Readings Today: Psalms 94-96, Galatians 2

There is so much about God in these passages and it blesses my soul to learn more and more about who He is. Here is a list of what I have seen regarding God. I will further elaborate as the Spirit leads me.

1.) He is God of vengeance
2.) He is judge of the earth
3.) He is Creator
4.) He chastens when necessary
5.) He rebukes if needed
6.) He teaches mankind knowledge
7.) He knows the thoughts of mankind
8.) He teaches
9.) He disciplines us
10.) He will not abandon His people
11.) He brings judgment
12.) He is our helper
13.) He is loving and kind
14.) He calms the soul
15.) He is our stronghold
16.) He is our refuge
17.) He is the rock of our salvation
18.) He is a great God
19.) He is a great King
20.) He is above all
21.) He owns the earth
22.) He is our Maker
23.) He loathed Israel for 40 years because of their disobedience
24.) He is to be feared above all gods
25.) Splendor and majesty are before Him
26.) Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary
27.) He reigns
28.) He judges fairly
29.) He is coming to judge the earth
30.) He gives grace

Yesterday I elaborated on each of His attributes. Today I want to elaborate more on OUR RESPONSE to who He is. In these Psalms David understood who God was. David's enemies were coming against him and He attributed God as his avenger. He acknowledged that God had been his help and without Him he would not have made it through. One of the passages that blessed me was when David said, "when my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul." 

We all get anxiety from time to time. Some struggle more than others. Some use medication to help calm their anxieties. Anxiety can be very debilitating and overpowering. Here David mentions his anxiety "multiplying within me". The Hebrew word here for multiply here is rob, pronounced simply robe. It means an abundance, greatness and numerous. 

The word for consolations is tanchum pronounced tan-khoom and it means compassion, solace. It is meant to convey being comforted and bringing calm. God does this for us. When anxiety overwhelms us we can turn to Him for solace and He will bring calm to our soul. But the thought that comes to my mind is we have to allow Him to and believe and trust He is the answer. 

David admitted that God had been his stronghold; his refuge. The enemies of David were after him. He had reached the end of his rope many times. He battled extreme anxiety over it. But all through the worst of his battles he chose to trust God. He didn't just trust Him. He knew and believed by faith that God would take care of not only him, but his enemies as well.

David had a heart for God; a man after God owns heart. He responds to who God is in the middle of the toughest of battles. Here is a list of how to respond to who God is.

1.) Sing for joy to the LORD
2.) Shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation
3.) Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving
4.) Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms
5.) Come, let us worship and bow down
6.) Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker
7.) Sing to the LORD a new song
8.) Sing to the LORD, all the earth
9.) Sing to the LORD, bless His name
10.) Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day
11.) Tell of His glory among the nations
12.) Tell of His wonderful deeds among all the peoples
13.) Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised
14.) Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength
15.) Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name
16.) Bring an offering and come into His courts
17.) Worship the LORD in holy attire (the splendor of holiness)
18.) Tremble before Him, all the earth
19.) Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns"

When I look at this list I reflect on the fact that NONE of us here on earth truly understand what David understood about God and His sovereignty. David's heart was so filled with gratitude. He couldn't give enough glory to the LORD. We don't even take the time to sing even one song to the LORD most days. We don't proclaim Him enough! I know for me my insecurities get the best of me. But that is only a sign of the pride in my heart. Nothing should stop me from proclaiming Him more in my life. Nothing should stop me from giving Him praise and honor for everything He has done for me. 

We are selfish people. We bring God into our little box here and there and heaven forbid we step out of our comfort zones. Our lives are filled with so many excuses as to why we can or cannot praise Him each and every day. A person can work 10 hours a day and use that excuse. But even while we are working we can somehow muster up a small thank-you to God in the midst, can't we? If we can take a bathroom break then we can find even a few minutes to pray in the midst of our day. Lunch time? Break time? But what I see is most people take that time to get on their phones and check facebook or whatever else they do. Point is that NONE of us have an excuse not to give God the glory due His name. David is an example of what a heart for God is like. It is not selfish. It is God-feared and God-focused.

I have reflected on all of this first and foremost to speak to my own heart. Do I truly desire a relationship with God that David had? Or am I content with the hum-drum of daily life and bringing God out of my box when I am ready? Many insights to ponder from today's reading.

O God Most High... Maker of heaven and earth...God of my salvation and Lord of my life... I give you praise today. I bow at Your feet for truly You humble me and cause my heart to seek You more and more as I read Your word.  I fail you every single day, Father God and my heart grieves over it. Father, I desire to have the passion that David had in his heart for You. Teach me, LORD... show me. Purge the evil thoughts of my heart and transform my mind to think as You would have me to think. Help me, Father to bring You glory. Purge the selfishness out of my heart, O God. I receive Your forgiveness for my sins and mistakes and I thank You for calming my anxious thoughts as You did for David. I submit to You today my entire being to change me and mold me into the woman you would have me to be. I bless Your holy name. Amen.

Who God Is Based on Psalm 91-93

Today's reading is from Psalm 91-93 and 1 Peter 5. One way I have found to enhance my walk with God is to pay attention to where I put my focus and allow His Spirit to lead and guide me. It is not always easy for the flesh truly enjoys to rule over me. One way to stay focused on God and not myself is as I read His Word I find first and foremost a question I ask myself is, what have I learned about God or Christ in the Word today. In order to have a good relationship with someone one must get to know that person. The same is with God. The only way to grow closer to God is to get to know Him and the way to get to know Him is through His Word. As I go about my day I must keep in the forefront of my mind and heart WHO God is. By doing that I know WHO it is Who leads and guides me and WHO it is I can trust with my whole heart. I cannot fully trust someone I do not know. It is easy to say we believe IN God. We live knowing He is there. BUT...without a relationship with Him believing IN God stops right there. It is mere religion and formality. A real relationship with God is not only believing IN God because He is there,  but believing HE IS GOD. He is LORD. He is sovereign over our lives. He is trustworthy. But many times we do not live as though we KNOW HIM and know that He is trustworthy. We try to live life on our own merits without giving it all to Him. And that is something I am not ok with. I don't want to live the formality of the Christian life with just a belief IN God. I want to truly KNOW Him. So my focus in my Bible time will be first and foremost WHO God is and getting to know Him more as LORD of my life. 

I will begin with my first reading in the Old Testament in Psalms 91-93. So what I have learned today in these passages about God are the following.

Psalm 91:1-2
In these verses there are four names of God: 
     Most High (Elyon -Sovereign Ruler)
     Almighty (Shaddai -All-Powerful)
     LORD (Jehovah - the existing One)
     God (Elohiym - the One true God)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!"

Without typing out the entire Psalms I will list based upon my reading of these verses, my understanding of WHO God is or WHAT God does.

1.) He is my security.
2.) He is my refuge; my protector.
3.) He is trustworthy
4.) He is my deliverer
5.) He is faithful
6.) He punishes evil
7.) He provides guardian angels for protection
8.) He answers prayer
9.) He is my rescuer
10. He provides salvation
11.) He will not abandon me
12.) He is loving and kind
13.) He is creator
14.) He is forever
15.) He causes the righteous to flourish
16.) He is upright
17.) There is no unrighteousness in Him
18.) He reigns
19.) He has clothed and girded Himself with strength
20.) He firmly established the world
21.) His throne is established from old
22.) He is everlasting
23.) He controls the waters of the earth
24.) He is holy

Now I will reflect upon all of these attributes and how I can trust Him because of them.

Because He is my security I can have confidence knowing He is keeping me in the palm of His hand. He will never let me go and that is very comforting considering all the evil in this world. 

Because He is my refuge I can go to Him and rest when the noise of this world invades my heart and mind. People are untrustworthy, but God is my refuge when people hurt me or betray me.

Because He is trustworthy it doesn't matter if people are not. The only One who truly matters with my heart is Him. 

Because He is my deliverer I know He will not leave me in a sinful state when I sin. He delivers me from myself. He delivers me from the things in my heart and mind that are ungodly or with things I struggle with. I just have to trust Him and give it all to Him.

Because He is faithful I can trust Him 100%. Nobody on this earth is faithful to anyone or anything. People hurt us and disappoint us, but He is always faithful to keep His Word to us.

Because He punishes evil I can rest in the fact that I do not have to take on that task. It is easy for us humans to want to strike back. Make them pay, so-to-speak. Take revenge. Why should I do that knowing God will take care of it for me?

Because He provides guardian angels for protection I can feel safe. I never really stopped to ponder having a "guardian angel". I have to wonder how many times I was saved from disaster or even death because of this protection from Him. 

Because He answers prayer I can feel confident when I pray. I can trust that no matter what prayer I pray He will answer in some way. Many times I struggle with prayer. Sometimes it is hard to find the words to convey. But in those times I just sit at His feet because He already knows my heart without me saying one word. He knows when I struggle to pray and why. 

Because He is my rescuer I know I can turn to Him for help anytime. He will rescue me from the things that bring harm to my life; including my own selfish and wrong decisions.

Because He provides salvation I know that one day I will see Him face to face and leave this cruel world for a better place.

Because He will not abandon me I am secure in my faith. There were times in my life I abandoned Him when going through dark times. He never ever abandoned me. He waited patiently for me to learn my lessons and come back to Him. Just like the prodigal son.

Because He is loving and kind I know that I can trust Him with my heart. I can also learn from Him how to pattern that; how to show love and kindness to others.

Because He is Creator I never have to wonder where I came from or where I am going.

Because He will exist forever so will I.

Because He causes the righteous to flourish I can take comfort in that He wants the best for me. He wants me to flourish in my life and not bring me harm.

Because He is upright I never have to worry He will do me wrong. Living in this world people hurt us and do evil. God is upright and there is no evil in Him so I never have to worry about God hurting me or treating me like some people do.

Because there is no unrighteousness in Him I can trust in His goodness and faithfulness. He will always do what is right for me and by me.

Because He reigns I understand He is LORD over my life always and forever.

Because He has clothed and girded Himself with strength He is strong enough to carry me in all my weaknesses and when I lose strength. I can trust in His strength when I am weak.

Because He firmly established the world I can trust in His sovereignty. He is Creator and owner of this world and nothing happens without Him allowing it. 

Because His throne was established from old (always) and He is everlasting,  I can trust Him as King of my life. He always existed and will forever exist. I will never have to worry that God will not be there.

Because He controls the waters of the earth it is proof to me of His Sovereignty. He is always in control of everything and every situation. So when I go through hard times or hard situations, though it may hurt, I can rest in the fact that He knows and understands and He is allowing it all for His purpose and sometimes for my growth.

Because He is holy I can have reverence for Him and learn to be holy as He is holy. I cannot compare to His holiness nor will I ever fully understand the magnitude of it. But I can choose to respect it and live accordingly. 

I will not go into 1 Peter 5 today as this has gotten rather lengthy. 

Father God...You who are Mighty and righteous. Your lovingkindness is great and You are trustworthy and faithful. I give you praise for who You are. You are worthy of all glory and praise. Thank You for Your word today and for showing me more of who You are. Help me, Father God, to use these attributes you have shown me today in my daily life. When life gets tough and hard times come, help me, Father to remember who You are and that I can fully trust You in ever area of my life. I acknowledge I sin every single day and I thank You for Your forgiveness and I take comfort in the blood of Jesus that has taken away all of my sins... past, present, and future. Lead and guide me today and always and help me to walk in Your Spirit and truth always. Amen.