Wednesday, August 30, 2017

dogeared

Psalm 139

I couldn't pick one verse if I wanted to.  Psalm 63 is one of my favorites as a psalm of just praise.  This one...this one...it hits everything.

I love the beginning with all it's actions verbs that show how God is actively at work in our lives...ALWAYS.
     "O Lord, You have searched me and you know me.  
      You know when I sit and when I rise;
      You perceive my thoughts from afar.
      You discern my going out and my lying down;
      You are familiar with all my ways.
      Before a word is on my tongue
      You know it completely, O Lord." (verses 1-4, emphasis mine)
He is there in all of it.  He understands the motives and the actions.

I find comfort in His surrounding love...just knowing He doesn't let go even when I want to indulge in that "little sin" (just a little gossip...a little morsel because it is sometimes so "yummy" to be in on it) or I am walking through a trial (David kind of saw it as confining and even tried to flee from God's presence).  I love that because I am His, that He hems me in...like a mark that says, "Mine...I got this one"
     "You hem me in-behind and before; 
      You have laid Your hand upon me.   
      Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty to attain." (verses 5-6)

One that I have repeated over and over to my girls and to myself as we (as women) fight the body shaming; and all of us as we look and see the imperfections and think, "Why am I this way?"  He makes NO mistakes.  We ARE perfectly made...all shapes, sizes, colors.  He is the master craftsman and we are His masterpieces.
     "For you created my inmost being; 
      You knit me together in my mother's womb.  
      I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
      Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  
      Your eyes saw my unformed body.  
      All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them         came to be." (verses 13-14, 16)
He has my life in His perfect hands.  I wish I could say I don't worry...I try not to and when I do I remember that nothing going on surprises Him and He is already in control of my whole life from its beginning to end, He is and has already been there.

And then there is asking God to help you....to see your part in the middle of conflict, to guide you when you are in the midst of a decision that needs discernment, and most importantly to lead you in the way that leads to life.
     "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." (verses 23-24)
He has never been there to rip us off, but lead us to life to the full (John 10:10).  He loves us and wants the best for us.  He is faithful and trustworthy...Alpha and Omega.

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