Our Reading: Psalm 83 and Hebrews 1:3, 1 Peter 2:13-17

Have you ever felt hemmed in all sides by forces that conspired against you, by people who plotted your demise? This is what Asaph felt as the Israelites found themselves surrounded by people who did not serve God and wanted to wipe the Israelite nation from the face of Earth. Even in the world today, there are many nations and even groups within our own countries who wish to conspire against Christianity and wipe Christians from the face of the Earth. Our fears and anxieties may rise but we should take the example of Asaph and take our concerns to God and ask for His intervention:

“O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God! For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads.” Psalm‬ ‭83‬:‭1‬-‭2‬

Asaph knew what God was capable of. He knew the historical proof that God could defeat and destroy the plans and resources of the enemy. 

“O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest, as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, so may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane!” Psalm‬ ‭83‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭

We can relate to wanting those who wish us harm to be defeated but can we relate to the very special request that Asaph makes on behalf of those enemies?

“Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O Lord.” Psalm‬ ‭83‬:‭16‬ 

He doesn’t just want them annihilated, but he wants them to be humbled and realize their need for God as their Savior. “Shame has often weaned men from their idols, and set them upon seeking the Lord.” (Spurgeon)

This is important for us to understand. God often has to break a man’s proud and self serving spirit before he realizes his need for God and desires to seek God. All hateful, vindictive, manipulative and power seeking behavior as well as self destructive behavior reflects a soul that is yielded to selfish focus. God has to bring a person to the end of themselves before they realize their need for Him and will be willing to repent. This is something God must do in a person’s life and we can interfere with that when we try to take matters into our own hands by attacking, defending, or just enabling. We should seek the counsel of God and what He wants us to do vs not do and we should patiently allow God to intervene. 

This is a hard truth to put into application and we must have God’s help to do so. We must remember:

Evildoers do not understand what is right, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully. Proverbs 28:5 

Even on the cross, Jesus referred to this: Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Perhaps this is why God asks us to have a gracious heart toward our enemies and pray for them.

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-21

I am not advocating for someone to be a doormat for abuse or to ignore the wrong behaviors of others. I am just advocating for us to examine our own hearts and attitudes towards others. We should aim to keep the right perspective and to choose carefully our actions and responses so that we would honor God, including taking a stand to uphold his values, but also show Christian love toward our oppressors. 

Even as we seek justice and desire for God to intervene, we must have the same goal as Asaph in wanting God to stir up mighty action and opposition against those who practice evil: “that they may know that you alone, whose name is the Lord, are the Most High over all the earth.” Psalm‬ ‭83‬:‭18‬ ‭

Reflection: 

1. How do you view the difficult people in your life and do you consider your actions and reactions in the context of honoring God?
2. How do you view those who are against your Christian values? Do you pray for them?
3. Do you pray for God to do whatever it takes to bring the unsaved or the prodigal to a place of humility and realization of their need for Him? 

Prayer: Father, may we always seek to honor you, even when we have to deal with difficult people who rise up in opposition against us and against You. May we seek Your wisdom and intervention instead of just recklessly taking matters into our own hands. Help us to see our enemy as You see Him..lost and desperately in need of You. May our hearts long for You to intervene in a way that declares You to be the most high God. 

Our Reading: Psalm 63, also Proverbs 20:28 & John 10:30

Today, I want to talk about a spiritual checkup.  Just like we take time to go to the doctor to get an assessment of our physical well-being and determine areas that need attending to, we also need to do spiritual checkups and make sure our spiritual well being is healthy. The number one question to ask yourself is: Who or what is at the top of my life priority list right now? Where do I put my time, my efforts, my thoughts, my energy? What or whom do I pursue? If God is not your top answer then perhaps you have become spiritually complacent. This is not a healthy place to be. “Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress. The contented soul is the stagnant soul.”- Aiden Wilson Tozer

We must not be content to just stay where we are spiritually. I remember many years ago, my husband and I were working with a Christian counselor on our marriage relationship. Our marriage had been in such failure that divorce papers had actually been drawn up. He asked how things had been going for the past few weeks and I said “ok. Not really any worse but not really much better. Just ok”. I thought that was a good sign, but he told me that “if a relationship is not growing and thriving and moving forward, then it essentially is dying and it’s just a matter of time before it withers away”. That got my attention and changed how I attended to and assessed the health of my marriage. It also changed my view on my spiritual relationship with God. My relationships can not grow if they stay the same. It’s about pursuing connection and understanding. 

In Psalm 63, David gives us an example of why he had such a strong spiritual walk with the Lord. He pursued this relationship with passion and definitely made God number one at the top of his priority list. He was not content to be complacent. 

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”  Psalm‬ ‭63‬:‭1‬ ‭

Is that how you seek God? Is He the very essence of your survival? In a desert land without water, what good would any material possession be if you couldn’t quench your thirst? How much help could friends or family provide if they had no water to offer? You might survive a few days without water but death would certainly be inevitable. Spiritually we are in a desert of death without God’s living water to quench our thirst. 

Fortunately, God seeks to meet our need in the spiritual deserts and wilderness. He wants to be our caregiver and to have us rely on Him for our every need.

“"He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.” Deuteronomy‬ ‭32‬:‭10‬ ‭

God has always wanted to help us and provided deliverance for us. He knows our needs and He is the only One who offers us hope.

“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭19‬ ‭

He wants to strengthen us and He wants us to be spiritually thriving and effective. It’s about being in a relationship where He guides and teaches us. It’s a growing relationship, not a stagnant one. 

“And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭11‬ ‭

He is looking for those who are thirsty and seeking Him. Is that you?

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭13‬ ‭

“And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.”  Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭6‬ ‭

Reflection:

As you read Psalm 63, what stands out to you as keys to David’s passionate pursuit of God? 

Reflect upon the following hymn and search your heart to see if this is your true desire as well. For today, may this also serve as our closing prayer.

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship Thee

You’re my Friend and You are my Brother
Even though You are a King
I love You more than any other
So much more than anything

I want You more than gold or silver
Only You can satisfy
You alone are the real joy-giver
And the apple of my eye.

Chorus:

You alone are my Strength, my Shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship Thee.

As The Deer Panteth for the Water Martin Nystrom, 1984

When the Israelites were sent into exile from Jerusalem into Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah wrote a letter to them, encouraging them to be confident in the plans the Lord had for them. He wanted them to accept their circumstances, knowing they were temporary and that God was still with them and would eventually return them to their homeland. Included in this letter was a promise that God would hear their prayers and have a relationship with them if they remembered to seek Him with all of their heart.

What does it mean to do something “ with all of your heart”? It means to be passionate and fully invested. When we are forming any important relationship, we have to invest in it. We have to invest our time, our resources and our attention. If that relationship is important, we will want to make those efforts. 

Intimacy is a very special bond that is more hardwired than casual acquaintance. God desires that intimate connection to us and promises that if we seek to know Him, He will be found. To really get to know someone involves shared experiences and interactions. We have to learn more and more about that person over time.  To have a deep connection, we also have to be vulnerable and open up, allowing that person to know about us. Isn’t it amazing that our Creator wants to have that kind of a relationship with us.

Our prayer life is our opportunity to spend time connecting with God. It doesn’t mean that our prayers need to be wordy or fancy or elaborate. They just need to be humble, honest and sincere. When our prayers come from the heart, the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf and comforts our hearts in return. It’s the ultimate heart to heart connection….the connection we were designed for. 

Reflection: Are you taking time to connect with God in prayer? Are you seeking God with all of your heart? 

 Today's Scripture passage: Matthew 6

If you ever took Psychiatry 101 in college you most likely learned that when you or I choose to believe lies about ourselves they tend to fall into one of three categories: 

• 1. I'm helpless
• 2. I'm worthless
• 3. I'm unlovable

  It seems easy to grow anxious at times and let anxiety rule in our hearts and heads, but it's at those times we should stop to ask ourselves just what are we focusing on, in that moment?  

 Jesus tells us not to worry, and for good reason. He goes into great details here explaining how the Father knows our needs and has promised to take care of us. Our job is to lay all our anxiety, worry and fear at the Father’s feet and seek His kingdom, trusting that He will take care of us just like He promised.

So exactly how do we do that?

 Seeking God’s kingdom means trusting that He will take care of our needs, despite our circumstances. We start here because Jesus started here. When He is teaching the crowd about how to combat anxiety, He acknowledged the people’s needs and His Father’s ability to provide for those needs. The birds and flowers are taken care of, so we can trust that God will take care of us too. 

Jesus gives us the example of the birds and flowers, but I also find it helpful to find Scripture passages that we can claim when those anxious thoughts come. Like:

Isaiah 41:10 says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” or

Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” 

1.      Seeking God’s kingdom means worshiping Him in midst of our circumstances. We're often anxious over the things we cannot control. And believe it or not, anxiety can actually be a form of control that can also bring much harm to our own bodies and other relationships around us.  Worshiping while we wait on the answers/outcome is challenging, but if we approach God believing His promises and acknowledging that He is God, who is able to do immeasurably more that all we can ask or think (Eph. 3:20), we can worship. Even with imperfect faith, we can worship.

2.      Seeking God’s kingdom means finding where God is working around you and joining Him there. Trust Him and  turn your attention outward. We need to stop focusing on our needs and fears that God won’t provide, claim the verses that prove to us what Jesus has already assured us it will happen,  and ask Him how we can partner with Him in that work.  To seek God’s kingdom first we need to cultivate a heart that says we not only want to experience God in our own lives, but we want our world to experience Him too!

I I  I know I'm making it sound so simple, and I know anxiety can be an ongoing struggle that can last for years, but if you will begin to take every thought captive, measure them up to His truths He's given you, pray; seeking His help with turning all those thoughts over to Him and rising to walk in faith with Him to minister to others, I can promise you it will grow easier and the anxiety will decrease over time. 

L  Let your anxious thoughts become a barometer sort of speak that will point you to our King! 

B Blessings!

  s Sue

I