Psalm | Pedestrian God

Because of God’s Faithful Love

Jun 27 2018

In Psalm 6, David cries out to God for mercy. Actually, he’s begging for mercy. He’s crying out that he is weak, his bones are shaking, and his whole being is shaken with terror.

In verse four, he begs, “Turn, Lord! Rescue me; save me because of your faithful love.”

This cry is a strong reminder of David’s understanding of the Lord’s faithfulness. He doesn’t ask the Lord to rescue him so that he, David, could escape his pain and fear. He doesn’t ask for rescue because of how many tremendous battles victories he had won.

He asks for rescuing based solely on the fact that God’s love is faithful.

David knows that God would keep His promise. He also knows that he, David, is unworthy. There’s nothing that he had done or could promise to do that would change God’s plan.

We should approach God in prayer the same way. When we are in distress, we should turn to God – not to worldly comforts like food, entertainment, or relationships.

Don’t be afraid to cry out to God. Tell Him exactly how you feel. And say out loud that you trust that He will be true to His faithful love.

Ending Disputes

May 08 2018

I don’t often find myself in quarrels. That’s not because I’m some incredibly selfless, patient, understanding person. Rather, it’s because, at my core, I’m a people pleaser. I want everyone to be happy – and not just happy – but happy with ME at all times.

So Proverbs 20:3 makes me chuckle when I read it:

Honor belongs to the person who ends a dispute, but any fool can get himself into a quarrel.

How true! There just seem to be some people who go looking for arguments. They get angry over the smallest matters. Rather than explain themselves or make a kind request, they jump straight to the attack.

Just like last Friday. I was trying to accomplish a task for a local nonprofit when someone began to yell at me when I asked for help. When I say “yell,” I mean all-out-angry-you’re-not-better-than-me type words. I was completely caught off guard. Without going into details, I can confidently say that they were being the foolish one. But at the same time, I can’t say that I was gaining honor.

Because even in that situation, I didn’t seek to end the dispute. Honestly, I just waited in stunned silence until the phone call was over. I didn’t provoke the situation and yet I didn’t seek reconciliation either.

Good Decisions for 2018

Jan 02 2018

Happy New Year! It hurts my head a little bit to say that – how could 2017 already be gone? It was definitely an interesting year in our household. We hit a lot of milestones. Kevin’s business celebrated its 3rd anniversary. We celebrated the one-year mark with our first foster placement. I switched jobs in the summer. And released a Bible study that involved recording a podcast with it. We painted most of the interior of our house. And even purchased our first vehicle together as a married couple.

It was also a year where many of our close friends had tremendous losses. Even we had to make the hardest decision that we’ve ever faced as a married couple. We’ve been married six years and we’ve never before faced such bleak days.

But the Lord has been faithful to restore His mercy to us every day. He has been faithful to Himself and sustained us through the tough times and allowed us to rejoice over the many, many good times.

As we start 2018, I know a lot of people are making resolutions, goals, and wish lists. I started this morning by reading Psalm 1. And it reminded me of a good piece of advise to remember at all times of the year – but especially here at the beginning of January as so many of us are feeling this “fresh start.”

Psalm 1:1-3 (bold mine)

¹How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
²Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
³He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams^[a]
that bears its fruit in its season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

As we look ahead to this new year, let’s evaluate where we have been walking, standing, and sitting. Whose company have we been in? Who has most influenced us? And where do we find our delight?

Seven Times a Day

Nov 08 2017

I praise You seven times a day for your righteous judgments.”
– Psalm 119:164

What do I do seven times a day? I’ve really been thinking about this question lately. Some days I eat six times a day. You know, like a hobbit! There’s breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and, of course, the mandatory sweet snack after successfully putting a child to bed!

I don’t mean to be impolite, but I probably use the restroom seven times a day. I’m not sure; I haven’t ever counted before.

I wash dishes once a day. If a dish is missed, I leave it for the next day! And, as much as I love my husband, I’m not even sure that I tell him “I love you” seven times a day.

On a typical day, I’m awake from 5:45-9:45. That’s 16 hours. 16 divided by 7 is 2.28 (*shout out to my calculator*) So if I were to act like the Psalmist, that means I would praise the Lord for His righteous judgment every 2.28 hours that I am awake.

Like Wisemen: Solar Eclipse 2017

Aug 22 2017

Unlike all the people this past weekend begging for solar eclipse glasses online, Kevin has had us prepared for a couple months! Ever since he discovered that his parent’s hometown was in the line of 100% totality, he has planned on driving to Southern Illinois to view the solar eclipse.

I was more reticent. Would it really be worth the drive? Isn’t Jackson’s 90-some-percent going to be just as good as the 100%? But he remained passionately certain that we should go – so we did.

And the totality of the eclipse was beyond words amazing. We had done a fair amount of research before leaving to help build up hype for the trip. We watched news reports, old Walter Cronkite clips from the last great eclipse, NASA photos, listened podcasts, and sang Total Eclipse of the Heart countless times!

So we basically knew what to expect and to look for. The sun disappearing behind the moon was interesting to watch. But the last seconds before totality were breath taking. The trees around us looked like we were seeing them through a filter. There was sunset all around us in the middle of the afternoon. Cicadas made a ruckus from the fields. The moon created a last “diamond ring” with a shining bright white light. And then … totality.

All four of us quickly pulled of our glasses; we knew we would have less than two minutes to enjoy this view. God’s creation on display in a way very few people have the privilege of viewing in their lifetime.

In Genesis 1, God’s creation of light and dark are understated. The sun and moon are glorious creations that we so rarely take time to appreciate and enjoy.

Then God created people in His wonderful image. He gave us creative, imaginative minds – much like His. He gave us intellect and access to other created items so that we could spend generations studying this world He made.

So when a star appeared in Bethlehem, the brilliant minds of their day knew something was different – they had to follow this star to find the Messiah! God used creation to lead this group to Jesus.

Tag - Psalm

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Psalm 1:1-3 (bold mine)

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