PRAISE THE LORD!

Blessed is the man who FEARS the Lord, who delights greatly  in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed.  Wealth and riches will be in his house.  And his righteousness endures forever.   Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;  He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.  A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion.  Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.  He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.  His heart is established; He will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.  He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor.  The wicked will see it and be grieved; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked shall perish.

Psalm 112:1-10

Fear is a crippling emotion; it stops us from doing what we know we need to do.  When we fear, we refuse wisdom.  When we fear, we are telling God we know better, when in reality, we don’t.  When we fear men, we are giving them the authority we should be giving God.  Failing to give God His authority will lead us to fear everything else.

Fear God and fear nothing else!

Elisabeth Elliot

Have you ever been in the situation where your worst fears became a reality?

That’s where I am now.  And let me tell you, it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be…

If someone had told me a few months ago I would be losing my job and my mom would pass away in the same month, I wouldn’t have believed it to come true.  But it happened.  And I’m ok.  In fact, strangely enough, I’ve never felt closer to the Lord.

Fear of God doesn’t cripple me, it inspires me to be free and to do what’s right.  In Psalm 112 (The Blessed State of the Righteous), David gives us the recipe to live a life without fear; it all begins with worship!  Praising God will set our minds into focus.  When we give into fear and anxiety, our minds are focused only on the circumstances and not in the promises the Lord has given us.  My mom always set that example for me; her circumstances never swayed her from praising God every morning.  When she was in pain, she praised God louder and with more emphasis!

My mom was unshaken by cancer.

Secondly, after praising God comes delighting in His commandments.  Are we being obedient to our calling?  For awhile, I was being obedient but it wasn’t in delight, it was more out of duty.  In Christianese translation, my joy was gone because I allowed circumstances outweigh the promises God specifically gave me.

The weight of fearing men is debilitating and tiring; it’s not constant, because people’s opinions are varying and ever-changing.  We can’t please everyone, but we can please God.  He is one and He is consistent with His Word.  If we try to stand up for righteousness and we are constantly silenced… RUN!  That only works for so long until our convictions can be severely compromised.

Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness.

Lastly, once we stand up for truth, even if it leads us to darkness at first, our hope gives us enough light to carry us through it.  There might be a few stumbles and falls, but nothing will come between us and the love of God… absolutely nothing!!

I have never felt this deep connection to the Lord after encountering all these trials.  Even while witnessing my mom’s health deteriorate, God was ever-present and carried me through all the bad days she had.  He gave me the wisdom and the courage to tackle what was and is to come.

Surely he will never be shaken..

When we think our circumstances are comfortable and stable, it’s easier not to acknowledge God in our lives. As this Psalm says, to find our stability while trusting God as the way for our hearts to be established in Him alone.  Whether we are living the best times of our lives, or we are in misery, our trust and hope in Him doesn’t change.  We praise God when all is good and we praise Him when not.

In my experience, the shadows do prove the sunshine.  Without light, there wouldn’t be darkness.  We are simply told to praise Him, to delight in His commandments, to trust Him in the darkness; and in return, He promises us that we will never be shaken!  He promises us the generation of the upright will be blessed and his righteousness will endure forever.  Anything or anyone who attempts to steal this from us will pay and will grieve…

Whenever someone asks how I’m doing, I say “I’m surprisingly doing better than I thought I would be in the circumstances I’m in,” and I mean it.  All the strength and peace I feel come from Him alone; I stand unshaken!

The Day that I Found God by Switchfoot (From Where the Light Shines Through)

The morning comes like an enemy soldier
I feel the weight across my shoulders
I feel the shadows getting colder
But that ain’t you

This noose ain’t getting any looser
I get so fearful about the future
I hear the shame of my accuser
But that ain’t you

I found strength but it wasn’t what I thought
I found peace in the places I forgot
I found riches ain’t the things that I had bought I found out
The day I lost myself was the day that I found God

I get caught chasing my own illusions
I get so lost in these confusions
I keep on looking for my own solutions
But that ain’t you, that ain’t you no

My enemies weren’t the ones I had fought
My liberties weren’t the freedoms I had sought
What I learned weren’t the lessons I’d been taught
I found out the day I lost myself was
The day that I found God

Where is God out in the darkness?
Cause the voices in my head ain’t talking honest
They’re saying maybe you made us then forgot us
But that ain’t you, that ain’t you no

And all I know is that I still don’t know a lot
I don’t know how it ends I’m in the middle of this plot
Yeah and I found grace for the man that I am not
Yeah, I found out the day I lost myself
Yeah, I found out the day I lost myself
Yeah, I found out
The day I lost myself was the day that I found God