank Him, but I did this week. It's challenging to truly consider the amount of blessings we have in our lives.

And now, I have been given the opportunity to move to the Philippines to become a teacher in a school for missionary kids! How crazy is that?!? It has been a stressful week of praying and figuring out what God wanted me to do. I was so overcome by my fear, that I didn't even realize what was placed before me. So many people graduate from Lee and never end up doing what they study to do. I have been given an open door to go out onto the mission field immediately after graduating with a degree in missiology! I have nothing tying me down. Sometimes I look at how people's lives seem to be so together. Friends are getting married, having babies, and starting their lives as adults-- and here I am. I feel like I have finally realized that this is not a bad thing at all. I have the freedom to get up and move to another country. The only one I had to consult was God (and a few people I look up to for advice.)

Anyways, I just had to brag on my God. He is good. Not just to me...but to all of us! We just need to consider all of the things in our lives and really take into account how blessed we truly are.

You Hem Me In. (139)

vs 3: "You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways."

 It's interesting because the word search can also mean "scrutinize." He investigates, scatters, disperses, etc.  He is completely in control of our paths. He will lead us, but He also gives us the freewill to decide whether or not we will follow Him. He also knows when we withdraw from company and ponder on the things in our day. He knows every thought, action, and desire that we have. He knows what we will do before, during, and after we have done it...even when we forget.

vs 4: "Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether."

He knows every single thing that comes out of our mouths-- good and bad-- and He knows the motives behind them. Specifically, we we have to make a decision, He knows exactly what we are to speak. Even before it precedes out of our mouths, He knows our thoughts (vs 2.)

vs 5: "You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me."

Hem = enclose: meaning, He secures, binds, shuts up. (1) He binds us to Himself, and He gives us brothers and sisters in Christ that He also binds us to. (2) When there are broken places in us, He will come and heal those places. He will make us whole and secure once again. (3) It also brings assurance that He is our maker. He has sewn us together piece-by-piece. We are His handiwork.

He closes us in from behind--signifying the fact that He has protected us from the back. We are unable to see when we are being attacked from behind, but He does not make us vulnerable to the enemy who attacks. He also closes us in before-- He secures the path before us. He does not make it a crazy game, but gives us security and steadiness.

He lays His hand on us-- Commentator, Matthew Henry, suggests that this could indicate the work of a physician, who checks our vital signs. He knows us and knows where we are spiritually. He cares about where we are. The laying on of hands in Scripture often precedes and anointing, commissioning, or healing.

vs 6: "Such knowledge is to wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it."

All of this goes beyond our understanding. He is so great and so merciful to us that our minds cannot fully comprehend it. We are unable to fully understand all that God does.

You Know Me. (139)

I feel like the Lord wants me to study Psalm 139. Even though I know it well, I believe the Lord wants to teach me-- and maybe some of you-- some of the truths found in this passage. I've decided to break it up and look at each verse very carefully.

vs 1: "O Lord, you have searched me and known me!" 

The fact that David says that God searched him indicates that time has been spent in getting to know David. When we search for something, that means we look in every little area in order to find it. It is looking for something specific, having confidence that it will turn up. This makes me think that when God looks at us, He looks at every part with the intention of finding something specific...that thing He has instilled in us. Purpose, calling, identity, confidence. It could be anything. But God knows that it is in us, even when we doubt it. Not only does He look us over, searching our entire being, He also knows us. This Hebrew word is "Yada," which is the term used when Scripture says that "Adam knew Eve." While it implies sexual union, it goes beyond that. It indicates an intimacy, and deep knowledge of one another. Something that cannot be shared with those outside of the union. So, when David says that God knew Him, he meant that there was a special connection between the two. God knew David so intimately and deeply that the human mind cannot comprehend. 

vs 2a: "You know when I sit down and when I rise up" 

Looking at the Hebrew meaning for "sit down," I found that it means "inhabited" or that there is no one dwelling there. What if that meant that the Spirit was not actively dwelling? Just a thought. Also, we can understand that it would suggest that one is remaining in the same place. So, when we remain stagnant and are unmoving, God still knows us. He even knows us when we are cold and dormant inside. Thinking of sports (weird for me), when a player sits out, he is unmoving and is not active in the game. Not a good place to be. When we "rise up"-- this means that we are "established, confirmed, fulfilled." Think of a goalie (I know, I know...sports for the second time!) He has to keep his feet firm on the ground, so he can be ready when the ball comes toward him. Yes, he'll have to jump or run to catch it, but he he feet remain firm on the ground as he prepares for what will come at him. In both times-- a stagnant state and an established state-- He knows us. 

vs 2b: "You discern my thoughts from afar." 

God has discernment, understanding, and insight into ALL of our thoughts-- the good and the bad. Yet, He still chooses YADA. He still wants to know us. The Hebrew also suggests that this discernment implies attentiveness, which shows us that He is constantly ready to act on our behalf when we need Him. At even just one thought, He is 'listening.' It's hard to believe that He could care enough to give us even the smallest of His thoughts, but He chooses to acknowledge our thoughts.

Creation and Renewal.

As I was driving back up to Cleveland from church tonight, I spent time praying and worshiping. Psalm 51 kept going through my mind. I believe this is a prayer that we all need to pray at times. Not only does God create-- He created the formless earth and made it sprout with life, but He also renews and gives new life to things that have become formless once again. When He breathes His life, growth occurs.

Create in me a clean heart: Lord, purify my heart and make it clean. Let my intentions be pure. Transplant my heart of stone for one of flesh. Give me Your heart. Let me love like you love.

Renew a right spirit within me: Give me a refreshing of Your Spirit. Let the old ways and old things pass, so that new things may come. Till up the hard ground in my heart so I can receive deposits from You.  Holy Spirit, rain down on me so that new life may sprout up. Let the light of Your face shine on me so that new things can come. Nothing will grow properly unless You are in the midst. Renew what has been dead or dry. I want to be refreshed. I want to be in right standing with you.

Cast me not away from Your presence: Don't let my foolishness bring about a breech between us. In Your presence there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16.) I want to maintain the joy of my salvation. I don't want to get so bogged down with life that I neglect to seek Your face and spend time with you.

Take not your Holy Spirit from me: Don't remove the anointing from my life. I want to maintain the power that comes with your Spirit. The sealant of my life, assuring me of my salvation. I can't stand the thought of having a distance between us. I am desperate for the work of Your Spirit in my life. Refresh, anoint, empower, and lead me in all things.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation: Let me not forget the joy that comes with the newness in a relationship. I want to remain excited about Your work in my life. Don't let me forget what You have saved and protected me from.


Change my heart, oh God
Make it ever new
Change my heart, oh God
May I be like you

You are the Potter
I am the clay
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray

Established.

Psalm 138:8 "The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me..."
Psalm 57:2 "I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me."
Psalm 37:23 "The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in His way."
Proverbs 16:3 "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established."
Proverbs 16:9 "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." 


The Lord has a plan.
And it will happen.
If WE commit ourselves to HIS will.


If we try to plan out our life according to the way we think it should happen, we aren't surrendering ourselves fully to God. I strongly believe that God has instilled dreams in each of us. He places things on our hearts that He wants us to do. The problem is that we oftentimes twist those dreams and make up our own plan with how we want our lives to turn out. It is not wrong to dream and make plans. In fact, God created us to be dreamers. He wants us to dream. But He wants us to dream in such a way that is in alignment with what He has purposed.

Proverbs 16:9

a.) "The heart of man plans his way"-- In our hearts, we plan out our lives. Plan (chashab) in Hebrew means:  invent, devise, make a judgement, imagine, count. Replace the word plan with any of these words. It's kind of crazy how it sounds. "The heart of man invents his own way"/"The heart of man devises his own way"/"The heart of man imagines his own way." The word we use (plan) sounds a whole lot less intense. To say that my heart invents its own way alludes to the fact that it makes up a different path than what God has for me. It almost sounds rebellious...like I can do life on my own. False. 


b.) "but the Lord establishes his steps."-- Establish (kuwn) could also mean: direct, accomplish, fix, to be firm, to be stable, to set up, to be secure, to be enduring, to prepare. This sounds much more stable than to imagine or invent a plan. "The Lord makes his steps to endure"/"the Lord prepares his steps." Meaning, God will stabilize our steps and will lead us down the path that He chooses for us. 


When we stop trying to invent our own way and we allow God establish His way, the path before us will be one of security and endurance. 


Talking about paths and steps makes me think about the narrow road that Jesus told us to walk on. Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." 


If we go down the path that we choose for ourselves, it is as if we are making a choice to go down the wide path. When we follow the Lord and allow Him to lead us, we will be walking down the narrow path that leads to life.