Credit Where it is Due

          If David, the author of most of the Psalms, has recognized anything at this point in his life, it is that there is greater promise in the Lord and His sovereign protection. Even if emotional turmoil had to come David’s way to help him understand who is ultimately in charge, David eventually stands confidently by his conclusion about God. As Psalm 3 vividly points out, David is at a point of desperation, and in that desperation, he finds that God is the key to the perfect resting place. Still, one Psalm later, David cries out to God, demanding, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress…” (Psalm 4:1).

            For several verses after crying out to God, it is almost as if David is speaking for God: “…how long shall my honor be turned into shame?” (Psalm 4:2) Translation: How long shall God be put to shame by vain words and lies? Then, David reminds those who suffer for the sake of Christ Jesus: “…know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself” (v. 2).  God is everything we need (Psalm 1), and yet He still chooses to set us apart for himself!

            How can we allow our lips to speak lies? How can we utter such obscene insults and lies? The Lord is our righteousness, our source of joy, our lover, and our sunshine that lights our way. He is our shelter, our refuge from war, and our healer – yet he chooses us!

            No wonder David commands us to “ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent (Read Psalm 46: 10)” (Psalm 4:4) We are “set apart” (Psalm 4:3) for Him; sinners, offenders, and scoffers, undeserving of His presence. David understood this more than anyone, after what he had done to sleep with another man’s wife. David realizes God is offering him another chance, and because of this, he wants to make known God’s gift of second chances.

            Despite all David has gone through (committing adultery with his best soldier’s wife, being responsible for killing his best soldier, the death of Amnon (son #2) – Absalom (son #1) murdering him, Absalom’s desire to take over with selfish pride and power, and fleeing from his own son’s worldly desires), he has come to genuinely believe that God is more than words will ever express. He begins this deep, intimate, love relationship with God and therefore cannot stop expressing his devotion to God.

            Most importantly, through fleeing, David submits to his true Authority. He sees the second chance he is given and cannot stop rejoicing. Downcast and covered in his own sin, David sees that there is hope, and he takes every opportunity to glorify God through it.

            And boy, does it change his life.

            Do we allow God’s second chances in our lives effect the way we live again? Do we allow ourselves to “ponder in [our] own hearts on [our] beds, and be silent”? When we commit our lives to Christ, do we sing the way David does? Have we praised the way David has? After all, he is our safety, our refuge, our everything.

           David made certain God received credit for all that was going on in His life. He had developed a habit: praising God continually. Nothing could stop him from singing and reflecting on the goodness of God. In fact, nothing can match the joy he has felt when basking in the presence of the Lord: “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound” (Psalm 4:7).

            God was everything to David. And, if we are to “ponder…and be silent,” we will find ourselves climbing back into the Father’s arms, taking in with awe the indescribable and inspiring power that the Highest of Highs holds in so many forms; reliever of stress, gracious King, personable and loving, listener, giver of joy, peace bringer, and refuge - a list of only a couple of his many attributes. 

Do we give Him the credit He deserves, like David did?

Being Faithful: Selfish-less

Being faithful to a calling is never easy. Most of the time, we do not want to be governed by another schedule, plan, or set of commands. Our dream vacation consists of what we want to do, when we want to do it; and, every hour of the day is organized by you, and you alone. Even when someone confronts you with the notion that their wish for you is the best option, you don't want to believe them, even if it is the truth. An independent life with no strings attached is exactly what we want. Our culture complains when we have to pay bills, listen to a job training seminar, attend classes on the weekend, and an endless list of other things. Worse yet, we think it is OK to complain; we think we are doing ourselves and those around us some kind of favor. When we moan, we want someone to agree with us in order to ultimately make us feel better. When someone agrees with us, it makes us want to complain more. And, the cycle begins.
What selfish people we are! We gravitate towards getting our way, and when we do not, we throw the tantrums like the ones we spent most of our time teaching children not to do. Our complaining is like a virus that convinces us that our lives are far more important than anyone else's. As Christians, this selfish behavior should alarm us. We should immediately wake up from this deceitful attitude and start walking on the path we are called to engage - and do it with a positive attitude.
If the Lord has called me to follow through on a command, He most likely will not tolerate a negative attitude. However, we still gravitate towards our desires and our own goals. On the outside, we smile and nod, knowing that God will be pleased with us when we cheerfully follow his commands. On the inside, we groan, moan, whine, complain, mumble, daudle, and shake our heads. We may even cut as deep as cussing, refusing, and labelling God as a failure to bring us happiness. As a result, we crush the relationship with God we built. Like a cheating wife, we threaten God and express our desire to walk away from the marriage.
Proverbs is a beautiful book because it talks all about wisdom. Chapter 3, verse 3 says, "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." No matter what, be faithful in what you do. Being faithful means sticking to the cause, no matter what the condition. It means focusing on what you were called to do, and doing it with love and devotion to the Lord. It does not matter how we feel or what we want. In the end, we need to be faithful without expecting anything in return - with 100% of our effort. Furthermore, faithfulness means loyally committing to His Ways and doing "everything without grumbling" (Phillipians 2:14).
Moses is a good example of someone who had a difficult time accepting God's purpose for him.  "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:11), Moses quizzically asked. Even after God reassured Moses, saying, "I will be with you", Moses still had questions of doubt. In the same way, what God has called us to, He will bring us through. God is with us and will pull us through what we are called to do. As chosen ones, God will ensure that as long as we are faithful, we will not fail.
So, since God will bring us through what He called us to, let us have an attitude that spreads the Gospel; "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth" (Psalm 57:11). Remove the grumbling, the complaining, and the selfishness, and instead replace it with praise and devotion. Most importantly, be faithful and "serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people" (Ephesians 6:7).

Making Monotonous Marvelous

Ever have those days where you wake up and realize there is nothing in front of you but free time? And, when you have that free time, the only person around to share that free day with is you? Well, sometimes those days feel so monotonous and boring. In fact, it is obvious these days exist because many are so quick to voice their opinion on how they feel about days like these.

But, who could possibly disagree when your day is filled with nothing but you and your thoughts? Life certainly does not feel exciting or adventurous when your doing the smallest tasks that seem to make no difference to the world around you. Consequently, a quiet and lonely day to yourself seems grey, dull, and lacking excitement. In some cases, we want to become busy just to remove ourselves from the routine of boredom. We want to make everyday exciting, but some days are irresistibly mundane and stale. 
So, what's the remedy? What can we do?

We can change our attitude. After all, if we even have the slightest temptation to blame our day on anything, it should be our attitude. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (NIV) When we claim we are bored, it might be so, but do you think God's intention in making us was to entertain us? Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love, Forgotten God, and co-author of Erasing Hell, points out in Crazy Love that "The point of your life is to point to him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified."

Whatever you are doing - no exceptions - God wants it to be for him. Imagine your life as a tribute to God's goodness. He has given you the blessing of living in what he made, so owe him back your life. Make everyday extraordinary by placing God in the center of it; it's biblical! We need to do everything for the Lord. If our boss tells us to do something, you would do it with a joyful spirit - in the same way, "be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful" (Psalm 68:3, NIV). Do everything for the Lord, and rejoice while doing it.

It is your attitude and your choice; be a steward of the minutes you are given, and no matter how monotonous the day feels, make it monotonous for the Lord. Your entire life is his, and he deserves our best. Make monotonous marvelous, and see how God works through it. 

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Just Stop and Think

When Life Throws You Lemons...

Do you ever feel like some people are out to get you? Better yet, do you ever feel like life in general is out to make you feel miserable? Sometimes, when life throws you lemons, you cannot simply "make lemonade;" all you can do is get hit by them and hope no permanent damage surfaces.

Fortunately, those "lemons" are the worst of it. David, from the Bible, was not always in the most optimistic situations. David had a son, and his son was jealous of David's position as king. So, his son tried to kill him. If there are any such lemons that hit hard, it is these type of lemons. How can one rejoice in sufferings like this? Romans 5:3 says, "...We also rejoice in our sufferings, because suffering produces perseverance." The great news is that our troubles, our "lemons," produce growth and shape us into strong men and women. The bad news? One does not normally see the good news while the bad news is current. However, through all the chaos and the pain, we can take refuge in something greater than ourselves.

Psalm 4 is all about David expressing his dependence on God. He begins chapter 4 by admitting that God is his  safe net. Furthermore, the chapter then gives any and all readers something to relate to. "You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him" (Psalm 4:3). Are you considered Godly in the eyes of the Lord? Can you be certain that, as you have faithfully served the Lord, He will protect you and set you apart from the wicked and chaos?

As the storms come and you feel there is a small chance you will get out alive, know that God has already got you covered. Your level of safety far outweighs whatever you go through in this life. If you depend on God as if your life depends on it, the safety you feel will eliminate the fear you hold. Take heart, for "In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe" (Psalm 4:8).

Enough is Enough

A little bit more... a little bit more... a little bit more. We are never satisfied. We are always searching for more, making our ability to be content one of our biggest weaknesses. Once we feel content, we find ourselves comparing to others who "appear" to have more.When we feel we don't have enough, we want more; we get some, and hope we can receive more. We go on and on, never recovering from this problem with material possessions.
But the baby wasn't born yesterday. The Israelite community struggled with this when the Manna reigned down from the heavens. Exodus 16:15 mentions Moses telling the Israelites to 'gather as much as they need,' and nothing more. Verse 18 says, "the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed." In other words, every had just enough. The people gathered everyday, and everyday grabbing just enough. However, the seventh day rolled around and God specifically commanded the Israelites to hold off on the Manna. Yet, despite God resting on the seventh day, the people still went out looking for Manna. They found none, for Moses had specifically told them no Manna would be in sight (v. 26). Sadly, the Israelites thought of themselves and what they thought they needed.
But let's backtrack. Each day the Israelites collected the Manna, they could not save it for the next day. Despite Moses' command to not save it, some of the Israelites still tried to save it, only to find out the manna would be rotten, full of maggots, and inedible. The Israelites wanted to save their Manna in order to have more enough, and God reminded them that just enough is perfectly enough.
Aren't we just like the Israelites? Aren't we always desiring more? In the New Testament (Luke 3), John proclaims to the crowd he is about to baptize how they can avoid the wrath of God. When the tax collectors asked John, he replied, "Don't collect any more than you are required to (v. 13)."
God provides us more than enough, but so often we are unsatisfied and lose the content spirit we are called to have (read Hebrews 13:5). All you need is God, and his presence is near to you; He promises he will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrew 13:5). However, destruction will come your way if you try to search for something or someone more satisfying.
The Lord is enough. Be satisfied in Him, and always remember that God knows exactly what you need, and He will supply it as water supplies life for a plant (Matthew 6:25-30).