Tag: Psalms

Posted on

Don’t Put Confidence in Powerful People!

Psalm 146

1Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, I tell myself.

2I will praise the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God even with my dying breath.

3Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.

4When their breathing stops, they return to the earth, and in a moment all their plans come to an end.

5But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God.

6He is the one who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He is the one who keeps every promise forever,

7who gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners.

8The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts the burdens of those bent beneath their loads.The LORD loves the righteous.

9The LORD protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

10The LORD will reign forever. O Jerusalem, your God is King in every generation! Praise the LORD! (Psalm 146:1-10, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

We live in perhaps one of the most polarized times in the history of our country. Wherever you may align yourself on the political spectrum, it’s easy to think that all of the problems in our country could be solved if everyone agreed with our views and our solutions.

By extension, we can be fooled into thinking that if people who align with our political persuasions can come to power, things would be much better.

The truth is, as the psalmist says in verse 3, the people who are in positions of authority really have no power to effect lasting change. Why? They are mortal. Being mortal doesn’t just mean that they are subject to death but it also means they are susceptible to all of the vices that mortals are susceptible to – greed, power, corruption, and pursuing their own self-interests.

This is not to say that people cannot effect change or that we shouldn’t give careful thought to who we vote for public office. There is no doubt that the right people can make a huge difference in our communities.

But we shouldn’t put our confidence in them because ultimately, they cannot help. Only the Lord can. Only the Lord ALWAYS keeps his promises. He is righteous and just and he is concerned for the orphan, the widow, the poor and oppressed.

In addition, only the Lord can meet our deepest spiritual needs. And because He is the eternal King, we can ALWAYS depend on Him. Political parties are always changing, which means that the perspectives, approaches and solutions to the issues of the day are constantly shifting as well. But God is eternal. He never changes and He doesn’t change His opinion or His approach.

Thus, the psalmist can say, “He is King in every generation!”

Amen!

Reflection

In what ways can you tend to trust in politicians and people of power to effect change?

What are some examples from your own experience where you have seen people or politicians whom you had trusted, let you down?

While still being politically active and responsible, how can you ensure that your ultimate trust is in the Lord and not people?

 

Photo by Cameron Smith on Unsplash

 

Posted on

A Covid Cave Prayer!

Psalm 142

A psalm of David, regarding his experience in the cave. A prayer.

1I cry out to the LORD; I plead for the LORD’s mercy.

2I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.

3For I am overwhelmed, and you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me.

4I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me.

5Then I pray to you, O LORD. I say, “You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life.

6Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.

7Bring me out of prison so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, for you treat me kindly.” (Psalm 142, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

Like many people in our country, my wife and I have been locked down at home during this pandemic. We’re working from home, we don’t go out much and besides virtual meetings, we’re pretty much disconnected physically from others.

Our home has been what I call our “Covid Cave.”

Psalm 142 is a psalm of David when he was on the run and in hiding from Saul, who wanted to kill him. This psalm was of particular interest to me because he’s writing about his experience hiding out in a cave.

It’s not likely that the circumstances of your experience mirror David’s. Most of us don’t have enemies chasing us and wanting to kill us. And even though I’ve jokingly referred to my home as a “cave”, I at least have a working toilet, running water and internet streaming services, none of which David enjoyed in his situation.

Still, the circumstances surrounding this pandemic have been mentally traumatizing for many, and the resultant emotions may be similar to David’s. Just look at how David describes his situation:

He felt overwhelmed (Verse 3).

He felt trapped (Verse 3).

He felt disconnected and isolated from others (Verse 4).

He felt helpless…like nobody cared about him (Verse 4).

He felt like his life situation was too strong for him (Verse 6).

He felt imprisoned (Verse 7).

Can you resonate with these emotions? If so, you’re not alone.

How did David deal with these emotions?

First of all, David recognized his utter dependence and need for the Lord. He cried out to the Lord. He pleaded with Him for mercy. He poured out his complaints and told Him his troubles.

Secondly, David recognized that the Lord is the only one to whom he could truly turn. He recognized that the Lord alone is his refuge and the only person that he really wants or needs in life.

Who knows how much longer we will be in this situation. Hopefully, things will turn around soon. Until things change though, and life returns to some sense of normalcy, I echo David’s prayer to the Lord that He would bring me out of prison so I can thank Him!

Reflection

What personal struggles have you experienced during this pandemic?

What emotions have these struggles produced in you?

How can David’s “Cave Prayer” help you during your “Covid Cave” experience?

 

Photo by Ksenia Kudelkina on Unsplash

Posted on

Are You an Idol Worshiper?

For my daily devotional reading, I’ve been following the Grant Horner Bible reading plan. I’m in my third year of following this plan, which invites the reader to read one chapter a day from each of 10 different segments of the Bible (Gospels, Old Testament Pentateuch, New Testament Letters #1, New Testament Letters #2, Wisdom Literature, Psalms, Proverbs, Old Testament History, Old Testament Prophets and finally, the book of Acts) for a total of 10 chapters each day.

One of the unique elements to this plan is that you begin to see how the scriptures are related to each other as you see certain themes and topics show up in completely different segments of your Bible reading. This was again the case for me a few days ago when I read the following similar verses from completely different chapters and segments of the Bible:

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 16They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; 17they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. 18Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. (Psalms 135:15-18)

They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’** 41That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in honor of what their hands had made.  (Acts 7:40-41)

Idols have always been an issue with people. We see the theme of idols repeatedly throughout Scripture. In the Psalms passage (and many other locations in Scripture) the author writes about the sheer irony of a person fashioning a figurine out of metal or wood or some other material – giving it eyes and ears and a mouth, even though it cannot see, hear or speak, and then bowing to that figurine as if it had some power to grant to us whatever we might request. It’s utter foolishness. To do this, the Psalmist says, will make you just as senseless as the idols you’ve created.

In the Acts passage, Stephen, who is about to be stoned, is giving a short history of the nation of Israel when he recounts this incident that occurred while Moses was on Mt. Sinai communing with God and receiving the 10 commandments. The people weren’t sure what happened to Moses or why it was taking him so long to come down from the mountain so they asked Aaron to fashion a gold calf which they subsequently began to worship as their God.

It’s easy to read passages like these and wonder how the Israelites could be so dumb to think that something they have just created with their own hands is somehow a god that will do your bidding! How can something you have created have the power to give you whatever you want and do whatever you ask?

People today are still in the habit of creating idols. We may not fashion figurines that we place on the mantel and worship, as we see in the Scriptures, but we create an idol any time our image of God suits our preferences instead of reality.

Think about it this way – in the Bible, we see people fashioning idols to represent gods the way they see them, whether they are in the form of an animal (calf) or people (eyes, ears, mouth). Even if we don’t create a physical representation of God via some figurine, we are still creating an idol any time we create a mental image of God that doesn’t comply with how God is revealed to us in the Bible.

In today’s world, it’s easier than ever to appeal to a “god” that bends to my political views and my cultural preferences.

Because God is infinite, there is always going to be a sense in which our views of Him are not completely accurate. So how can we avoid worshiping an idol? The key is our heart. God doesn’t expect that we would know everything about Him perfectly but He does exhort us to seek him with our whole heart and to worship Him as He’s been revealed.

This is another reason why it’s so important to read and understand God’s Word, for it’s the primary source for truthful information about who God is and what He’s like.

Reflection:

What are some ways you may be tempted to bend your understanding of God and His nature to fit your own views or preferences?

What is the source of information you have about God?

What steps can you take to increase your understanding of who God is so you are worshiping Him in spirit and truth?

 

To learn more about the Grant Horner daily Bible reading plan, you can google it, or go to this blog post, which I found to have a very thorough description.