At Rest

 

“Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”  Psalm 116:7

I must confess, I stink at resting.  If I sit down to rest, I immediately think of the laundry I need to finish, the email I need to reply to, the call I forgot to respond to, or see a pillow or throw that needs straightening.  Getting still at night to go to sleep is also difficult.  So it probably comes as no surprise, having my soul at rest- not likely.  My soul is as high strung as my brain!

Often when the Bible refers to your soul, it means your mind, your will or your emotions.  Quieting those things sometimes takes supernatural empowerment. Especially for us type A personalities who are high achievers and high stressors.  But be at rest we must.

How do I bring my mind to rest?  First of all we must commit the thoughts of our mind to the Lord.  To be at rest is to cease from relentless worrying, obsessing and running scenarios with possible outcomes in our mind.  To be at rest in your mind is to live in the moment, trusting God with your future.  Secondly, this is accomplished by doing as the Psalmist did, and talking to ourselves.  Often we can talk ourselves into a place of chaos just as easily as we can talk ourselves into a place of peace.

How about bringing rest to my will?  This is possibly tougher than the mind.  Anyone else besides me a willful sort?  I am a person of grit, moxie, and perseverance… great signs of leadership potential.  (Some of the pretty lies I tell myself!)  My will desires to have its way at all times.  To bring rest to my will is to surrender it to the Lord.  It means sometimes I do not get to have the last word or have my way.  At times the Lord calls upon me to keep the peace and walk in love.  Bringing the will to rest has much to do with wrestling it upon the altar and praying that the Lord burns up all that is not of him.

Finally, bringing rest to my emotions is needful.  Emotions?  Yeah, we all have them.  Some of us are better at burying them, denying them or hiding them.  Bringing our emotions to rest allows us to do the right thing in season or out.  We do not attend church only when we feel like it, rather we make an emotion-less decision about it and stick to it. We follow through with commitments because it is the right thing and we follow through with projects because we are people of integrity.  A person who operates above their emotions is a person walking in victory.

“Be at rest, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to me.”  Indeed he has!  Every good and perfect gift came from him.  Everything that is right in my life is His doing.  When I think about his goodness, it is much easier to be still in my soul.  In fact, thinking upon the goodness of the Lord causes me to want to sit at his feet as Mary did in the Bible, just drinking in his love, wisdom and presence.

Dear Lord, help me to find rest for my soul in you.  Thank you that you have been so good to me.  Help me to operate in the power of your spirit and not to be led around by my mind, will and emotions.  In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Sherri

Simplicity of Heart

“The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.  The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.”  Psalm 116:5-6

 

I have been accused of being simple-minded, but never simple-hearted!  Truth is, my heart is a most complicated matter.  How about yours? 

What does it mean to be simple-hearted?  I believe it means to possess a child-like faith.  This is a heart that chooses to believe, chooses to hope, and chooses to rest.   When we are successful in disengaging our brain and following after our spirit, there is great liberty found there.  This is a place where God can work miracles.  When we hand our concerns and dreams over to him and trust him to bring it to pass, we can go about life happy and fulfilled even while we wait for the realization of the dream.

God is gracious, righteous and full of compassion.  He is 100% trustworthy.  He will never make a choice concerning us that will not ultimately be in our best interest and for our best good.  When we grab hold of the truth of the nature and character of God, it inspires faith and trust. It enables us to abandon ourselves completely to His plan and design knowing we are not able to work it anyway.

In my house, my husband is the one that is a technical genius.  I have no interest in technology and, in fact, I choose not to clutter my mind with the details.  I’m not going to understanding the deep workings of my car engine, or the icemaker in the refrigerator..  I am content with knowing that he knows it and I do not have to!  That is simplehearted faith.  That is the degree to which we must learn to lean on God.  We often lean on God in such a way that if he moves, we will still remain upright.  We have a foot behind us just in case God does not hold us up.  That is ridiculous.  We can run and throw ourselves into his giant arms knowing he will catch us and not let us fall.  A life of faith is the kind that if God does not come through, we fall flat on our face. 

When I am in great need, he saves me.  Praise be to God!  He can handle the large things that concern me.  Do you need saving today?  Call on Jesus.

Dear Lord, help me come up higher in simplehearted faith.  Help me to be a person of great faith and trust.  Go before me today and fight my battles for me.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

One Thing

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”  Psalm 27:4

 

Have you ever had a prayer request?  Just one?  Me neither!  I have always had more prayer requests than I have people in my life.  For each of my immediate family members I have at least two things I am praying and believing God for, over their lives.  My own prayer requests, at times, seem unlimited.

In this passage, David has a clear focus or purpose in mind.  He had the best in mind.  His one and only goal was to dwell in the Lord’s presence, in his house and looking at him and seeking him.  This is a lifelong pursuit.  Though he is not confined to one physical location, such as a temple, I do enjoy worshiping him in the church with other like-minded people.  At times I consider what heaven will be like when we sing around the throne and cast our crowns at his feet.  What will it be like to actually see the one I have sought after since I was five years old?  It makes me think of the song “I Can Only Imagine” for truly I have no idea what my response will be.  We have to practice on the earth serving him all of our lives, to prepare us for the wonderful work of worship we will have in eternity.

I was recently studying the account of Jesus being entertained in the home of Martha.  She had become upset because her sister, Mary, was not helping.  Jesus said something powerful to her.  “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Sometimes, despite all of our wants, hopes and concerns, only one thing is needed.  That one thing is seeking to know the Lord in his fullness.

“Dear Lord, please help me be focused on you.  Help me to worship you as you deserve to be worshiped.  Help me to remember everything else is a distraction and background noise. In Jesus’ Name.

Sherri

 

Facing Your Enemy

“Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.”  Psalm 27:3

 

What powerful imagery! It is easy to be confident when we are up against one foe, which is smaller and weaker than us.  But in this passage, David is saying even if an entire army comes against him, he will not fear.  Even if a full-scale war breaks out against him personally, he would be confident.

How could he possibly say such audacious things?  He said them because he knew Whose he was.  He understood that he belonged to God and that no matter how many come to attack him; no matter how big they were, how well armed they were; no matter how powerful they were; they were no match for his God.  Our God is just that big, powerful and sufficient.  That is why we can rest in him even when life kicks up some major storms.

Like you, I currently have a few enemies I am facing- discouragement; delayed answers to prayer and even a little despair.  But passages like this cause my spirit to rise up within me and say:  “Yes, He can handle this!  It is going to work out.”  Usually when our problems loom too large, it is because we have shrunk God down to our size. 

We can choose to be fearless.  We cannot help the emotion of fear that comes our way, but we can do as Joyce Meyer recommends and “Do it afraid.”  No matter how our emotions tremble and quake, we can choose to not allow fear to limit what we do for God or what we allow him to do through us.

Lord, I am struggling today. Please help me to stand firm as David did.  Help me to remember your goodness and the times you have come through for me.  Increase my confidence, in Jesus Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

Hoping to Get Someone to Fall for You?

“When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.” Psalm 27:2

 

Evil men come in all shapes and sizes- and sexes as well.  The Lord has a way of using difficult people to refine us, to test our character and to show his handiwork in our lives.  I have found that as I progress through life, I meet these evil men in all spheres of my life- on the job; in the family; in the grocery store, in the church; at the ball field;  and yes, sometimes, in the mirror!

So, given that there is an epidemic of evil, hateful, mean or difficult people, what is a girl (or guy) to do?  In this passage, the Psalmist had the quiet confidence of knowing that the Lord would fight for him.  The Lord often works behind the scenes to defeat our enemy.  He can set spiritual ambushments against our enemies and cause them to turn on each other and defeat each other without us having to lift a finger to fight.

If we are endeavoring to walk upright before the Lord, following His Word and not sinning against our conscience, we can have confidence when we face attack.  Just imagine, if you will, your enemy tripping all over himself, unable to even advance against you.  We may never see it in the natural, but it doesn’t make it any less real.

Our average enemy is not holding a machine gun or hatchet, rather he or she is wielding a lying tongue or a vengeful spirit.  Or perhaps they are trying to weasel themselves into your job, or into your marriage.  Whatever the situation, we must recall that the flesh and blood people we see are never truly our enemy.  The devil is our enemy, but he uses other individuals to get to us.  As children of God, we must always remember that the person opposing us is also another human being, created in the image of God for his glory.  They have a soul and therefore, have inherent worth.  When we beseech the Lord to deal with our enemies, we must always recognize that he will be as merciful to them as he is to us. But never fear!  God is able to protect you and deal with them.  In fact, the more we hold to his ways, the more he fights on our behalf.  The battle is not yours.  The battle is the Lord’s!

Dear Lord, thank you for fighting for me.  Thank you that you cause me to triumph over my enemies and come away from their attacks unscathed.  Help me keep my heart pure. In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

 

You Don’t Scare Me

“The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?”  Psalm 27:1

There are many situations that occur over a person’s lifespan that inspires fear.  We can have sudden fear when we lose visual contact with a toddler in a department store.  We can have months of agonizing fear as we go through uncertainty in medical testing, diagnosis or treatment.  We can experience life-long fears: the fear of heights, public speaking or an unrealistic fear of dogs or snakes.

Regardless of what you fear, things are always less frightening in the broad light of day.  When the sun is out and birds are singing, it has a way of putting everything into perspective.  Regardless of what fears you face today, begin to pray for the Lord to bring His light into the situation and grant you a new perspective.  If He is your Light, Salvation and Stronghold, what can man do to you?  He is the sovereign, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God.  (He is all powerful, ever present and all-knowing.)  There is nothing that you face that is beyond the gamut of his expertise.  You are God’s child and He loves you.  He watches over you tenderly, protecting you, blessing you and loving you through every moment of each day.  His watch care of you is all inclusive.  If we honestly grab hold of the truth that He loved us enough to die for us to be restored to him, it empowers us to trust Him with our lives. 

Dear Lord, thank you for being my light, my stronghold and my Savior.  Help me to look at life through a lens of faith, rather than through one of fear.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

An Effective Prayer Life

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”  Ephesians 6:18

 

As we conclude the series on the “Armor of God” it would almost seem like this verse is not a part of the armor.  But I once read a very interesting commentary that talked about how the Roman soldier would have different sized and shaped daggers in his arsenal to address different types of military needs.  Have you ever tried to do a job with the wrong size tool?  It is almost impossible. 

There are all kinds of prayer in existence.  As a well-armed Christian, we must have each type available as the need arises.  There is times that a prayer of petition- asking God for a specific request- is needed.  Other times it may be a prayer of intercession, where we stand in the gap for someone else and believe God to meet their need.  There are prayers of consecration and dedication when we turn our lives over to the Lord.  There are prayers of supplication, prayers of desperation and prayers of thanksgiving.  This list is by no means exhaustive.  But the point is apparent.  We need variety in our prayer life.  Just as a meal consisting of beans and rice meal after meal would be monotonous, praying the same type of prayer all the time is boring.

If you have become bored with your prayer life, why not try a different type of prayer?  Maybe read a psalm or one of Paul’s prayers and make it your own?  Let’s move beyond “God is great, God is good” or “Lord bless Mama and Daddy.”  These are good, but there is so much more out there for you.

Another suggestion is to pray for different needs on different days of the week.  For instance, you could pray on Monday for your church; Tuesday for your family; Wednesday for those who need healing; Thursday for your local government, state and national government, Friday for missionaries and Saturday for revival or an end times harvest.  Sunday could be a day to pray for souls to be saved in your church service or to intercede for the pastor.

Let’s challenge ourselves to grow in our prayer lives, praying prayers as big as the God we are praying to.

Dear Lord, show me where I am lacking in my prayer life.  Grant me a zeal and desire to be a prayer warrior.  Expand my prayer experiences and increase my desire to pray.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri