"This Much I Know"

"In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me." (Psalms 56:11) I may not know a lot, but I do know where my real help comes from, and it is surely not from anything from this earth. How I wish I could turn back the clocks about twenty four years or so, because I sure made some real stupid moves back then, and I had some real challenges that I faced because of them; but the thing was, I looked for help to come from the things of this world. It was not like I was not praying to God for help, because I was; it's more like I was looking for the help I needed, and then asking God to provide what I thought that I needed. At one point, for a period of about a year, I played the Lottery, and I actually thought that God was going to provide my help through a winning ticket; I even told God that I would give 10% of the gross winnings to the church, as kind of an incentive for God to make it happen. I can't believe how sideways that I had gotten in what I thought and how far I could stretch my imagination. Call it desperation, or whatever else you want, but it was actually sin; maybe even worse than sin, because sin is missing the mark; I was not missing the mark, because the mark I was aiming at was not God. When I was praying about this verse this morning, I felt the Lord telling me something about our perspective, as to whether our eyes are set vertical or horizontal when it comes to our relationship with Him. If our eyes are set horizontal, then are relationship with God is based upon relationships that we have known and experienced here on this earth; making God's character out to be based upon that which we know, instead of being something totally the opposite from what we know based upon our life experiences. How can God forget my sins? I mean, if God is all knowing, then how does He not remember my sin? I know that I sure do; and I am tormented by many of them all the time. But God, He somehow wipes them from His memory, and He sees me as if I had never sinned; that is just so amazing to me, but it shows us the mighty power the blood of Jesus has over our sins, that even the Father can no longer see them; and just in case we mess up now, then Jesus is right there, at the right hand of the Father, and He is making intercession for us. It is our vertical relationship with God that helps us to keep our eyes focused in the right direction; because if we are not putting any trust in the things of this world, then we also won't be all that afraid of what comes out of the world...
"Hearken unto Me, My people; and give ear unto Me, O My nation: for a law shall proceed from Me, and I will make My judgment to rest for a light of the people. My righteousness is near; My salvation is gone forth, and Mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon Me, and on Mine arm shall they trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall was old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be for ever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished." (Isaiah 51:4-6)