Wait For Strength

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! - Psalm 27:14 (NKJV)

Who likes to wait? I don't like waiting. I will read chapters at the end of the book in a suspense novel to see if my favorite character lives. I sometimes work harder and take on more than I need to in order to control and speed things up. I've mellowed quite a bit over the years, but at times I still struggle with wanting to "help" God move ahead with His plans for my life.

I find myself waiting on God quite a lot these days. I have to, because a situation is out of my hands. I'm waiting on a person. God's probably waiting on me.

None of us like waiting, yet God says to wait on Him and to not be afraid...

...through the questions
...through the pain, and
...through the tears.

God says that He will strengthen our hearts when they become weak. His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. He uses everything in our lives to mold us and shape us into the people He needs us to be to accomplish our purpose in this life.

We need challenges in order to change.

God leads us to green pastures to high places via dark valleys at times. Through it all, He is always there. Like a child going through a scary place with a parent, we can bury ourselves in Him when the going gets too rough.

Does your heart need strength today? Give God time and just wait. Find some solitude. Turn off the TV, computer and phone, and be still in the silence. Open your Bible to your favorite promise from God and ask Him to put His arms around you and give you peace in the middle of your circumstance. He will strengthen your heart.

Dear Father, I thank you for all of who you are to me and most of all I thank you for your unchanging and unconditional love. Show me where I've failed you. Show me where I've pleased you. Most of all, strengthen my heart, our hearts, as we wait on you. Amen.

Revival Through God's Word

Let my soul live that it may praise Thee, and let thine ordinances help me. (Psalm 119:175)

You don't have to go to a "revival" to be revived. God revives anywhere, as long as His Word is present. This morning as I was going through my daily Bible reading plan I experienced somewhat of a "revival" of my own. Actually, it was more of a discovery than a revival, but it sure put a smile on my face.

Did you know that the phrase "revive me" or "revived me" is found eleven times in the 119th Psalm (NASB)? Neither did I until this morning! According to this Psalm, God revives us through His Word, His righteousness, and His lovingkindness. He gives us provision when we so desperately need it. Read through the following list and see what resonates with you today. Something will. I guarantee it.

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My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Thy Word. (v 25)

Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, And revive me in thy ways. (v 37)

Behold, I long for Thy precepts; Revive me through Thy righteousness. (v 40)

This is my comfort in my affliction, that Thy Word has revived me. (v 50)

Revive me according to Thy lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Thy mouth. (v 88)

I will never forget Thy precepts, For by them Thou hast revived me. (v 93)

I am exceedingly afflicted; Revive me, O Lord, according to Thy Word. (v 107)

Hear my voice according to Thy lovingkindness; Revive me, O Lord, according to Thine ordinances. (v 149)

Plead my cause and redeem me; Revive me according to Thy Word. (v 154)

Great are Thy mercies, O Lord; Revive me according to thine ordinances. (v 156)

Consider how I love Thy precepts, Revive me, O Lord, according to Thy lovingkindness. (v 159)

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Lord, thank you for your healing touch. Thank you for your Word and your mercies that are new every morning. Revive your children so they can really live again for you. Amen.

How does God revive you? Feel free to share in the comments below.  I'd love to hear from you!

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Janna Rust is a Professional Coach and Speaker dedicated to encouraging others towards lives God intends for them.  For more information, visit her other blog at www.purposefulleadershipblog.com.

How Is Your Heart Set?

O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You! - Psalm 84:12 NKJV

Blessed.  I want to be blessed.  Is that a selfish thought?  I think that depends on the way we look at things.  Being blessed by God requires acts of selflessness, not selfishness if we are to be blessed by God the way He wants to bless us.  Psalm 84 speaks to me in a way that reminds me of how my proper focus will reap joy here on earth and eternal rewards in heaven.  I am reminded here of the blessings a heart centered on the right things can bring in spite of whatever else is going on in my life.  It makes me take inventory once again of what my heart is set on...really.  How about you? 

Take a look with me as I look at Psalm 84 and the benefits we can have from having our hearts "set" on the things God desires.

A heart set on pilgrimage...

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. (Ps 84:5 NKJV)

Our Christian life is a journey.  The more we travel on its roads, the more we need God's strength, don't we?  The longer we travel, the more reassurance we need that life is better with God than with anything else.  The great thing is, the more we seek getting to know God better in all aspects of our journey, the more we will see of Him and the more He will bless us.   How is your journey progressing?  Is your heart set on a pilgrimage to know more of God?

A heart set on closeness...

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand.  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.  (Ps 84:10 NKJV)

A doorkeeper at the temple was most likely standing outside in all of the elements of weather - the rain, the heat, etc.  However, our psalmist states that he would rather be that doorkeeper close to God than sheltered in the tents of the wicked.  How about you?  I want to be close to God no matter what it demands of me.  No material possessions and no amount of creature comforts ever compare to the warmth and peace I experience when I am walking with our God.  If we make the effort to get to be with Him, we can have a relationship with God that surpasses even our most intimate earthly relationship.  How was your time with God today?

A heart set on righteousness...

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.  (Ps 84:11 NKJV)

To a heart set on righteousness, God will grant us grace, glory and good things.  His face will shine upon us like the sun on a summer's day, warming our hearts as His shield protects us from the evil one.  Oh, the blessings of living the way God intended us to live.  I don't know about anyone else, but I'm glad that God promises us blessing for living righteous lives - trying to live uprightly in this day and age is not so easy all of the time.  What should you change today to live a more "upright" life?

When we trust in God by keeping our hearts set on Him, He will indeed bless us as He has promised.  I cling to those promises He has made for me.  He will give us what we need, when He sees that we need it.  It is in the waiting through our journey that we must trust in Him so that He will give us the strength to press on in our pilgrimage of getting to know Him better each and every day.  We need to keep our hearts set on God.

 

Paternal Protection

"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life will I satisy him and show him my salvation." (Psalm 91:14-16 NIV)

My final assignment, should I choose to accept it (sorry, couldn't resist the MI movie quote), for my Community Bible Study homework this week was the following:

Set aside at least fifteen minutes to meditate on Psalm 91, which speaks of the confidence that belongs to a person who trusts in the Lord.  In what specific areas do you need to trust Him?  How is your "confidence level"?  Personalize this week's memory work (the passage I've posted above, Ps 91:14-16) by placing your name in the appropriate places, and say it aloud. Do you believe it? Are you doing your part? God is totally trustworthy.  He will do His part!

Obviously you can see that I'm doing my homework here rather than post about some more of the geneaologies I'm reading about in 1 Chronicles! :)  I liked this Psalm.  I liked the mental picture I get of resting in God's shadow from Psalm 91:1.  God is so big and powerful, yet we can have rest in His "shadow" because He is also wholly good.  Sigh.    If we love God, we are promised His protection and care, all because He loves us us.   Take some time today and meditate on God's words of Psalm 91 with me.  You can do my homework too!

Have a blessed day in His shadow...

Janna

Unite My Heart

Psalm 86:11-13 (NKJV)

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. 12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. 13 For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

Somehow in my daily quiet time yesterday morning, I stumbled across the above Psalm.  I can't seem to get this prayer of David's out of my mind, so I'm going to put it into yours, dear readers! :)  Read it slowly again and take in all that David is saying...all that God is saying to you.

To me this passage states the key reasons that we should spend quality time with God in prayer and bible study each day.  Here's why:

God deserves our time

God deserves our fellowship with Him through our devoted prayer and bible reading time because He has delivered our souls out of the sheer goodness of His heart through His mercy.  As David says in verse 13 of the Psalm:

13 For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

According to my bible dictionary, in Hebrew thought, Sheol was regarded as the abode of the dead, deep inside the earth.  David was very thankful in God's deliverance of himself from there.   God has delivered us Christians from a similar fate.  Because of His mercy in allowing His son, Jesus, to die for us, we too are delivered from "Sheol".  Not to mention, that once we become Christians, God extends His mercy to us daily as He patiently endures our mistakes and disobedience while molding us to become more like Him.

Our hearts are divided

David prays in this psalm for God to unite his heart so that he would fear God.

11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.

Unite my heart.  How many times do we struggle to do the right things in our lives.  Our thoughts and actions don't always line up with the truth of God's word, do they?  First of all, we must know what God says we should do and think so we can walk in His truth.   This is where the bible knowledge comes in handy.  However, knowledge not applied does no one any good now does it?  We all need our hearts united so that we have only one focus - a devotion to God and to His ways, not ours.  Lord, unite my heart to fear your name.

Our praise is required

God's word working inside us will result in outward praise to God in our words and our actions.  Praise is more than just singing a praise song.  We praise God every time we do what is right in God's eyes.  We can even praise God by doing housework! (that was a note to myself!). 

12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore.

I truly want to live a life that glorifies and praises God, with all of my heart, mind and soul, but it is not an easy task.  King David had trouble, so why shouldn't I, right?  The answer though, to having that united heart and healthy fear of God lies in my daily quiet time through prayer and bible reading.  Reading to get the info, prayer to apply. 

TODAY'S CHALLENGE (or tomorrow, if today has already passed you by):

What is the purpose of your quiet time with God?   Do you spend enough time praying to ask God to make what you've learned real in your life?  Do you spend enough time to glean a truth from God's word to apply to your day?   Remember that time spent with God is not just another thing to check off of the day's "To Do" list.  It's purpose should be for life change...to make us more like Jesus every single day.