My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare (Psalm 25:15).
You are trapped
hurt
alone.
It doesn’t matter whether the Hunter has trapped you
or you have put yourself here–you’re doomed.
Then he arrives.
He stretches out his hands
and you
are
free.
Look to your rescuer today, Beloved
and be free.
Happy Friday
The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them (Psalm 25:14).
You know.
Wow.
You
know
You know the story–beginning to end, Alpha to Omega, you know how it all turns out.
You know the secret to eternal life.
You know who wins.
This is better than getting the Lotto numbers the night before they’re picked, better than getting the answers to tomorrow’s test today, better than knowing that the idiot driver is going to stop in the middle of the intersection while there’s still time for you to stop.
Why do you get to know this?
Because you’re amazing?
No, although you are amazing.
Because I’m amazing?
Aww, thank you so much, that’s really sweet, but still a no.
Because you’re his.
That’s it. You’re his, and he wants you to know all you can about him.
That includes his plans.
Not bad for a person who can’t even find their car keys half the time.
Happy Thursday, Beloved.
Who, then, is the man who fears the Lord? God will instruct him in the way chosen for him. He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land (Psalm 25:13).
Verses like this one bug me.
(Yep, I just said that there are portions of Scripture that bug me. Feel free to grab your pitchfork, light your torch, and head over to my house–you won’t be the first.
Actually, you would be the first. Please do not do that. If you’re offended, you probably should just stop reading…but I hope you won’t do that either.)
You see, I’m a hard core believer in the inerrancy of Scripture, so it bothers me when I read something that I can’t reconcile with the world out there. So many believers trust God, fear God, serve God, and yet are destitute. Why?
But Michael, you point out, this Psalm is from the Old Testament. The promises were for Israel; they don’t apply today. Maybe so, but this really seems to be a general principle of trust and provision, not a specific time-and-place promise. If it is a general principle, the implication is that those who are poor just don’t fear God enough–and that doesn’t fit with what I know about our Lord.
But Michael, you next propose, this is a general rule. It isn’t meant to apply to every single person at every single moment. Perhaps, but what a bummer for you if you’re the exception to the rule.
But Michael, and here you bring out the big guns, you have to look at it spiritually. We are prosperous in the Spirit, and our inheritance is in Heaven. I hear you, and you’re probably right. We are, of course, children of the King of the Universe, and nothing can compare to that. It’s just that I always feel as if I’m copping out a bit if I classify text as spiritual simply because it doesn’t fit what I see. It’s the kind of thing non-believers point to and say “Ah-HA!”
And I hate it when they say “Ah-HA!”
Fret not, Beloved. My faith remains solid, my stand for inerrancy unchanged. I just like to be honest with you, and this is frustrating. If you have insight on this verse, please share it. In the meantime, I will place it on the shelf with other verses that my mind can’t fully grasp…yet. I will hold on to the fact that I am his, and he is mine, and that is eversomuchmore than enough.
Happy Wednesday, Beloved.
Who, then, is the man who fears the Lord? God will instruct him in the way chosen for him (Psalm 25:12).
Fear can be a good thing.
In our culture, we act like fear is something to be avoided at all costs. Maybe it’s our rebellious, pioneer, Westward Ho! roots.
Perhaps we just don’t understand the healthy side of fear.
Fear is an acknowledgment that something is beyond our scope, beyond our ability to command. It doesn’t have to be blind, cowering terror; it’s more a healthy respect for power. I fear lethal doses of nuclear radiation. I fear rabid dogs. I fear really bad haircuts—as a middle-school teacher, this is by far the most dangerous of the three.
I fear God.
But I am not afraid of God.
Of course, nonbelievers have every reason to be afraid; indeed they’re foolish not to be, when considering the consequences of an eternity without Christ.
But I believe. My name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
I fear God’s power, because I know that he could erase me with a thought.
I am not afraid, because I know he won’t.
He has given us many promises that we who are his are his forever. Still, that power is there, and he has no qualms about using it to keep me in line should I stray.
Which makes me want to stay very close to him.
And that, Beloved, is the beginning of knowing him.
Fear him today.
But do not be afraid.
Happy Tuesday, Beloved.
For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great (Psalm 25:11).
For the sake of your name.
Not mine.
Because my name, frankly, is not worth saving.
But my name is so loud in my own ears that
it drowns out your voice
your wisdom
your word.
Perhaps the only way I can serve you is to stand as the object of your mercy.
That will be enough
and more.
Happy Monday, Beloved
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way (Psalm 25:8-9).
I’m a teacher.
I teach.
I teach the excellent students, whose eyes are bright with understanding and a deep desire to learn and grow and understand the things of life.
Aaaand I teach the other ones, the ones I lovingly call “pathetic lumps of flesh.”
I offer what I have to both, because both need it.
Howeversomuchmoreso with God. He offers his wisdom to saint and sinner, because both desperately need it.
Why does he do this? I mean, I get teaching your followers, but why waste wisdom on the wicked? Well, it’s right there at the beginning of the verse:
Because he is good.
Also, I think God remembers something that I tend to forget:
That sinner?
That humble man?
They are both me. Just depends on when you catch me.
Happy Friday, Beloved
Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord (Psalm 25:6-7).
Selective memory is a beautiful thing.
David knows who he is.
More than that, he knows that God knows.
David’s asking God to conveniently forget the less savory aspects of his life, and to remember only that he loves David. My grandma had that ability to pick and choose what she remembered. We thought it was dementia–perhaps it was a spiritual gift.
Anyway, here’s the amazing thing: God does it. When God looks at David, he chooses not to remember the sin and rebellion and foolishness. He sees only his Beloved.
He does the same when he looks at you and me.
How do I know this?
Well, we’re here, aren’t we?
Happy Thursday, Beloved.
Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Psalm 25:4-5).
This is a psalm asking for deliverance. David is in a world of hurt here–stressed out, ill, and under attack by slanderous enemies. I would expect to find David asking for deliverance, healing, retribution, even forgiveness.
I didn’t expect this.
David asks God, in the midst of all this yuck (pardon the deep theological terminology) to teach him to be more like God.
Um…wow.
I wish I could tell you that, in the midst of deep physical and emotional crisis, I would ask God to make me more godly. Alas, I am far more likely to ask him to heal me and cause my enemies to explode.
If you decide to stop reading my blog now, I’ll understand. But, there I am.
Beloved, I hope that God never allows great pain and sorrow into your life. I don’t care if it would make you more godly–I like you too much, and I’m just too selfish. However, if the yuck of this sinful, broken world has to slop over into your life, I pray that God would use it to show you his ways, teach you his paths, and basically make you more like him.
Just don’t go looking for trouble, OK?
Happy Wednesday, Beloved.
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame…(Psalm 25:1-3a).
Shame
Not embarrassment…not awkward self-consciousness, but full-blown shame.
Look, I’ve been embarrassed a time or two
or twelve.
I’ve blown my lines in front of a large audience, I’ve driven my car over a curb amid a symphony of honks and jeers. I’ve dropped the fly ball that should have been an easy out.
Hey, I once walked into a tether-ball pole in full view of the entire playground.
I know embarrassment.
But shame, the way David is talking about it here–shame is different. Shame strikes to the very core of your being. Shame isn’t about what you did.
It’s about who you are.
So…who are you?
If you are a child of God, you cannot be put to shame, because the very core of your being is Christ.
Because you are his Beloved.
So whether your enemy is some guy named Ted, or some disease named Cancer, or some life-wrecker named Self, you will not be put to shame, because your hope is in Him.
But, I gotta tell you, if you walk into a tetherball pole you’ll still feel like an idiot.
Happy Tuesday, Beloved.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me, and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).
This psalm ends with a request. Like I said when we started, this is a powerful way to check the state of your relationship with Christ. If the thought of God searching your heart frightens you, you’ve got to ask, why? A few things to notice here:
Are you in a place where you can ask this of God? Can you afford not to?
Be courageous, Beloved. Ask him in.
Happy Monday.