"A Song of Deliverance"

PSALM 40 [To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.] No matter what you might think about that last Psalm, whether or not it inspired hope, you can bet your life that God has delivered you from the pit of hell; therefore, here we are with this wonderful Psalm of deliverance, as the title reads above it in my Bible. Actually, this is another Psalm that has two parts, as there is another title written above verse twelve that says, "A Prayer for Help"; it seems that no matter what condition that we are in, or where we are in our relationship with God, we will always be dependent upon God; and so it should be with our hearts and minds, because we should never think that we have arrived until we are actually standing in His presence. I like the fact that this moves from hope to deliverance, because it is the fact that we have been delivered from all sin and death that we have our hope in the first place, so in this we are being assured the more. I just can not hear or read it enough that "Blessed Assurance Is Mine", especially in these wicked days that we are living in. If I didn't know any better, I would think that everyone was on drugs the way those that are in charge of things are changing the culture in which we live; but it is a thing called power that has grabbed hold of their very souls; so much so, that they do not believe they are accountable to anyone else but themselves. Do not be mistaken, God is still on the throne, and He is still in control; this world might be spinning out of control, but it cannot spin out of His hands, and all will be judged for their wickedness. I would like to liken this Psalm to Daniel chapter three, which is the story of "The Fiery Furnace" and "Shadrach, Messhach, and Abednego"; it has all of the elements of how power corrupts, the power of God, and how we are to take the side that is more powerful, no matter what way things may appear... "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." (Daniel 3:16-18)

"Hope For Today" -2

"O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more." (Psalms 39:13) Obviously there is still something that God has to do in you, for once He starts a work in us, He will finish it; but if you really stop and think about it, He has been working His plan out in you since before you existed. We just have no idea just how involved God is in setting the stage for our entering the world, but we can see how much He had His hand upon us since the time that we were born; everything that He allowed to happen, He allowed it knowing what we would become. Don't think God can not do something with your life, because He creates beauty from ashes, and can give life to dead bones; He can even make a jackass speak plainly, He can surely use any of us that make ourselves available for Him to use. Availability is not something I seemingly have an abundance of, but then again, it is most likely the same for most of you; it just requires a little thing call priority in your schedule, as to whether or not you make time for the Lord. It is a lot like tithing, where you really can't see where the money will come from, but once you are faithful, you always seem to make it through, and sometimes can't believe where the money comes from. If we are faithful in the little things, then God will bless us in the bigger things, which includes time; time that we spend serving Him, praising Him, and just being still before Him. Like, Oh, I have a few minutes, I think I will read my Bible, or I think I will say a prayer for that person I just met, or maybe I will go visit someone and see how they are doing. Those are all the little things that we can do that will make the biggest difference in how the bigger portion of our days are successful, however it is that we might count success. Really, the more we are in touch with God's will for our lives, even what might appear to be ruin or catastrophe could in fact be that which God is using for our success, as odd as that might appear to look; because God takes the foolish things of this world to astound the wise, and He is made to be strong in our weakness. The thing that we must truly come to terms with, is that we are weak, and that we must rely on Him for every single part of our lives; whether it be loving our spouses, raising our children, providing food for our families, or even being faithful in those little things; our attitude must be one that begs God to guide us, not just saying, Lord, I can't do this without you, but saying, Lord, I do not want to do anything without you; because He really does want us to give Him all of our life... "And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto Him, Lord, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head. And He said to another, Follow Me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home in my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:57-62)

"Hope For Today"

"O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more." (Psalms 39:13) Besides there being hope for tomorrow, we have a job to do now in the midst of whatever it is that we might be going through, we either are in need of a miracle, or we are someone's need to believe that there is hope; more than likely, it is going to be both of those things at the same time. We can not just be concerned with ourselves, because it is not really about us, it's about Jesus Christ being lifted up in whatever it is that we are going through. Finishing well is so important, because we could have messed up so badly at the start, or even somewhere along the way, but as long as we are still here God can finish that work in us, if we just give Him all that we are. There are so many of us that are hurting inside, and we do not really know what to do about it because we feel ashamed for the lack of joy; but the reason for our hurt is because we have not made it all about Jesus, and have made it about ourselves or someone else. This life is going to bring us death and destruction, there is no way that we can avoid being effected by it, because everyone will face it in one way or another; but what we do before we go from this place matters; and if God has allowed us to go through the fire, then He has done so that He might receive the glory, not that we might be burned up; because He is not a punishing God, but a God of restoration and redemption, and a God that loves us so much more than we even love ourselves, we cannot even imagine what He has in store for our lives, if we would just give Him all of this life, and live it for Him. That is where the real joy comes from, even in the midst of the most horrible trial of our life, and even in the pain and the weeping, there is still joy to be found in Jesus, the One who is waiting for us with open arms. We that have been called of God have a job to do, for we are bought with the blood of Christ, and we are the property of Him the purchased us with His blood; therefore, we no longer live for ourselves, but we live for Him, if we are in Him; and if we are in Him, then He is in us, and our joy is made full in Him; that my dear brothers and sisters is our hope for today... "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

"Man's Surrender" -2

"Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were." (Psalms 39:12) We are surely not going to find peace in this world, because this world has set it's face against God; and because we have joined ourselves unto God, we are strangers here with Him, just passing through until we get to the other side. This is what hope is all about, not that we have obtained, but that there is a glorious place that has been prepared for us; day by day we long for it, and each day He gives us the strength to face another, and another, until that glorious day arrives. Yesterday I heard the desperate cries of a woman in pain who wanted to end her life; she feels so all alone in her pain, and has no hope for tomorrow. When we lose hope that tomorrow will be a better day, then we really can become hopeless, and the fear and the pain of whatever it is that we are going through can seem overwhelming, becoming the focus of our attention, and the draining of all of our ambitions and strength. That dear sister needs to be smothered in love, so that the love will drown out that pain she is going through; that is what John was saying about love being made perfect, in that love that is perfect will cast out all fear. We must learn to surrender to the love of God, no matter what it is that we are going through, because there is nothing greater than His love; the more we surrender to His love, the more we love Him; and the more that we love Him, the more we can love each other. All that this world can offer those of us in pain is a pill; but God, He has healing in His wings; just a breath from God, and all is changed; just a wink of His eye, and we will be in His presence bowing at His feet. Do I believe that God is going to heal my wife? You bet I do; I am positive that He is going to give her a new glorious body; one that will be free from all sickness and pain. In the meantime, she is still going to be cared for just as if God should heal her now, because nothing is impossible with God; absolutely nothing... "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." (1 John 5:13-15)

"Man's Surrender"

"Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not Thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were." (Psalms 39:12) Our God is so mighty, we have no idea just how big and powerful that our God really is; but the Bible tries to get that point across to us in the beginning, as the description of creation points out how He created the heavens and the earth. How can we even imagine to know a God of such magnitude? and yet, He has given us this love letter to express who He is, and to tell us how much He loves us. We must come to the understanding of who we are in this world, who we are in Christ, and what is our standing with the Father; without doing so, we are bound to be pushed down by a fall, our own frustration, or even possibly an accusation; as it says in Romans 8:31, "If God be for us, who can be against us?", absolutely no one! We will one day see Him face to face, but until that day comes, we must strive forward, never doubting, and always anticipating that He is doing a work in our lives. It is impossible to rejoice in the wake of something tragic, but we are to count it all joy, knowing that God has His hand upon our lives, and He is not letting go; and if we need to cry, He will comfort us with His peace, as the loving Father that He is. There are some days that I feel I can not take another day; as I care for my wife, wondering how long Lord must this go on? how long Lord must she suffer this condition? Not long, is His answer, Not long at all. Much the same as our journey is here on this earth; we are here today, and gone tomorrow; like a flash it will seem, so we must make every moment count for what tomorrow will bring. Just keep loving... "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love caseth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, because He first loved us." (1 John 4:17-19)

"Man's Vanity"

"When Thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, Thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah." (Psalms 39:11) "Surely every man is vanity"; what a concept! It's all about me, so the man thinks; that is until it is about his iniquity, then he wants nothing to do with himself. All that we are, and everything that we own is so short lived, yet we pour so much of our lives into that which fades away; surely there is no hope in this world or in the flesh, yet we continue to hold onto that which is fading quickly away, as if to squeeze every last once of pleasure out of it. It is surely a pity when we live for riches and beauty, because they are so temporal, and we are never satisfied by either one of them; yet we all have a certain character that wants something more or something better; just as Eve, when she saw that the fruit was good to eat, pleasant to the eye, and desired to make one wise, took and did eat of it, thinking that it would be good for her and her husband; when in reality, it was the worse thing that she could have done. We only have a short time here and all that we do to please ourselves is consumed almost instantly, almost before we can actually enjoy whatever it is, it is fading away or gone all together. But God, He does not change; God is the only thing that we can put our trust in; He is our only hope for real security and comfort; He is our All in All, and there is nothing that compares to the riches and beauty that are found in Him, right here, and right now... "O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things in the life of my spirit: so wilt Thou recover me, and make me to live. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness; but Thou hast in love to my soul delivered me from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back. For the grave cannot praise Thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known Thy truth." (Isaiah 38:16-18)

"God's Wrath"

"Remove Thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of Thine hand." (Psalms 39:10) On the flip side of God being for us, as if that should be the case, if we are being chastised by God, then our only hope we have of relief is with God; no one else, or nothing else will be able to remove His wrath from us, only He alone can stay His mighty hand. And yet, His wrath against His children is actually one of the safest places that we can be found; for His wrath against those that are His, is more against the sin than it is against His children. Unconditional love does not question if we are worthy of His love, He has chosen to love us no matter what; so now, that choice is up to us, whether or not we are going to accept His love for us; and when we make that choice to accept His love, then He will do whatever it takes to assure that we remain His children; even if that might mean a spanking to get us back in line with His will. Here is a quote worth writing down, which is by Joni Eareckson Tada: "Sometimes God allows what He hates to accomplish what He loves." God hates to see His children suffer, but He will allow them to suffer if that means that His grace will be revealed in their suffering. If you doubt that this is true, then you only need to look at the cross of Christ to see your answer; for God loved us so much, that He allowed His only begotten Son to suffer and die upon that cross, that we might be saved. Don't think that God did not hate to see His Son beaten and tormented as He was, because it was something that broke His heart; but He allowed that which He hated to see happen, in order that He might save the world which He loved. So, what is a little chastisement on one of His children compared to what Christ has done? We deserve to be punished, yet Jesus did nothing deserving of the punishment He received; and yet, it pleased the Father to allow it to happen, because the result was going to bring the forgiveness of sin to the whole world, by the death of One. The word "wrath" means strong, stern or fierce anger, deeply resentful indignation, vengeance or punishment; of which God has against sin, but not the sinner: for the sinner He came and died for, but the sin He consumed with all that He could. His wrath is surely the safest place for us to be... "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper on his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured our his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:10-12)

"God's Way"

"I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; because Thou didst it." (Psalms 39:9) So what should we think? "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) We really do not have anything else to say; nor do we have any complaints; nor should we, because God has everything under control; nothing happens by chance, it is all God's handiwork. Do you think God was not knowing that man would sin? or that He placed that tree in the Garden only to test man? Revelations 13:8 says, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." It was His plan from the very beginning to die for our sins; even before He created the heavens and the earth, He had determined what He must do for us. That is hard for me to grasp onto, because He loved us that much; enough to take the time to not only form man from the dust, but then breath into his nostrils the breath of life; all the while, knowing in His heart that He would soon suffer and die on a cross for that which He was creating. So what do we say to that? There really is nothing that can be said, except, "To God Be The Glory!" We cannot really take the credit for anything anyways, because He knew from the beginning that we were not capable of remaining free from sin; it was the cost of love, and He knew it when He gave man free will; not because He wanted man to do whatever he wanted, but that He wanted man to choose to love Him, by choice. That is why Jesus wore that crown of thorns upon His head, because He owned that curse given to Adam after the fall; it was His curse to bear, and it was part of His plan all along... "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 55:13)

"Hope to Cope"

"Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish." (Psalms 39:8) Do not think that there is no repercussion for our sin, because the Bible clearly says, "for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap". (Galatians 6:7) On the bright side, what ever those repercussions might be, they end here, as long as we have been forgiven of our sins and have repented; all the carnage will be left here, to be burnt up with everything else. As a matter of fact, I don't think that it will be something on our minds once we are with the Lord in heaven, because it says in Revelation 21:4, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." What that means for those that have sinned so bad that they can't stop weeping over what they have done, is that there is hope that one day God will wipe that sin from their mind, just as He wipes it from His own. God will surely deliver us from all of our transgressions; as John says in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"; but that does not mean we shall not suffer from the consequences of our sin, whether they might be big or small, all sin has consequence, and all sin leaves a mark on this earth. The fullness of what that mark might be, we really will never know, but God knows; if He knows every hair on our head, then He can also know every domino that has been knocked down because of our sins, and the chain of events to evolve from our transgressions. It's the "reproach of the foolish" that we must concern our selves with, for they are those that do not understand God's mercy, nor do they understand forgiveness; they mock that God could even consider forgiving us for what we have done, yet they do not consider themselves as a sinner. Sin is sin, no matter how we slice it; all sin is the same in God's eye; it all has the same root, and it all has been purchased by the blood of Christ; therefore, it has all been dealt with the same, and that gives us the right to rejoice in our deliverance, and to share God's forgiveness... "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make desolate cities to be inhabited." (Isaiah 54:1-3)

"Knowing Hope"

"And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in Thee." (Psalms 39:7) When it comes to receiving an answer from God on anything that we are praying for, especially something that appears hopeless, our greatest way to know God is listening to our pray is to give everything to Him, including that which we are praying for. In other words, we must not make that which we are praying for the condition of our answer, but just trust He has heard our prayer, and then know that He loves us. As easy as that might sound, it requires us giving up on what we want, and accepting what ever it is that God wants for us; something that might be hard for some people to actually accept in their heart, but it is the heart that needs to be resting in God perfect will. The heart of the matter, is our heart; and if something is the matter with our ability to put all of our trust in God, then that something is the heart, is what is the matter. I just want to be closer to You Lord! That is what my heart should be saying, not trying to guess what He might do or not do, or trying to judge why it is that He is doing or not doing something; but just to know that He loves me, He hears me, and that He only wants the very best thing for my life; regardless of what it might appear, or regardless of nothing appearing at all, because hope is not about any of these things which are given or taken, but about our life in Christ. Some things just need to be placed in the Lord's hands, and then taken off the "I Need This To Happen" list, so that we can begin to focus on loving God; it is really hard to focus on loving God, if our real focus is on whether or not He loves us... "Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine Husband; the LORD of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid My face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer." (Isaiah 54:4-8)

"Give and Take"

"Surely every man walketh in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them." (Psalms 39:6) Part of me wants to enjoy all that this world has to offer, and part of me wants nothing to do with any of it; after all, there are some good things to be said for the lap of luxury, but it comes with a price; unfortunately, that price can sometimes be more than we can pay in this life. In Luke 9:62, Jesus is speaking about God's kingdom being first in our lives, and sums it up by saying that it must be first, saying, "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God". It is more a matter of where our heart belongs to, and what matters more to us, this life in which we are to die to, or that which we are to plow ahead into; because there are so many things to focus on as we are plowing ahead, just as there are for a farmer to plow his rows straight and uniform. There is a reason for the lines to be straight and uniform, besides that they look good, they also function well for getting sunlight and irrigation throughout the entire crop; just as we must focus upon every area of our lives, that we do not fail in any category, but that in all things we are well equip to stand. There are so many things in this life that can grab our attention; some of them can grab too much of our attention, so much so, that we can neglect other parts of our lives, including those that attain to our walk and our abiding in the Lord. As I was driving to church the other morning, I saw a black Jeep coming off the freeway, which had written across the top of it's windshield, "Go Prepared", in big bold letters. The way that we prepare for heaven is by sowing in the things towards heaven; whether that be in the giving of our time and resources, or the taking back those things that have been stolen from the enemy; either way, we are storing up treasure in heaven, and we are gaining treasure that will survive being tested in the fire; because all that is done for this life will surely burn up, but all that is done for heaven will last forever... "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (as it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God." (2 Corinthians 9:6-11)

"Short and Sweet"

"Behold, Thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before Thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah." (Psalms 39:5) Surely God has numbered our days, and He has measured out every moment that we have in this life; if we could only see the scale that shows the results of our actions, we would be amazed how much time we spend on ourselves. If we would just spend half our lives on others, what spectacular world this would be. If you think about how much time we spend on our own cares and concerns, verses that which we give to others, it really hardly compares; for myself, I have an obligation to care for my wife, and even then, I still somehow find the time to care for myself. When we take the time to consider how short this life really is, it truly is like counting with our fingers; there is no need to break out a calculator, because by the time you know it, it's too late to count the days; days become weeks, weeks become months, months become years, and years become decades; so really, we are only going to be counting decades when it's all said and done; so how many fingers do you have? Compared to God, these few decades are nothing at all; just a blink of an eye in God's perspective; yet He cares for our life here anyway, as He takes time to guide us, save us, and strengthen us in His love. Oh, how He loves us... "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." (Isaiah 55:1-3)

"Burnin' Out"

"LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am." (Psalms 39:4) When it comes to knowing anything about this life, I am not quite sure I would want to know when I should die; I am already feeling as though the end of this journey is on it's way, I don't need to start counting the days that I have left. But in truth, wouldn't it be kind of interesting to know the year or maybe the month? Then you could at least get your house in order and prepare a little better for your journey to stand before the Lord; say like, do all the witnessing that you can those last few months of your life, and abstain from all things that do not glorify God for those last few months of your life; and of utmost importance, make sure that you have no unconfessed sins and that you are totally covered in the blood of Jesus Christ. All of those things would be good for when it's time to go, but we don't know the time of our departure, just like we don't know the time of Jesus' return; we are to be ready at all times, because it could happen at any time. However, I am not quite sure that David is speaking about actually knowing the day of his death, as much as he is speaking about knowing the frailty of this life; kind of like that old rock song, "Don't you know that you are a shooting star, Don't you know?" Because in relation to the number of our days, compared to the end of our days, this is just a flash of light across the sky; just a blip on the radar screen in comparison to our life after this life. This is to be our main concern for eternity, what must I do to prepare for heaven, not how much longer do I have to enjoy life in this world. Our days here are numbered, and in comparison to eternity with God, these days are a puff of smoke; here today, and gone tomorrow; so frail, and so quick to fade; all that we can do is to keep our eyes on the prize of heaven, and not worry about what happens here. I think it is more like David is saying, Lord, just keep me in the right frame of mind, so as I do not forget how short my days are here, and forget to remember about heaven. That can actually happen in our lives, so we must keep on guard; the cares of this life, especially when everything is going really well, and we are having so much fun, can cause us to take our focus off of heaven by getting caught up in the things of this world; just where the devil wants us to be... "Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up." (James 4:5-10)  

"Burnin' Love"

"My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue," (Psalms 39:3) There is nothing better than meditating upon the goodness of God; to just sit here and think about how much he loves me, I can only remain silent for so long, and then I need to say something to express my gratitude, and to release some of this fire that is burning inside. Whether or not this is what David was speaking of is between him and God, but based upon the next verse, he appears to me more concerned about himself than giving praise to God. On the other hand, I believe that David really was a good example of Jesus Christ in so many ways; not that he was without sin, but more along the lines of his relationship with God and his kingdom. As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of Isaiah 55:3 & 4, as God is speaking about "the sure mercies of David", and how the beginning of verse 3 God says, "Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live". The thing is, is that we must come to God; and it really does not matter how we come to Him, whether we are clean or dirty, because we can never be as clean as He is; but what matters is that we come to Him expecting to hear from Him, because He is Life. What we are living in here on this earth, although there are beautiful things to enjoy, this life is full of death and decay, which is really not life, but death; we start entering into death from the time that we are born, (and some do not even make it that far), so the life that God is speaking of is not this life that we are living; but I am sure every one of you knew that, right? Which is where I believe that David is going with these next few verses, because he appears to be challenging the vain side of thinking by taking the wrong side of the issue. However, now that I think of it, God has done something very similar, in that He provided His flesh to take on the spiritual issue of mankind; something that could not have been done any other way, and that was the most powerful demonstration of love that could ever be given. Do not ever think that God does not love you; and if that thought ever crosses your mind, just think about that cross... "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him: rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." (Colossians 2:6-9)

"Silence Is Golden"

"I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good; and my sorrow was stirred." (Psalms 39:2) It is really hard to argue with a man that is not speaking, and it is really hard to interrupt him if there are no words coming out of his mouth; but the point keeping quiet, has more to do with our own treasure to our words, such as, once the word is spoken, it is then every one's to share; if that makes any sense at all. But truthfully, how often have we held something within us, even something that is of good report, and it's value seems more holding onto then if we should let it go? It is like that special present wrapped beneath the Christmas Tree; the biggest reason that it is special, is that it is a mystery and leave one to wonder; once it has been opened, it is just another gift. That is just one more example of what hope has for those that hold onto it: "for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?" (Romans 8:24); because what we do not see is far more valuable to us then what we do see; and what we see, does no even compare with that which is to come. The part that makes this interesting, is the part about, "and my sorrow was stirred"; it has more to do with bringing out hidden feelings, such as fear of death, or illness, than it does with feeling sorrow; much like if you are dwelling on something challenging for you on the horizon, and then you begin imagining all that could go wrong; like something that is feared the most among so many people, which is the fear of speaking to a large crowd of people; what if I freeze? what if I make a fool of myself? what if I pass out? They say, that if you imagine the crowd is naked, then it makes it easier to speak; however, if you giving a sermon in church, then it is probably not a good idea to start imagining anyone is naked. On the other hand, I like to count myself as unworthy when giving the message, because I want God to speak, not me; then it is more about me just being available to be used, so that I can see what God might do; that way I really don't have to worry about what might happen, because that is up to God. However, if we are looking at this another way, then we could say that "my sorrow was stirred" has more to do about us realizing how close we are to death, and how far we are from holiness; which needs to bring us back before the cross, as we rely totally upon the grace of God, and not upon ourselves. That just makes me speechless... "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." (Philippians 3:8-11)

"Words Do Matter"

"I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me." (Psalms 39:1) I do not know how many times that I have broken a promise, the number of which is more than I can count; but I do know that God does not break His promises, because His word matters very much to who He is. Upon what occasion David has written this Psalm, it seems that we do not know; except to know that he was troubled, both in spirit and in his heart, and that he was taking time to consider the frailness of life, and the weakness of this present tent that we dwell within. There are some things we have control over, and there are some things we obviously do not; whether or not we praise God is one of those things that we can control, provided we keep our minds set on Him; if we have our minds set upon this present life, then we might not find praise at the top of our list; instead we will be filled with complaints and words that do not edify our hope in God. We can always talk a good sermon, but do we always walk out that which we talk? Sometimes living out the hope that is within us is hindered by the lack of praise in our lives. Maybe this was a period in David's life where he lacked giving praise to the Lord; a time of focusing on himself more than on the goodness of God. We can all have those times, some more than others, but all of us are capable of vanity and putting a little too much importance in me, myself, and I. I hear people say, "Praise the Lord", while dealing with certain unfavorable situations, as if it were God that had brought on that situation; but that is really not praising Him in those bad situations, it is only like saying, I hope this turns out alright for me, or I trust God has His hand on this situation; both of which are thinking first and foremost of ourselves, and not actually considering that God needs to be praised whether times are good or times are bad; because most of the people I know, as soon as they say, "Praise the Lord", they instantly start working on a way to get out of whatever situation they are in, even at the expense of giving God the glory in their situation or circumstance. If we notice something interesting about the second part of this verse, there is mention about the wicked being before him; not that David hung out with the wicked or anything like that, but there were wicked people that came into his presence; and what we say before the wicked can surely be used against us if we are not careful with our words. Some people talk differently around their fellow believers then they do in front of nonbelievers; it all goes back to vanity... "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell." (James 3:1-6)

"Hope"

Psalms 39: [To the chief Musician, even to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.] Do not ever lose hope! That is what "keeping the faith" is all about; we must never give in to the deceit of the enemy, who is always trying to rob us of the hope that is within us. Just as Paul said in those few verses of Romans 8, we must patiently wait for that which we do not see, for hope keeps longing for deliverance from this present condition into a new glorious condition that is going to be so worth waiting for. If we look at the introduction to this Psalm, David uses the name of "Jeduthun", who was the chief over the choir when David set up those who should minister around the ark of the covenant, after David had brought it back into Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16:37-43). The name Jeduthun actually means 'praising', which is something that we need to do constantly for God, and is what was set up around the ark of the covenant, for there to be perpetual temple choirs, that should never end praising God. This name is mentioned in the introduction of two other Psalms, 62 and 77; one which was written by David, the other by Asaph; both Psalms speak of waiting upon the Lord and not focusing upon your current situation, but keeping you eyes focused upon Him and His goodness. And yes, the title above Psalm 39 in my Bible simply says "Hope"; that is it, just the word hope and nothing more. Hope is that which takes us through to the other side; for it is hope that keeps us from giving up, and gives us better tomorrow's, even in the darkest of today's. And guess what we need to do when we feel that there is no hope; that is when we need to praise God like never before... "The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: and of them that bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 33:11)

"Salvation"

"Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation." (Psalms 38:22) Have you ever prayed for something to pass, only to get further discomfort? There is really only so much pain that this human body can take, and then it starts to ignore the pain and focus on something else. If we want something spectacular to focus upon, then let it be the salvation that awaits this broken vessel, and the glory that is to come, for all eternity! I always say, there is only so much that can happen to me here, my soul is secure in Christ; in other words, they can do whatever they want to destroy me, but they can't take my soul. Actually, the quickest thing that God can do to help us in any situation is to quicken us with His Spirit; not that have not been made alive already by His Spirit the moment we were born again, but that He might revive His Spirit within us in the time of our greatest need. Sometimes we just need to have a little change of direction to the way that we see things, and then all of our worries are totally gone; and the majority of our pain is associated with worry, which weakens our strength and endurance. The greatest asset that we have is our salvation, and there is nothing that can compare to being saved from death; "O death, where is thy sting?" is our's to keep, because the death of this body only brings life unending. We really do need to get busy sharing this gift with everyone that we know, because time is running out, and we need to share the hope that is within us... "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:22-28)

"Adoption"

"Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me." (Psalms 38:21) A man in pain prays, because he knows to whom he belongs, and he knows that his Father will answer. There is really nothing that is more satisfying to a persons soul, than to cry out to our Heavenly Father, and to truly believe that He hears our petitions; it is not even a question of if He will answer, because we know that He is just; combined with the fact that He loves us unconditionally, the fact that He is just gives us comfort to just rest in His love, whatever His answer might be. I am patiently waiting for God to heal my wife, but in the meantime, I am also taking every opportunity that I have to love her unconditionally; whether He heals her or not, she is still here, and she still needs my love. For all that I know, she could outlive me; although I pray that she does not, because I do not believe anyone else will care for her the way that I do; but God is in control of such matters, I must just concern myself with doing my best with every day that He gives me. It is hard sometimes to understand what unconditional love feels like, because it is hardly lived out in the way that we love one another; but to truly feel the way that God loves us unconditionally, we must not focus on who we are, but who He is, as the Father that has adopted us into His arms, for ever and ever. How often have we seen that written, or even written it ourselves, without even understanding what it actually means? To say, I love you for ever, to anyone, is not even something that we can actually fulfill in this lifetime; but God, He is able to make it happen; He is able to fulfill His promise to love us for ever and ever, all the way to the very end. We really do not need Him to answer us, because He has said enough already in that He sent His Son to die for us; in this, we can take our refuge, because there is no greater demonstration of His love; and if it is words that we want to hear, then He has already given His Word, and now we need to rest in Him, unconditionally... "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:15-17)

"Mediation"

"They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is." (Psalms 38:20) As Jesus said that it would be like in the time of Noah, so shall these last days be that are upon us; yet, for the sake of the elect, these days will be shortened, because unless they were shortened, there would be none that should be saved. (Matthew 24) Understanding the times that we are living in could not be any easier than it is right now, for the majority of our children are being led by a system that denies God, and that confuses good with evil, and evil for good; is it any wonder that so many of our churches are taking on new standards and practices that go against God's laws, because His law is being replaced by the law of the land. It breaks my heart to see those little hearts being turned from God, because unless their parents are fully committed to the Lord, then they are going to believe the lie over the truth, because the truth is really not being displayed in their homes. With all that is going wrong, there is still hope for those that might otherwise be lost, and it is called fervent prayer for those that are trapped in darkness, that God would reveal Himself to them, and that their hearts would be softened. It is God that must change a person's heart; it is God that must reveal Himself to them, by the power of His Holy Spirit; only then will they see what is Truth, and see their need for Jesus Christ is not based upon what they know about being a Christian, but is based upon their need for salvation. Once I understood the truth, then all the deception became apparent, and so it will be in their lives; but we need to pray for our children, because the battle is spiritual, not physical. All that said, when it comes to our own stumbling and falling short of being perfect, we have an adversary that would like to use those things against us; either by our own guilt, or being seen guilty by others, he will challenge our worthiness to be considered a child of God, and he will lessen our testimony of the gospel of Christ. If we truly are trying to follow after "the thing that Good is", then we are assured mediation before the Father, by none other than our Mediator, Christ Jesus... "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him that hath subjected the same in hope; because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." (Romans 8:18-21)

"Redemption"

"But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied." (Psalms 38:19) A strange twist to that of being liberated; yet, it comes to reason, the more we give over to God, the more the world is against us. Usually when we think of being redeemed, we think of our Redeemer, and the mighty price that was paid for our iniquities and our deliverance from sin; but the word redemption also can also imply what state we have become in regards to this world, for He has redeemed us from this fallen world, of which we are no longer a part of, but rather a Pilgrim traveling through; and as such, we are in debt to Him, as the One who redeemed us. To put it another way, we could use the word rescued, which is a term a little easier to understand, and one that better describes the transformation that He has made upon our lives. When David is speaking about how his "enemies are lively", he is making the point that they do not just lay around waiting for him to mess up, but that they are vigorous in their hate against him; so much so, that they gather others in their cause to take him out. We are living in some pretty interesting times, because the more evil is pressed against, the more emboldened they become that practice evil, and the louder they become in their protest of being stopped. This is something that we might not have seen sixty or seventy years ago; and it surely is not something that those that practice good are accustomed to do. How often do you see the church out protesting evil? and when they do, they sure are a lot quieter about it, and a lot less threatening. But this world belongs to those that live in darkness, at least for now; and because it belongs to them, they will fight for what is theirs, just as those that lived in the days of Sodom, as they demanded Lot bring out his guests, and chastised him for judging them; and yet, we know what happened to them... "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:12-14)

"Liberation"

"For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin." (Psalms 38:18) Jesus said, "You shall know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free"; the Truth is Jesus Christ: He is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life". We can make things so complicated sometimes, when the simple truth of the matter, is Jesus, just give me Jesus! Actually, I believe we need to get to the point where our sin is ugly and offensive, and we dare not offend the One who loves us anymore. This is a personal matter between us and God, but when it becomes an obsession, then we might think about asking a brother to help; after all, we are really not on our own, nor should we try to pretend that we are; we are all members of the body of Christ, and as such, we need to be as healthy and cared for, as we can possibly be. There is nothing more liberating than getting are sins washed away, but before they can be cleaned away, they must first be declared and confessed; being sorry for our sins will not do it alone, because feeling remorse should be part of what happens in our hearts; the real goal we need to strive for, is not to sin in the first place. There are some sins that we can take a stand against, and there are some sins that we must flee from; I believe the tantalizing sins, such as those of a sexual measure, are those that we must flee from; we cannot try to take a stand against temptations such as those, they must be fled from, just as if they were something that was going to bite you with a poisonous bite. If we are truly wanting to live like a child of the King, then we must be willing to do all that is possible to make that happen; if we do not truly want to live like a child of the King, then maybe we need to recognize who we really are, because the Truth may not be in us... "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are of after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the canal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." (Romans 8:5-11)

"Limitation"

"For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me." (Psalms 38:17) There is really only so much we can take, before we collapse and surrender; especially once we have tasted what peace and joy we can have in the sanctity of dwelling in Jesus Christ; that is when we hunger and thirst for righteousness. It does not need to be that way, because dwelling in Jesus satisfies the hunger and the thirst; as a matter of fact, the way the 23rd Psalm puts it, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters", which pretty much concludes that the hunger and thirst has been taken care of; besides, if you see a sheep lie down in the grass instead of grazing in it, that pretty much means that he is satisfied. Another thing that happens when we have unconfessed sin in our lives, is that we are trying to deal with something in our own strength, which is obviously weakness; we cannot take that burden off, and longer we carry it, the heavier it becomes. Putting off for tomorrow what should be done today, only to suffer through another day; how long can anyone keep up with that kind of sorrow? Maybe the better question to ask, might be, how long will God wait for us to turn back to Him? Is there a limitation to God's patience? I am not sure that we can measure His patience, because we surely cannot measure His love: His love has no bounds! We on the other hand, we have limits; there is only so much that we can stand of our own demise, before we take tomorrow as too late, and make our turning today. The word "halt" is such a simple word, it really does not have much more to say than limping or stumbling, which pretty much can be summed up by two words: Stumbling Idiot! That pretty much is what we become by choice, if we choose to walk in darkness, not being clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ; because sin is darkness, and darkness is not worthy to stand in the Day, especially if that day is tomorrow... "Heaven and earth shall pass away; but My words shall not pass away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Luke 21:33-36)

"Application"

"For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me." (Psalms 38:16) There really are certain times when we are vulnerable and have give more advantage to the enemy; these are usually times when we slack away from our devotions or forsake fellowship with other believers; they are also times when we have rested into a period of sin, which God forbid should happen. Yes, God does not change; and yes, He is always waiting for us to return when we slip away; but He always remains holy, which means He does not associate Himself with darkness; nor will He draw close while we are engaged in a sinful lifestyle. We must remain free from sin, which means that we must always be confessing our sins and avoiding situations that can lead to sin. That is what I believe is one of our biggest problems, the avoiding situations that lead to sin; because in truth, when we do sin, it is most likely because we are not doing what we should be doing, or not where we should be; if we are doing what we should not be doing, or we are someplace that we should not be, we have already crossed the line, and have entertained sin within our hearts. Much like a lion picks his prey, the enemy will go after those that are weak, and those that have separated themselves from the pack; we are surely weak when we have placed ourselves in a situation where we do not belong; and we are extremely weak when we forsake fellowship with our brothers and sisters. Besides that, we have got to remain to constant fellowship with God, which requires that we also remain in Christ, and in the Love of God; two things that remain above all other things in all of existence: For God so loved us, that He gave us His Son Jesus Christ, that we might abide in Him; that is where we must remain, and praising Him is what we must be doing... "Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" (1 Peter 3:11-13)  

"Exception"

"For in Thee, O LORD, do I hope: Thou wilt hear, O LORD my God." (Psalms 38:15) Finally, something that is not complaining, and is actually a verse of hope and praise; I was beginning to grow weary and lose a little bit of joy, trying to turn all these complaints into something positive. However, isn't that how it is for us, as we earnestly pray for God to deliver us from something causing pain in our lives? We complain about the pain, and we wrestle with our condition, wondering if God is punishing us, growing us, or has just walked away from us; but in all that, one thing remains unchanging, God! We can go through hell and back, and we can spin around in so many different directions, not knowing where we have ended up, but one thing will always remain the same, God does not change! No matter where we are in any situation, and no matter how out of control our lives might appear, we can always go back to square-one, which is to get on our knees before the Father of Lights and let Him strip everything away. I am thinking of a song right now, that goes something like, "Oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer"; which is a line from the song, "What a Friend We In Jesus". It is because of what Jesus did on that cross, that we can come before the Father and we can be renewed; we have been given the covering of His blood that allows us to come into the presence of a Holy God, and to have a refreshing that can only come from bathing in His pure light; a light that strips away all of the cares of this world, if not but for a moment, but to give us another perspective, on not only our circumstance, but on our relationship with the God that loves us more than we could ever imagine love to mean, because His love never fails... "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:14-19)

"Declaration"

"Thus I was a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs." (Psalm 38:14) Sometimes the greatest statement you can make, is saying nothing at all; and if you do not listen, then you do not need to answer. Talk about restraint, this requires real focus on something else, something that takes us to a place far removed from where we are at, or away from what we are facing. Talk about declaration of our faith, there really is no comparison to show how much we trust in God, than to be at peace with God; after all, He is the one who really matters, and pleasing Him is the most important thing that we can do. David was a man that loved God, and he trusted that God loved him more than he could ever imagine. Our faith must included trust for it to actually mean anything at all; we can pretend that we have faith in God, because without trusting Him, that is the extent of our faith, pretending to have faith in God. Faith must be accompanied by action that demonstrates faith; without actually putting forth something that demonstrates our faith, our faith is pretty much meaningless and does not profit ourselves, nor anyone else... "And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ." (1 Peter 3:13-16)

"Obligation"

"But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that opened not his mouth." (Psalms 38:13) There really is a certain amount of discipline required in order to remain silent and not try and defend yourself, it is not something that comes natural, that's for sure. When it comes to trusting God and walking by faith, we are pretty much obligated to a certain degree by the example of Jesus Christ before those that were judging and going to execute Him, as He fulfilled the prophecy about His own death (Isaiah 53:7). Having first hand knowledge of what comes next always helps, but isn't that what faith is really all about? We can always talk a good line about our trust in God, and about having faith through every situation; but it only really counts when we are actually going through the fire of a trial, or the storm of a tribulation; besides that, they are merely words that pertain to a desire to do something, yet, desire can be altered by so many things. Much like the sun is what lights the moon, it is the Son of God that gives us His Light; and just as it is the world which blocks the sun's light from the moon, so to, the world can block His Light in us. And if you think about the testimony of our faith during a trial, then it becomes like a solar eclipse, where we can actually block His Light to the world, by letting ourselves get in the way. Although they might be rare, they always catch the attention of everyone, and people will try to watch as the eclipse happens; so to, a severe trial or a storm will also cause people to take notice of our lives; we just want to make sure that we do not block the Son from shinning, by putting ourselves in the way of what He wants to do through our circumstances... "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter 1:7-9)

"Destruction"

"They also that seek after my life lay snares for me; and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long." (Psalms 38:12) We can only imagine what was going on in David's head, as to what part of his life he could have been speaking of, or if this part of his complaining was all in his head. But isn't that how we build up things within our minds, as we spin out devious plans which are plotted against us, all based upon misunderstanding, or miscommunication? Dwelling on things which are obviously beyond our control, or even beyond our ability to properly understand correctly, are just wasted thoughts, and they do nothing but destroy our capacity for sound thought or reason. Jesus on the other hand, He knew the thoughts of those that plotted against His life, and He could see the traps that were set out by those that wanted to destroy His work, for they only feared the crowds that followed Him. Interesting enough, but it was all part of God's plan for the redemption of mankind; every stone that was raised up against Him, every trap that was laid out in front of Him, nothing could touch Him unless it was part of the plan, and nothing that was meant to happen could be stopped. If we could just allow faith and trust to guide our lives, then the little things we might imagine are going on around us will not really matter, because we can just focus on God's goodness, knowing that He is in control of our lives, not those that might seek out our hurt. Simply put; if we could spend all that wasted time dwelling on good thoughts, we would be all the better for having done so; but all the time we spend dwelling on the unworthy thoughts are nothing but destruction to our peace, our joy, and our ability to love as we would be loved... "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)  

"Disambiguation"

"My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off." (Psalms 38:11) You really need to wonder what David was thinking as he wrote this Psalm; was it all just about him, or was he speaking as someone that was to come? Although sin can make you feel isolated and forsaken, it was Jesus who became sin for us; taking on not only our sins upon that cross, but taking on the the humiliation of being looked upon as the condemned and the cursed one, nailed upon a cross. Yes, David also suffered something along the lines of this situation; when Absalom tried to take the kingdom from him, David was pretty much written off as cursed and condemned by almost everyone that knew him. David knew why he was going through what he was going through, because he was told before had that it would happen (2 Samuel 12:10-12), and so did Jesus know what He would suffer through, as He would be looked upon as a cursed thing, as those that loved Him would abandon Him, and His family would be standing off in the distance, wondering, How can this be? And yet, there is another issue put forth in this verse, which deals with the isolation that is acquainted with the reconciliation process between the sinner and his Redeemer; what that actually speaks of is the time between confession and restoration, where you are condemned in the eyes of every one else but God. It might take a period of humiliation, or even cost the loss of friends and loved ones, but to reconciled with God is worth every bit of it. Basically, the point of which, is that there is a price to be paid for sin; although our dealt has been paid, there is a stain that is left here; although we will not be judged before God, we will still be judged here on this earth; the great news in all of that, is, that nothing that happens to us here really matters... "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commanded His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son; much more, being reconciled we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." (Romans 5:1-11)

"Self-examination"

"My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me." (Psalms 38:10) It really does not take being a doctor to detect some issues of growing old and weary; but it does take a little common sense to come to realize that our life is but a vapor: here today and gone tomorrow. Actually, these can also be symptoms of sin taking a toll on our soul, soul being the center of our passions and desires; for these are the common functions that are driven by the Holy Spirit, such as, He puts love in our hearts, boldness and strength within our inner man, and gives us Light to see the spiritual battle that is all around us. It's really not a matter of having the Holy Spirit leave us, because I am not quite sure that can happen once we have been born again; but it could be a matter of the out-pouring of the Spirit upon our lives no longer being poured out; which can take away from us the ability to have the capacity to love as we should love, have boldness and strength to fight the good fight, and to see with the Light that only comes by walking in the Spirit. Personally, I am not under the opinion that once filled always filled, because I believe that we need a re-filling of the Holy Spirit as part of our normal Christian life; in other words, we need to literally ask God to pour out His Spirit upon us, as much as we need His Spirit to be poured out upon us; for some of us, that might be once in awhile, while some might require His pouring out every single day; it all depends on how often we quench the Holy Spirit, and how often we have sin in our lives that goes on without being confessed. Basically, these are three simple things for us to do for self-examination of our spiritual condition, at any time, and whenever we might feel as though we are lacking the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit upon our lives: Do I love my brethren unconditionally? Because if I base my love for anyone upon how I am treated, or what I get out of the relationship, then I fail that test; Do I have the boldness and the strength to strength to fight the good fight? Because if I have not the mind of Christ when it comes to walking out the gospel, and resisting temptations and lustful desires, then I fail that test also. Do I have the Light guiding my sight? Because, if I do not see as God sees, then I am going to be far removed from doing what is right, and having my eyes fixed upon the things that really matter. If we find ourselves in this condition of lacking, the remedy is really quite simple, and requires just a three part transition: confess our sin, turn from that sin, and ask God to pour out His Spirit upon our lives; which might require us to keep on asking... "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" (Luke 11:9-13)

"Realization"

"LORD, all my desire is before Thee; and my groaning is not hid from Thee." (Psalms 38:9) God is not too far off. Yes, it's true; even though we fail to acknowledge His presence, and even though He might remain hidden from us; He is always right there knowing our every thought, and the real desires of our heart. That is something that should make any one that is His child consider what his response should be; just knowing that God is always there waiting for us to truly surrender everything over to Him, because He knows that we truly do want peace with Him, and He knows how our inward groaning is really an inward cry for help. This is a common misconception, to think that because we have somehow moved away from God, that He is now too far from us to reach out to; He is never too far away from His children; He is never outside the sound of their voice, or the cry of their heart. I think it is amazing how much that God loves us; even though we do not deserve His love, nor His loving kindness, He is always ready, waiting with anticipation, for us to finally give in and give our all to Him. After all, He knows our every weakness, and He knows our every strength; His weakness is greater than our greatest strength, and He is just waiting for us to realize that and to throw our lives down at His feet. What is it going to take for us to realize how much He loves us? What kind of trial do we need to finally turn our hearts inside out, that we can love Him? Not just say that we love Him, but prove that we love Him, with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength... "For our transgressions are multiplied before Thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; in transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment. And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation unto him; and His righteousness, it sustained him." (Isaiah 59:12-16)

"Isolation"

"I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart." (Psalms 38:8) Yes, it goes from rejection to isolation naturally; there are really no other ways that we can explain the way being separated from God because of sin takes it's toll on our hearts. Before we became a Christian, there was isolation from God, but it did not really matter all that much to our hearts, because we were in fellowship with the world, therefore we did not feel all alone; after becoming a Christian, when we fall out of fellowship with God, things get pretty lonely out here in the world, and there is really no fellowship here for us either. It is kind of like the way of Cain, who after killing his brother was made to live the life of a vagabond, having been separated from the rest and having a mark placed upon him as a murderer. Don't think that does not happen, because it does; the world sees who we are, and they will not fellowship with us either, because they know we are one of His children; it like they don't want whatever curse might come upon us to come on them also. To help explain what David means in the first part of this verse, we could imagine what we might feel like to try and move our body once it has been frozen, or made rigid by something else; if we try and move it anyways, we are going to feel as though we have broken it. The way that relates to our hearts, is that of being unable to rejoice because of guilt; yet when we try and rejoice anyways, it only breaks our heart, because it is not a joy that counts; it's only a superficial joy that leaves us realizing how much we really lack the real joy that comes from having fellowship with God. If you have seen the movie ''Bad Lieutenant", staring Harvey Keitel, then you can probably get the meaning of "roared" that David uses as he says, "I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart". It actually is more of a groaning, or a cry of distress that is brought on by grief, because the grief brings violence upon our hearts; and the grief is brought on by being isolated from the One who loves us because of sin; sin that needs to be dealt with properly, because up to this point, all of our efforts have been rejected, because they have been halfhearted efforts... "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save: neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgement in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace. Therefore is judgement far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves: we look for judgement, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far off from us." (Isaiah 59:1-11)

"Rejection"

"For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh." (Psalms 38:7) To be humiliated before God, does not necessarily count towards anything more than knowing you have messed up, because there still is the act of atonement for our sin; something that can only be accomplished by God. In the Garden, God rejected the fig leaves as a proper covering for Adam and Eve's nakedness, and He made then coverings that were from the skins of animals; meaning that there required a blood sacrifice for there to be a true covering; yet it did not remove the sinfulness. Even the burnt offerings that were offered at the alter did not remove sin, they only covered the sin; thereby allowing God to wink upon the sin, as if He were letting it slide for a moment. The word "loins" comes from a word that means flank, hope, folly, loins, or confidence; it comes to reason, that if you were to serve up the fatten calf to a guest, then it would be a calf that had fat upon it's loins; just so happens, that the fat of the animal is what was offered upon the alter. I am just saying, if God were going to reject our offering, then there would be a couple of reasons for that to happen; such as, the lack of fat, or confidence, both of which involve not being sincere, either in the offering given, or with a heart that wants forgiveness. Then again, if hope is that which we seek, then our hope is that which is "filled with a loathsome disease"; because until our sins are actually removed, we have a hope that still requires being healed and delivered from sin. It is only the blood of Jesus that can remove our sins, and all other forms of sacrifice or offerings are rejected for that purpose of atonement from sin; therefore without the blood of Jesus, there is no hope for true forgiveness of sin... "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:3-7)

"Humiliation"

"I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long." (Psalms 38:6) Sin is that which causes us to be humiliated before God; just as Adam and Eve hid from God in the Garden of Eden, they did so because of the nakedness that they felt. Before they had sinned, they were clothed in the Light of God; pure, and innocent creatures, that shared something in common with the Creator that made them, that being that they had no darkness; nor did they know darkness, because it had not yet been reveled to them, that is, until they had sinned against God. Rather or not that forbidden tree had any power to illuminate someone with knowledge, really does not matter, because it was the act of doing what they were told not to do, that is what stripped away the Light and brought on the darkness. I really think that it is interesting how the flesh ties into all of this; how Adam and Eve realized that they were naked, and then needed to cover up their flesh to help cover up their sinfulness; and yet, Jesus spoke of His flesh being the Bread from heaven that must be eaten in order for us to have life; it was an act of eating that caused the fall of man and brought death, and it is an act of eating that restores our relationship with God and brings life. Interesting enough, it is sin that caused humiliation before God, and it is the humiliation of God that defeated sin... "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:5-8)

"Stinkification"

"My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness." (Psalms 38:5) I know I do not need to give any excuse for the title; this verse reeks from the corruption that sin causes in our lives. The word "'wounds" is more like strips or bruises, which I find rather interesting, because of Isaiah 53:5, which says, "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." It might be hard to imagine what our sins look like to God, but when you look upon the affliction that was put upon Jesus for our sin, you might come to understand how He views them. Trying to get a handle upon sinfulness in our lives, just does not work; you might try all you want to, but until you come to the realization that you need God's help, you really are not going to get anywhere trying to defeat your own sinful desires. The foolishness that David is speaking about is two-fold; one is the cause, the other is the result; the cause is our neglect to count upon God for the strength that we need to be victorious; while the result is what we are because of it. To be perfectly honest, it really does come down to the condition of our heart, because the heart is where our love for God is planted; if our heart is not producing the love for God that we need, then nothing else will grow to love Him more; not our mind, nor the strength that we need to overcome temptation. We really do not just fall into sin; we fall because of sin, but sin is something that we prepare for, by doing what we should not be doing, or not doing what we should; it does not just happen, because if we were prepared to flee, then we would flee sin when we are tempted. If we take the time to really think about the stink of our sins, especially in light of what Jesus went through to set us free from them, then we might come to realize that they need to be taken seriously. In other words, we cannot just shrug them off as if they do not matter, because they make us stink before God, and they cause us to be corrupt, like a rotten piece of fruit; the likes of which becomes worthless for anything except gathering bugs, decay, and death... "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life. I am the Bread of Life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the Bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the Living Bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever; and the Bread that I give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:47-51)

"Desperation"

"For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me." (Psalms 38:4) No doubt, you have heard the term, "That's above my pay grade"; well, in the case of us dealing with our sins, the task is far more than any one of us could ever try to handle; let alone try to remove our own sins from our lives, which is literally impossible. Although, there are those that will try, as they try and do as many good works as they possibly can, in an attempt to offset there sins with works; sadly, they are going to be very disappointed when they hear those four words, "I never knew you", and they discover that it was not about works, but about the grace of God, and a relationship with the lover of our souls. The Bible clearly says that we have no power over spiritual matters, only the Spirit of God can overcome the spiritual wickedness that keeps us bound to sin, (Ephesians 6:12); why should we think any different when it comes to getting sin out of our lives? as if we can just shut it off, be done with it, and it is gone? We surely would not try to operate on ourselves, to remove a cancer, or to perform heart surgery; no, we would go to a Surgeon, someone that is no only experienced to do the job, but that can also be awake while doing it. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can remove the sin from our lives; He took on the spiritual battle in our place, and He remained sinless, all the way to the cross; something that only He could do, not just because He was God in the flesh, because He was also a man, and He had a fleshly body, just like you and I; but because of His deep love relationship with the Father, He had resolve to please the Father, and to complete the task that He was sent to do. Talk about "desperation", Jesus had desperation to complete His earthly ministry, like none other! Not only did He need to make it to the cross, but He needed to do so without having sin, that He could become the perfect sacrifice. Interesting enough, that crown of thorns He wore on the cross represents our toils in trying in remain without sin; the task of becoming sinless and laboring to make it through this life without sin, Jesus worn as a crown of thorns, representing the thorns of our labor (Genesis 3:17-19). As to the weight of sin, trying to lift our sins off from ourselves, is much like what the earth upon our shoulders would look like, kind of like the Mr. Atlas image; not only are they heavy, but removing them takes a strength and a power that we not only do not possess, but we cannot obtain it, it can only be done by God; I don't care how long you have been in Christ, you still need to go to God to be spiritually clean... "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the Word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man is blessed in his deed." (James 1:19-25)

"Expectation"

"There is no soundness in my flesh because of Thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin." (Psalms 38:3) Does God really get angry with us? If you told your young child not to play in the street, and they did it anyways, wouldn't you be angry with them? And if they did it again, what would you do? If they kept on doing it, would you throw up your hands, and give up? or would you take drastic measures to try and make them understand how serious you are for their safety? Our Father in heaven is not that far away from the reality of a strong loving parent; the biggest difference, is that no one can love us like God loves us; His love knows no bounds, and is not conditional upon our obedience, but in spite of our obedience, He continues to love us; He might get angry with our stupidity and stubbornness, but He loves us no matter what. Why "expectation"? you might be wondering; besides the play on the single words that end in 'tion', I felt an eagerness in David's heart by the expression of his body feeling as though he was coming undone; much as if you were hiding from the law in some bushes, but you know that you are going to be found anyways, it is just a matter of time. If you have ever experienced that feeling, you are being pulled apart from the inside, yet expecting it to be over when you are finally caught; almost wanting to just step out of the bushes, just to get it over with; because you know that they know that you are there, and it's just a matter of time before they reach in and grab you. That might seem a little far fetched, but God knows every single thing about us, and there is no hiding from God; so the real question that we might need to be asking, is how far away is God from taking drastic measures? Maybe it might be time just to step out of the bushes with your hands up... "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the Light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:11-16)

"Lamentation"

"For Thine arrows stick fast in me, and Thy hand presseth me sore." (Psalms 38:2) Expressing grief that might be felt from sin is sometimes no easy, but I think David does a pretty good job in this short little verse. I cannot imagine what it might be like to walk around with arrows stuck in me, but I am sure there are not hardly any moments that you do not know that they are there. Couple that, with the feeling of being pressed down, as God presses His mighty hand down upon you, and you have what you could compare to a pin cushion being squeezed; making every arrow that is stuck in you, feel as though it is ten times larger. This is what it feels like to lament over the sins that we are convicted over; it not only pricks are hearts, but it make the air heavy around us; almost as if we are being forced upon our knees. However, this is a good thing, and should be something that we accept as a step in the right direction towards humility and surrender. God wants nothing more than our lives to be wrapped up in Him; not for us to be tangled up in sin, which is what happens to us when we continue in sin, as though it is okay; it begins to grow around our hearts like a wild vine, choking out our desire for fellowship with God, and our ability to get wrapped up in Him. There are really no two ways about it, sin kills; it destroys relationships; it destroys our walk with God; left undone, sin can eventually destroy our health and take our lives. So, relatively speaking, what are a few arrows and the heavy hand of God when compared to death? More importantly; wouldn't it be better to be chastened by God then thrashed by sin? because that's what sin will do to us, thrash our lives, and make us fall out of fellowship with the One that loves us more than we even love ourselves... "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." (Ephesians 4:29-5:2)

"Conviction"

"O LORD, rebuke me not in Thy wrath; neither chasten me in Thy hot displeasure." (Psalms 38:1) It is not fun to do, but it needs to be done: we need to spend some time before the Lord reflecting upon all that we have done to sin against Him: there needs to conviction before humility will happen. Sometimes, just saying, "Lord please forgive me for my sins", really does not bring out some of those sins that we like, just the ones that we feel bad for doing. But real conviction occurs when we realize what God thinks about those hidden sins; those sins that we do not included in our everyday confessions, because they are the sins that we like and we are not ready to turn away from them. God does not really want us to be afraid of Him, but He does what us to fear Him; unlike what some people might think, as they see God as holding lightening bolts in His hands, and preparing to throw them down upon us; that is not God's character, nor does it even come close to His patience that He has with us, (Thank You Father!). What I see within this verse, is that of a heart which feels conviction, and yet, that knows the mercy of God; not one that is afraid that God is about ready to smite him, but that he realizes he has sinned against the God that formed him and loves him, and he is eager to get things right with that God. Unlike what some earthly fathers might do, which is to just haul off and smack their children, our Heavenly Father is not like that, nor does He what to punish us for the sake of punishment; He punishes us to keep us under the shadow of His wings, and to show that He loves us. I see a heart that knows he deserves to be disciplined, yet, he also knows that God is merciful and kind; this is the kind of heart that David had, because he had a heart after God's heart, which judged rightly. I think if we try and understand what it means "to judge rightly", then there would be a whole lot less fighting among those within the church; we truly do fight over the stupidest things; it's almost as if we are looking for something to fight over; when what we really need to do, is to start looking into our own hearts... "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." (Luke 6:36-38)

"A Man in Pain Prays"

PSALMS 38 [A Psalm of David, to bring remembrance.] Moving on from "The Good and the Bad" to "A Man in Pain Prays", I am reminded of the times when I was a child, and I would sometimes pray to God when I felt completely lost or without hope. These were times like when my mother and step dad would be drunk and were fighting, and I would leave the house and climb a tree, or hide in the neighbors bushes; anything to get away from the chaos that was happening in that house. Other times were when I was arrested and locked up in jail, praying to God to get me out of there, and making promises I could not keep. Times like those, I thought were so hard to get through; almost as if they were the end of the world, and if God did not help, then my life was over; but that was the mind of a child. After giving my heart to Jesus, I discovered that the worst pain I could feel in my heart, was the pain of sin dwelling within me; prior to that, sin was a home in my heart, because I was a slave to sin; but once Jesus delivered me from that bondage, sin became something that made my heart ache, making me feel weak and worthless. I have learned over the years, that when I feel like that, it is time for some serious pray; it is time to clean house, and let Jesus clean out all the closets, because there is stuff that I am holding onto, and it is choking out my joy and my peace. Actually, it is not bad practice to do that every morning and every night, because we tend to step in some pretty nasty stuff in our every day lives. The problem that I find with that, is sometimes we tend to like the smell of that stuff, and we are not that quick to want it cleaned off; but the longer it stays, the stronger that odor gets, till our whole body begins stink from the smell of it. That is what sin is in our lives, and it does not belong to be attached to us, because it is stinky and filthy and will ruin our lives; if we have it attached to us, then we must get it off, which Jesus is more than happy to do; that is, if we ask Him to... "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)