AFRAID NO MORE

 

Ps. 56:3-4  But when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.  O God, I praise your Word.  I trust in God, so why should I be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?

     Fear is something that is common to man.  All of us are afraid of something or someone.  Fear is a good thing when it helps us to stay alert to danger and causes us to take extra care to not get in harm’s way.  Fear is a bad thing when it takes over our lives and causes us to be afraid of everything and everyone.  Like everything else, there must be a balance in our lives.

     The way we can maintain a healthy balance on fear is to put our trust in the Lord.  He calms our fears by just being there for us.  He is the controller and ruler of the universe, so there is nothing that He can’t handle.  When we trust Him, He leads us through all the dangerous situations of our lives that rob us of peace.  The Lord reassures us that everything will be alright, that He has a plan and purpose for all that comes our way and it is for our good and His glory.

     God gives us many promises that we can latch onto in our fearful moments.  When we trust the Lord and not ourselves, He reminds us of those promises.  His Word addresses whatever we may face.  When we recall God’s Word there is a peace that floods our soul as we are reminded that God will take care of us and protect us.  Praise the Lord for the precious promises of His Word!

     There is nothing to be afraid of in this life except for God.  Others may be able to harm or kill the body, but they cannot touch the soul.  No one can take you out of God’s hands.  It is God who determines the eternal destiny of the soul.  It is God whom we must answer to.  We should concern ourselves only with the status of our relationship with God and trust Him with everything else.  There is nothing to fear when we put our trust in the Lord.

A BROKEN SPIRIT

 

Ps. 51:17  The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit.  A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.

     What does God want from me?  Maybe you have asked that question.  Maybe you have been in a place where you knew something wasn’t right.  Maybe you sensed you weren’t quite in a place of contentment and peace.  Maybe you lost the sense of joyfulness in life.  Jesus told us the story of a rich young ruler who was a good person.  He tried to keep God's laws faithfully and was pretty successful at it.  He was good, but not good enough.  He knew he lacked something in his life and he came to Jesus and asked Him what it was.  Jesus told him to get rid of his riches and give it to the poor and then follow Him.  Sadly, the young man went away still missing what he needed because of his attachment to his wealth.

     What does the Lord want from me?  He wants nothing more and nothing less than a broken and repentant heart.  He wants us in a place where we know that He is God and we aren’t.  He wants us to know we need Him.  He wants us to know that we are indeed sinners and in need of forgiveness.  He wants us to really be sorry for the mess we make of our lives and the ways we sin against Him.  He wants us to turn away from our sins and attachments and follow Him.

     We must never think that we are good enough to not have a broken and repentant heart.  We must never lose our sense of need for God’s mercy and grace.  Is there anything keeping you away from the heart of God?

A CLEAN HEART BEFORE GOD

 

Ps. 51:10-12  Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Renew a right spirit within me.  Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 

     This is a prayer that when prayed sincerely God will answer every time.  There is no greater need in life than to have a clean heart before God.  Sin dirties up the soul.  It puts up a barrier between God and us and it won't go away on its own.  We must have God's help in order to get rid of it.  Only the righteousness of Christ can make our heart pure before God.  This is a prayer every believer should live by.  We should always desire to have pure hearts before God.

     When we sin there is something drastically wrong with our spirit.  The decision to sin indicates that things are out of kilter with God.  It means that we have neglected our soul.  It means that we have not stayed close to God like we must.  We have neglected His Word and failed to spend time alone with Him in prayer.

     If nothing is done about it, God will have no choice but to banish us from His presence.  A sinful soul that will not repent cannot draw near to God.  God is holy and will never let sin go unpunished.  A broken and contrite heart enables God to forgive us and wash away our sin.  Unconfessed sin prevents the Holy Spirit from working in us.  God cannot help us as long as we insist on defying Him by harboring our sin in our hearts.

     The joy of salvation floods the repentant soul.  There is great relief and rejoicing in knowing that the soul is right with God.  There is not only renewed fellowship with God, there is a renewed willingness to obey Him.  There is a real desire that when faced with the same temptation again to not yield to it.  There is a desire to do what is right with God and not what is right in our own eyes.  Obedience follows repentance every time. 

     Are you living in obedience to God?  Is your heart right with God?

HONESTY AND WISDOM

 

Ps. 51:6 But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being.

     Are you an honest person?  You cannot be trusted beyond your level of honesty.  An honest person tells the truth regardless whether or not it is convenient or self-serving.  An honest person does not take advantage of others or embellish the truth.  It is the kind of heart God desires for us to have.

     Honesty of heart defines who we really are. God is Truth and there is absolutely no falsehood within Him. The more like Him we become, the more truthful and honest we become. Honesty comes from the heart. We cannot be what is not within us. What we are in our souls will show in our living.

     An honest person knows what he is really like and is not afraid to admit it.  He is transparent before God and others.  He does not put on a front pretending to be who he is not.  Let's be honest; we're good at not being honest about ourselves.  We think we are more righteous than we really are.  We don't approach God with a sense of sinfulness very often. We hide ourselves behind our perception of righteousness.  We shut our eyes to our need for repentance.  We don't easily accept responsibility for what we do and say.

     Wisdom is simply the right application of truth. It is the ability to take what God teaches us and apply it to living. It involves submission to truth, which means that we allow Him to change the way we think about things and thus live. God wants us to be honest in our hearts. He wants us to not make excuses for our behavior or thoughts. He wants us to admit it when we sin so that we can be made right with Him.

     Be honest with yourself about yourself.  Listen to what the Lord says to you about you.  Be open to what the Lord is saying and humble yourself before Him.  Wise are those who do it.  Do you have anything you have to admit to the Lord today?

REPENTANCE

 

Ps. 51:3-6  For I recognize my shameful deeds--they haunt me day and night.  Against you, and you alone, have I sinned.  I have done what is evil in your sight.  You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.  For I was born a sinner--yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.  But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my innermost being.

     Repentance is essential because God is holy and only he who is holy can draw near to God and have fellowship with Him.  And let's admit it, none of us is so holy that we never have sins to confess before God.

     Repentance is facing up to what we have done. It is not sugarcoating the truth.  It is knowing we have sinned and doing something about it.  When we sin, we sin against God.  It is knowing that we have to answer to God for what we have done.  It is knowing that the guilt and shame we feel is warranted.  It is admitting that God is justified in condemning us for our sin.  It is knowing that God alone is the one we have to answer to for our sin. 

     Repentance involves change.  We have a change of heart and mind to not repeat our sinful behavior or thoughts.  We take measures to keep us from falling back into our sin. 

     Sometimes repentance also means we have to go to someone we have sinned against and humbly admit our sin and seek forgiveness.  We cannot know God's peace while maintaining broken relationships with man.  We must swallow our pride and seek to be reconciled with others before we can really be reconciled with God.  When reconciliation is not possible due to the other person's stubbornness of heart, we can have peace knowing we have tried.  To not try is disobedience against God. 

     Repentance is absolutely essential if we want a heart that is right with God.  Is your heart right with God today?

LOVING OTHERS

 

Ps. 48:9  O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple.

     What is a temple?  A temple is wherever God dwells.  The temple of God can be either the building in which we worship or it can be us.  Either way, do we think about God and His love for us as we worship Him?  Paul says in Romans 12 that our living is an act of worship.  As you live, do you ponder the love of God for you?  Do you think about the love of God for those around you?  God never fails to love us, even the most unlovable of us.

     The next time you encounter someone who makes life miserable for others, or makes you uncomfortable being around him, remember that God loves him as much as He does you.  God does not discriminate on those whom He loves.  He loves everybody, regardless whether or not they love Him back.  He loves unconditionally and sacrificially, and so should we. 

     How do you treat those whom God loves?  What do you think God thinks about the way you treat those whom you find hard to like, let alone love?  Do you shun anyone whom God loves?  What if God had shunned you when you needed someone to love you?  If you love someone, it shows in how you treat them.  Just remember, God loves us whether we love Him back or not.  If we really have the love of God in us, we will do the same.

BE SILENT, AND KNOW GOD

 

Ps. 46:10  "Be silent, and know that I am God!  I will be honored by every nation.  I will be honored throughout the whole world."

     Can we know the Lord if we are not silent?  We tend to do all the talking.  We know what we need and want and we tell the Lord about them with little thought given to being still long enough to listen.  When was the last time you really set aside time to just focus on who our God is?  God wants to make himself known to us on a deep level.  He wants us to grasp just how sufficient He is to meet all of our needs.  He wants us to linger in His love and holiness.  He wants us to know that He alone is God and beside Him there is no other.

     Being still and silent before the Lord is important because it stops us from interjecting our opinions and imposing our wills on the Lord.  We learn best from Him when we simply wait on Him in silence and hear what He has to say.  Silence enables us to observe the display of God in creation, life, and our lives.  It enables us to experience the awe of who God is. 

     We cannot be silent unless we are still and we cannot be still until we stop and get off the cycle of life's busyness.  Being silent requires us to come before Him with no agenda but to listen to Him.  It is a deliberate setting aside of everything that would distract us.  It is a deliberate immersing ourselves in the presence of God.  It is waiting.  It is lingering until we indeed hear from God.

     God declares His sovereignty over the world.  He makes it very clear that He is God.  Even though the world does not recognize or acknowledge Him today, there is coming a day in which every knee shall bow before Him and honor Him as God.  Today, the world is too busy running away from God fulfilling their evil pleasures to acknowledge and honor God.  Those days are numbered.  God will not be mocked.  He is Lord over all the nations of the world and all will honor Him someday as Lord.  Is He your Lord today?