Category Archives: Psalms

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Shelter

Rest in the Shadow of the Almighty

Ever watch a hen gather her chicks under her wings in a downpour? When the clouds burst, momma will spread her wings and the chicks will run to her, and in one fell swoop, she will gather all those babies under her wings and hunker down in the storm. The chicks literally disappear as she absorbs the onslaught. In your time of storm, God longs for you to find shelter in the shadow of his wings as he absorbs your storm! But here’s the deal: You’ve got to run to him!

Enduring Truth // Psalm 91:1,4

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty…He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

My wife and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary a few years back on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Kauai. It was in July, and we were on the rainier side of this lush island, and man was it raining. Throughout the day the clouds would burst and the downpour would send both man and beast running for cover.

We had a ground floor condo for the week that opened up into the grassy interior of the resort, and throughout the week, we noticed a hen and her brood of about five or six baby chicks that roamed the resort, and to our delight, often took their leisure on our patio. Free range chickens in paradise—what a life!

On one occasion when the downpour hit, we were in the room and the hen was right outside our sliding glass doors. When the clouds burst, it looked as if a fire hose had been turned on; it was unbelievable. Then the most amazing thing happened: those baby chicks made a beeline for momma hen. I didn’t know chickens could run that fast. And old momma hen spread her wings like she had done it a million times before, and in one fell swoop, gathered all the babies under her wings and hunkered down in the storm. The chicks literally disappeared from sight for about 10 minutes, while mother hen absorbed the maelstrom.

As we watched this touching scene in amazement, my wife and I simultaneously commented on these tender verses from Psalm 91: “under his wings you will find refuge.” As moved as we were by the mother hen’s love for her chicks, we were awestruck and undone by the Heavenly Father’s tender but protective love of his helpless kids—chicks like us.

What an awesome thing that we belong to a God who longs for us to find shelter in the time of storm under the shadow of his wings! And what love the Father has for us that he should send his only Son to absorb the storm of sin and protect us from the righteous wrath of the One who cannot tolerate that sin.

And the Son, Jesus Christ, still longs to gather us under his wings, as a hen gathers her brood: “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings…”

He longs to gather you, but here’s the deal: You’ve got to run to him!

Thrive: Got a storm? Start running!

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God, May Future Generations Praise You Because of Me

52 Simple Prayers for 2018

This is the kind of life that all God’s people should desire: That we would be living proof of God’s loving activity in our lives. This is the best use of our lives: that God would reveal his power, express his love, demonstrate his grace, and establish his kingdom, and of as a portrait of how blessed are those who belong to him, who love him wholeheartedly and obey him always. This is the way I want to live; this is the testimony I want to leave. May the generations that come after me recall my life and give praise to God. May they hear of God’s activity in my life and place faith in him.

A Simple Prayer for Enduring Influence:

God, make my life an enduring testimony of your great love and lavish generosity. Make all of me—my thoughts, words, deeds, relationships, and service to you—be an ongoing testimony for generations to come of your awesome greatness. Lord, I ask this not for myself, but for your Name’s sake. I confess that there are parts of me that selfishly want recognition, and there are other parts of me that act in ways that are simply incongruent with this prayer. So Heavenly Father, forgive me, purify my motives, change my heart, and never again let me stray my mission to represent you. Fill me with your enabling Spirit that I might be used for your eternal glory.
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A Love-Hate Relationship

Like Jesus, Loving Sinners but Hating Sin

It’s impossible to love God with all your heart, and at the same time mindlessly embrace the values of this fallen world. From the center to the circumference of his being, God is holy and fair. And since you belong to him, you are actually called to hate the values of this present age that set themselves up against the character and values of Almighty God. That is why it is not only appropriate, but it is critical that you pray, “God, just as your Son perfectly did, teach me to hate sin but love sinners.”

Enduring Truth // Psalm 97:10-11

Let those who love the LORD hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.

If you love the Lord, then you’ve got to hate! Hate evil, that is.

You see, it is impossible to love God with all your heart, and at the same time mindlessly embrace the values of this fallen world. You are actually called to hate those values. You see, the very foundation of God’s rule over both the larger universe and the smaller world of your life is righteousness and justice. (Psalm 97:2). In other words, from the center to the circumference of his being, God is holy and fair.

Now tell me, what is there in this present world that is fundamentally holy and thoroughly fair? Not much! For sure, you can find pockets of righteousness and justice here and there, but the prevailing forces of this present world are anything but. Everywhere you look—the media, the courts, the economy, the entertainment industry—most of what you see is unrighteous and unfair.

Now the scary thing is, we are so continually and strategically steeped in the systemic evil of this world that we easily embrace it without even thinking. It is highly likely that the daily barrage of unrighteousness and unfairness has brought us to the point of not even seeing it anymore—and if we do see, we are not even bothered by it. That is scary, sad and wrong!

That has to change! It is time to embrace a love-hate relationship with our current situation. We belong to a righteous and just God, whom we are called to wholeheartedly love. But our love for God requires us to wholeheartedly hate this unrighteous and unfair world in which we live for the time being.

So it is high time we change the way we think about our temporary residence. The Apostle Paul’s call for the transformation of our worldview is long overdue. Romans 12:2 says,

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (The Message)

A passionate love-hate relationship is called for. It will be a little risky to hate what is going on in your world. In fact, you will be hated back by the very world you hate—that is understandable—so get comfortable with it. But here’s the deal: God has promised to guard your life, deliver you to a better place (Psalm 97:10), shine his favor upon you and fill your heart with joy (Psalm 97:11) if you throw in with him.

Love God—hate evil! That’s what I’m going with!

Thrive: Here is a prayer I invite you to pray with me today: God, teach me how to love the sinner but hate the sin, just as your Son perfectly exemplified when he walked this planet. Keep me from becoming comfortable with unrighteousness and give me a white-hot passion for your holiness. More than anything else, help me to live to please you above all in everything I think, say and do.

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God, Withhold No Good Thing From Me

52 Simple Prayers for 2018

What a great promise: God will withhold no good thing from the one who does what is right. Every blessing, every provision, and every grace will freely flow from the treasury of heaven into the life of the person whose heart is full of integrity, whose ways are upright, and whose actions are pleasing to the Lord. Now that is not just an empty promise from a “prosperity preacher,” that is from God himself. Yes, what a promise!

A Simple Prayer for Every Good Thing:

God, release every divine promise that is mine by your design, held in heaven for fulfillment in my life, and cause them to become my reality. Just as Jabez of old prayed, so do I: bless me indeed! God, let your hand be with me and let your blessings reign down upon me. In every fiber of my being, empower me to do what is right—strengthening me to do your will, enabling me to love as you love, equipping my hands to touch people with your touch, and infusing my countenance with your glory so that people might see you as they look upon me. And yes, as I do what is right, release every good thing from your treasury into my life. Make me a living example of your desire to abundantly bless the life of the righteous.
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Time Flies

Teach Us To Number Our Days Aright

I’m simply stunned by speed of time these days. What once seemed interminable as a kid—school, chores, the preacher’s sermon, winter—now seems to rush by like a speeding locomotive. I blinked and suddenly this sixteen year-old kid panting to get his driver’s license is now panting just walking up the stairs. Watching my wife-to-be walk down the aisle has turned into the new adventure of grandparenting—overnight! Time flies, doesn’t it! I guess the best advice we will ever get as it relates to the speed of life comes in the form this prayer Moses offered: “Lord, teach me to number my days soberly, so that I might live each of them wisely.” Great idea: soberly assess the number of days you’ll have—then live them well.

Enduring Truth // Psalm 90:10, 12

Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away…Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom..

Time Flies!

True story: Kermit the frog was once heard saying, “Time’s fun when your having flies.” Okay, not true, but you get the point. Kermit got his idiom a bit garbled, but that is quite understandable when Miss Piggy is stalking you!

Kermit was on to something! The truth is, time does fly—whether you are having fun or not. Moses, who didn’t have the full New Testament picture of life after death, was reflecting on how relatively brief life was when he said in Psalm 90:3-6, 10,

You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered…
The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.

How true that is! Are you as amazed as I am with the speed of time? What once seemed interminable when I was a kid—school, chores, the preacher’s sermon, winter, life—now seems to rush by like a speeding locomotive. I blinked and suddenly this sixteen year-old kid panting to get his driver’s license is now panting just walking up the stairs. Watching my wife-to-be walk down the aisle has turned into the new adventure of grandparenting—overnight! Staring in amazement at the mystery of life as our daughters were born seems like only yesterday. Now they are successful in their own careers and making an impact in this world.

Time flies!

You could certainly add your own experience to the narrative. And those of you who are older can definitely add an urgent witness to the speed of life even more than I can at this stage of life: Suddenly, the grandkids are getting married; great grandchildren are arriving; the body is not working quite like it used to even though the mind still thinks of yourself as a youngster, full of vim and vigor; you are facing life without your soul-mate—and something you never dreamed possible is now a gritty reality.

Time flies!

I guess the best advice we will ever get as it relates to the speed of life comes in the form this prayer Moses offered: “Lord, teach me to number my days soberly, so that I might live each of them wisely.” Great idea: learn to number your days aright, and therein gain a heart of wisdom.

Thrive: So perhaps it would be a good idea to follow Moses’ lead and pray that prayer today—and every day: “Lord, teach me to number my days soberly, so that I might live each of them wisely.”

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I’m Still Standing

God Stands Forever And So Shall I

I doubt that you will ever have a “hit” taken out on your life, like David, but chances are there will be people in your life from time to time who will try to assassinate your character and ruin your reputation. When that happens, you can hearken back to David’s experience and, if nothing else, remember this one thing: Though people can kill your body, assassinate your character, and ruin your reputation, they can never silence your song. At the end of the day, evil people will be no more, but your integrity will keep you in favored standing with the only One who has the power of eternal life and death. God stands forever. And you belong to him, so you will stand forever, too!

Enduring Truth // Psalm 59:16-17

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

David was in trouble—due to no fault of his own. He had been a model citizen. In fact, he had proven himself a true national hero during a military crisis when Israel’s warriors had failed to step up and demonstrate courageous leadership. As you know from I Samuel 17, David had unintentionally made a name for himself on the battlefield by killing Goliath of Gath—the champion-giant of Israel’s archenemy, the Philistines.

As a result of this heroic act, David, still a young man, was recruited into King Saul’s army, and fast-tracked right to the top as captain and confidant to the moody and maniacal king. He was even given Saul’s daughter, Michal, as his wife. But things turned bad when the unstable king began to show signs of irrational and insane jealousy toward David. It got so bad that he took out a hit on David’s life.

David wrote this psalm when he got wind of Saul’s plan, and he was forced to leave his wife, abandon his home and flee for his life. As you can see from the title given in the Psalter , “When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him,” Saul henchmen were assigned to stake out David’s dwelling in order to carry out their immoral and illegal plot (Psalm 59:3). And according to David’s song, they were doing more than just trying to murder him: They were attempting to assassinate his character in the eyes of a nation that had come to adore him as their warrior-hero (Psalm 59:10, 12). So David writes about them and puts a tune to it—a song that immortalizes their evil and invites Divine destruction down upon their heads.

Now you might be wondering what all this has to do with you. Perhaps you’re asking if there is anything in this psalm that elevates it to the status of good devotional material meant for your edification today? That’s a good question—I’m glad you asked. You see, although I doubt that you will ever have a “hit” taken out on your life, chances are there will be people in your life from time to time who will try to assassinate your character and ruin your reputation. And when that happens, you can hearken back to David’s experience and, if nothing else, remember this one thing:

Though people can kill your body, assassinate your character, and ruin your reputation, they can never silence your song.

At the end of the day, evil people will be no more, but your integrity will keep you in favored standing with the only One who has the power of eternal life and death. Powerful people may try to bring you down, but he is true Strength. They may try to force you out, but you belong to him whose name is Fortress. They may make your life miserable, but you are held in the loving care of one who is your Refuge.

Evil people and unfair times will pass, but God stands forever. And you belong to him, so you will stand forever, too! So go ahead and sing.

Thrive: I normally wouldn’t recommend Elton John songs for worship, but you may want to even sing one of his: I’m Still Standing.

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Everybody Gets Cave Time

Core Curriculum in the School of Spirituality Maturity

If you are in a cave-like experience and you are complaining to everyone else but God, you are missing a great opportunity to pour out your heart to the only one who can do something about it. Good things always happen when you get honest with God. So try talking to him—and be patient, God does great work in caves.

Enduring Truth // Psalm 142:1

A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer. I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.

We all prefer to live out in the sunshine of grace, but from time to time we get the cave of hardship instead. Everybody get’s “cave time.” It is just core curriculum in the school of spirituality maturity. Call it whatever you want: the pit, the prison, the desert, the wilderness—the cave is basic training for believers.

Joseph had a prison; Moses had the desert; Jeremiah had a pit, Daniel had a den, Paul was in and out of jail so many times, like Motel Six, they “kept the light on for him.” Even Jesus had a wilderness. Oh, he got a cave, too. He once spent three days in one. If Jesus had “cave-time,” the cave won’t be optional for you. Every believer gets “the cave.”

What is the cave? The cave is a place of death, where you die to self. The cave is the place of testing, the blast furnace for moral fiber. The cave is where your mettle gets tested, your maturity gets revealed, your heart gets exposed! Put a person in the cave of distress, discouragement or doubt, and true character will show up. And if you are brave enough to open up to the truth about you, the cave will reveal just how much work God still has to do to get you ready for great things. What Moses spoke of as the wilderness of want was true of the cave of testing for David:

Do you remember how the Lord led you through the wilderness for all those forty years, humbling you and testing you to find out how you would respond, and whether or not you would really obey him? (Deuteronomy 8:2)

Likewise, the cave is the place of separation. Not only does God reveal the true you in the cave, he also strips you of every misplaced dependency. In the cave, God separated David from everything he had once depended on, and all that was left for David was God himself.

Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to both you and your ancestors. He did it to help you realize that food isn’t everything, and that real life comes by obeying every command of God. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

The cave was perhaps the most frustrating period in David’s life—but in hindsight, it turned out to be the most fruitful. That’s because the cave is also the place of forging. The cave is where God breaks you down in order to build you up.

For all these forty years your clothes haven’t grown old, and your feet haven’t been blistered or swollen. So you should realize that, as a man punishes his son, the Lord punishes you to help you. (Deuteronomy 8:4-5)

That’s what God does in the cave. And by the way, God does some of his best work in caves. It was there in the cave of Adullam that David wrote three of his most moving psalms—Psalms 34, 57 and 142, including our key verse: “I cry aloud to the Lord…I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.”

If you are in a cave and you are complaining to everyone else but God, you are missing a great opportunity to pour out your heart to the only one who can do something about it. Good things always happen when you get honest with God. So try talking to him—and be patient, God does great work in caves.

If you doubt that, just remember that empty cave on the outskirts of Jerusalem. For three days, it held a crucified body. But God does great work in caves—best of which is resurrection. Perhaps that will change your mind about caves.

Thrive: If you are in a cave experience, I would encourage you to pray the prayer of Scottish hymn-writer George Matheson, “My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorns. I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorns. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross: but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the glory of my cross: teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.”