Monday, September
11, 2017
I look up to the mountains—does my help come
from there? My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth! He will not
let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never
slumbers or sleeps. The Lord himself
watches over you! The Lord stands
beside you as your protective shade. The
sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord keeps you from all harm and
watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. Psalm 121:1-8(NLT)
It is
reassuring, affirming and a big warm, fuzzy to read this passage of Scripture –
when the sun is shining and all is well in Zion! But it’s hard to reconcile all those promises
that seem so definite in Scripture when life starts coming apart.
·
My
help comes
·
He will not let you stumble
·
The
Lord himself watches over you
·
The
Lord stands beside you
·
The
sun will NOT harm you
·
The
Lord keeps you from ALL harm
·
Both
now and forever
Where is
all this up close and personal care, protection and rubbing your back when the
doctor says cancer, or the lawyer says it’s over, or the accountant suggests
bankruptcy?
I’ve often
stated and re-stated that these devotionals are written when I first get up in
the morning – the very early
morning! My devotional life includes
some hairy questions, questions surrounded by fog and wonder. Some of that wonder is like yours: if
God made all those promises, how come life stinks sometimes?
There are
several tested and true answers with which we can hold at bay our very human
tendency to blame God for whatever’s going on.
1.
Sometimes
we all want to blame God
for the mess we create. God never
promised anything He will not perform.
He also never promised to take away all the consequences of our sinful
actions.
2.
Sometimes
we all read Scripture upside down. For instance, a promise to stand beside you
and watch over you tells us there are troubles; it doesn’t mean you are exempt
from going through the valley of the shadow of death. The real promise is that, if you trust Him you’ve
got the best friend you could have who will see you through to the other side
of it.
3.
Sometimes
we measure results upside down. What your community, friends, and even you
look at and call “failure” can turn out to be the main cog in the wheel of God’s
gracious plan. After all, who knew mold
in a Petri dish could be the success of the ages against infectious diseases? Or that the blood of the martyrs could be the
seed of the church? Or that losing
yourself for the sake of God’s will means you gain everything worthwhile in
this life and the next?
God said he
looks at things differently than we do – a LOT differently:
For just as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are
higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your
thoughts. Isaiah 55:9(NLT)
For You Today
You chew on
that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
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