The Eternal Perspecitve

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more. I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

This week has been one of those weeks. You know, the type of week where you are beyond exhausted and nothing seems to make sense. The type of week where nothing seems right and everything goes wrong. This week seemed to be the type of week, in which you search deep inside for every ounce of strength just to make it through the week. Okay, maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but it has been a tough week. But I am so thankful to serve a God that cares - even in the tough times, He cares.

I love the last portion of this verse, "LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure." There is nothing more desirable than the Lord. Once you taste the sweetness of the savior, nothing satisfies you more than Him.

Psalm 34:8

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

What is most excellent about our God is He wants us to take refuge in Him. Regardless of your situation, whether good or bad, the Lord wants you to take refuge in Him. He is our protector, our shield, our very present help in trouble. If God is our refuge, then why does life hurt so much? Why is there so much pain, agony, stress and anxiety? Because we are not taking refuge in God. Yesterday, as I was walking to the parking garage, it began pouring down rain. I was in the middle of the block without shelter and without an umbrella. As I scrambled to find shelter, the rain seemed to pour harder. I couldn't see where I was going, and my clothes seemed to get heavier, as the water saturated them. I ducked into a parking garage, not my destination, but shelter nonetheless. As I cleared the water from my eyes, I noticed others who were huddled together under the shelter from the rain. You see, we have a choice - when situations come at us, it is like the rain that is pounding on us. We can choose to go into shelter, or we can choose to remain in the rain.

So, how do we take refuge in God? These words in this Psalm echoes in my heart:

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

God shows us how to take refuge in Him, its right here in the scriptures. God has laid out the boundary lines for us, He directs our paths - even at night he instructs our hearts. If only we keep our eyes on the Lord, we will not be shaken. He will lead us, he will guide us. As long as we keep our eyes on Him, everything else seems so small. It's the eternal perspective. As long as we look at our current problems, they look massive. Our problems seem to be massive, they seem to have no ending, and it seems like there is no way out. If we relinquish our control to God and take refuge in Him, then He grants us that eternal perspective. A perspective that makes us realize, it's not all about us. An eternal perspective makes us realize that there are others hurting, maybe hurting more than us, and need us to minister to them. We are called to the great commission, to lead others to the Lord, but how can we do that, when we are broken and hurting? Allow God to minister to your brokenness, allow yourself to take refuge in the one true living God. Take the time to allow God to minister to you, healing any brokenness that may be in you, even deep down. Maybe it's calloused over through the years. God is everything we'll ever need.

Praising our Lord!

Psalm 147

Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp. He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Extol the Lord, Jerusalem; praise your God, Zion. He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you. He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat. He sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes. He hurls down his hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? sends his word and melts them; he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow. He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Praise the Lord.

I hope you are having a wonderful day, I know I am. Today is my birthday. Birthdays were always special days in my household growing up. I've continued the tradition. A lot of people dread the birthday as they grow old. Me, I love it, everything about it. I find it as a day to rejoice in the Lord, for granting me another year to serve and praise Him. So, I want nothing more, than to praise God today, on my special birthday.

What better way to praise the Lord, than Psalm 147! I love going to the Psalms, they give you such inspiration to praise the Lord, even in the bad times. So, what reason do we have to praise the Lord? Well, have you ever felt like you just don't belong? I have, and quite often. I was the one that no one wanted on their kickball team - mainly because I could never kick the ball. I was always the last one chosen. Perhaps I wasn't the one wanted for the kickball team, but God chose me to be on His team. It says in Psalm 147, that He gathers the exiles. The ones that were not chosen and he cleans them up. He heals their broken hearts and binds the wounds. Can you remember a time when you were broken? Perhaps your heart is broken now, but God has come to bind up the broken hearts. I love nothing more when I am feeling downcast, to crawl into my Daddy God's lap. Feeling His presence all around me, like a blanket being wrapped around me, brings such comfort. It truly heals the brokenness. God understands your pain. He is the only God that became human, just so He could understand our pain, and then suffered the pain of the cross. God is such a mighty God, yet He cares even for the smallest of things. He cares about all of His creation; He even has named all of the stars. He places the clouds in the sky, to protect us from the sun. He feeds the grass, cattle, and ravens. He provides strength to the humble - why should you not praise the Lord! He is worthy of all praise, and He delights in the praises of His people. So, let us take the time to praise our Lord, today!