The End

Psalm 77: 12 – 13          TPT

I ponder all you’ve done, Lord, musing on all your miracles. It’s here in your presence, in your sanctuary, where I learn more of your ways. For holiness is revealed in everything you do.

The End of all things is to learn where your power center is, and this is it. God is the source of all good. Asaph understood that when all was said, all was done, it comes back to the meditation in God’s presence. You don’t have to be in the sanctuary of the church because Jesus made us all tabernacles of God. We are His resting place. That means we need to commune with Him within our own hearts because that is His temple, His abode.

Asaph went into the sanctuary and pondered all that God has done. He mused, thought, and considered the miracles of the Lord. When he did, he learned. That quiet time in the presence of the Lord is when the miracles are formed. It is where and how we learn. If the church is weak, it will be weak when we do not spend time in the tabernacle with God, meaning we do not get alone with God and ponder His ways. It is in His presence that we are renewed and our thoughts are renewed.

God’s personality is revealed in everything He does, and everything He says. So, when we get quiet in His presence we learn of Him and He reveals His essence. In that space of calm reflection and communication is also where we are most likely to receive the idea that changes our lives or the answer to a perplexing question. Asaph learned that the answer to his dilemma was in the contemplative time with God, time in His actual presence. I bet your answer is too!

Answer my Prayer

Psalm 20: 3 – 4             God’s Word

He will remember all your grain offerings and look with favor on your burnt offerings. Selah. He will give you your heart’s desire and carry out all your plans.

Do you know that there are some people to whom it is difficult to give? I had a friend that way. You couldn’t bless her. She refused kindness or just would not receive graciously. After a while, I just got tired of trying to be a blessing to her. She just made it too painful. I wonder if God has the same problem giving to us. Do we make it difficult?

Today’s psalm is a psalm of David. If you were to read the whole thing you would recognize his writing. One of the things I find most interesting in this selection is the “Selah” at the end of verse three. What is there about the content of verse three that should cause us to stop and ponder? Is it reasonable that God’s memory of all of your offerings inclines him to giving you your heart’s desire?

This would appear to be the operation of the covenant relationship between David and Yahweh. David contributed to the temple. He gave his tithes and offerings and God was aware of David’s faithfulness. David was bolstered by his gifts too because he understood the covenant. He knew that because he did his part, God would do His. There was a trust relationship between them. Of course David could boast in the name of God. He understood covenant relationships and he stood on his covenant. God proved time and again that He would do as He promised. Why then, does it seem that He isn’t fulfilling His promises to us?

If I had the answer to that I would write the book and all Christians would get all prayers answered. It is a question worth pondering though. Why would God even bother make us promises if He didn’t intend to keep them? It’s not like we had some sort of leverage to force Him to make a bargain with us. So, if He so charitably makes promises, will He not also keep them? What then marks a difference between those who receive of God and those who do not. I can’t help but think that it is this confidence that David shows in God keeping His covenant. Does that bold trust and unwavering assurance put David in a better position to receive? In verse 6 he wrote, “I know God gives me all that I ask for,” (Passion). Do you think most of us can say that with the same level of confidence? I want to be able to as I am sure you do also.

So here is what I leave you with today. What do you think distinguishes David from most of us? He was on the wrong side of the cross even, yet he had such confidence in God. Secondly, do you think the covenant relationship had something to do with David being able to receive from God? We have a better covenant than he and ours is made on better promises with a better mediator (Hebrews 8: 6, 12: 4). How is it that God gave him all he asked for when his covenant was inferior to ours and yet we do not seem to receive all we ask? I have questions for you rather than answers but often I believe the questions to be more important. Only the right question will lead you to the right answer. So, will you ponder these questions in light of today’s verse? We would love to hear from you.

Don’t Shoot the Messenger

Judges 6: 7                   NIV

When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, he sent them a prophet.

There are times when we fail to see that the Old Testament stories and experiences hold real life lessons for us. We live in very different times. Most of us have no worries about the Midianites and therefore, have not been crying out to the Lord about them. Perhaps, though, there is something you have been crying out to the Lord about. Maybe there are some people who are a thorn in your flesh. You may have a health or financial need which needs attention. Thankfully, we have learned to pray. For the most part we have even learned to ask others to pray with us. We certainly get the impression from this scripture that the Israelites were praying to God in unison. The good news is, God answered them. He responded.

When the Jews were looking toward heaven for the Messiah, many missed his arrival on earth because they had preconceived ideas of what form their deliverance would take. We, like the Israelites facing Midian, want God to swoop in and in an instant, resolve our problem. Sometimes, though, in fact often, instead of showing His power in a miraculous solution, God sends a prophet. That is not to say that God does not still perform miracles today. He does, but sometimes the answer is not to give us a fish but rather to teach us to fish so we do not end up in the same predicament again.

You may be praying about your health, finances, work, your family or any of a number of things. God will answer you. In fact, He probably already has. The key is in recognizing the answer. God’s answer may have been to send you a prophet.

I have been trying to lose weight for many years. I read the books, did the programs. I exercised. One year I rode my bike 30 miles every morning while being sober about my diet. I didn’t lose much weight even though I rode harder and faster every week. I wished God would just touch me and fix my broken metabolism and balance my hormones, but He didn’t. He sent me a prophet, or two or three. Bit by bit the Father has led me into life solutions. He transformed my life and my weight by leading me into behavioral solutions that I could implement myself. He led me to join the YMCA and He has continued to lead me to diet prophets. I am continually learning more about how and what to eat.

Had he touched me and fixed my problems with a miracle, I would have eventually gotten myself back to the same condition because of the choices I was making. So, sometimes when you pray for something, God sends you a prophet who leads you into the promised land instead of God taking that land for you. Look around you. The Lord may have already sent your answer. He may have sent a person, or maybe a book. Our Lord will never leave us, never abandon us to our problems but He will often send the solution in a form we were not expecting. Don’t be like Israel who killed the prophets. Just because you don’t like what they have to say does not mean they aren’t the life saver you prayed for. Your answer has probably been paraded past you several times. Take some time to relax in the Lord’s presence and become sensitive to His leading. Listen to His voice. Receive His counsel. When you prayed, He may have sent a prophet.

End of Tears

Isaiah 30: 19

O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.
God answers prayer. He is always attentive and listening for you. He longs to be gracious to you. When he hears you cry out, He will answer. This does not say that He will sometimes answer or when He feels like it He will answer. It is a definitive statement, leaving no room for misunderstanding or interpretation. Perhaps we are not always attentive to His voice but He is always and forever answering our cries. 

Do you have a need today? Do you have a desperate situation with which you really need help? He is standing by to help you. He is there answering you. When you cry out to Him, accept that He is answering you. Be silent and listen. Don’t rush around looking for answers. Get quiet and receive His help. The hardest part is shutting off all of the noise in and around you. Know and do not question or doubt that our God is present and available. Know that he is helping you and is right beside you. As soon as you call, he comes. He is faithful.

Finding Answers

John 14: 6

I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

I think we sometimes become so familiar with certain verses that we cease to hear what they have to say. This is one of those verses. It is amazingly powerful. The world is out there looking for answers to all kinds of problems. Unfortunately, we Christians often look to the world for every kind of answer too. We have forgotten that Jesus came to earth to be the answer. He is the way for which we are searching. Jesus has paved the way for us to go to the Father of all for every answer that has or ever will exist. The creator is standing by to give us answers and show us the way. Don’t look to the world for your answers; they do not have them. Ask your Father. He knows all and is more than willing to share all of the wisdom he has with you.