Think About It

 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
Psalm 33:6-11 (ESV)
 
We are not paying attention if we do not stand in awe of God. Imagine the committee meetings we would need to attend to produce such results, and in the end, we would have something that would not be up to the standard that God did just by speaking.
 
The world tries to adjust stress through meditation or emptying one's mind. The best way to control stress is to fill one's mind during meditation with thoughts of our awesome God and His love for us.

This is not a secret!

 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Psalm 32:10-11 (ESV)
 
Those who ignore God can only find peace and joy in the temporal and, therefore, wear themselves out constantly trying to accommodate their temporal desires. When you ignore God, you ignore purpose. When you ignore God, there is no chance for you ever to find significance and security.
 
One can watch the Godless, see evidence of their struggle, and contrast their lives with the Godly. Those who trust in God see a true joy in the journey. Those who trust in anything else see the journey as a possible threat to their joy.
 
Steadfast, reliable, steady. These are good words that describe those whose lives are anchored in the truth of God's Word.
 
This is not a secret; it has been shouted from the mountains for years. However, it is mainly ignored, and today, when you ignore God, you ignore purpose. When you ignore God, there is no chance for you ever to find significance and security.

A Wonderful Part of Life.

 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalm 32:1-8 (ESV)
 
To know that you are forgiven and live as if you are forgiven is a wonderful part of life.

Clear Destination

 Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!

Psalm 31:23-24 (ESV)
 
We are asked to love God. To love God is to obey God. When we choose to ignore God, we choose to ignore the very purpose of life, and when one ignores their purpose, they spend their life, in vain, looking for it.
 
This passage talks about those who wait on God. What does that mean? It means that often, we cannot see the destination God is taking us to just by the road on which we are currently. We need to trust that God knows the best way to get us to where we are going, or we chance choosing a way that ends up going to a different destination.
 
When we love the Lord, God takes care of the rest. When we love ourselves, we are left to fend for ourselves. When God is in charge, the destination is clear. The journey and the destination are tenuous when we are in charge.

Refuge

 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge.

Psalm 31:1-4 (ESV)
 
It seems that David is asking God to be his refuge quite often. You would think that being in God's will would make life easy, and that one would not need to constantly seek the refuge of the Almighty. Yet, as we read the Psalms, we see David repeatedly seeking just that.
 
Could it be that Western Christianity has it wrong? Could it be that when one is in the middle of God's plan, there is no peace, hope, or refuge apart from God, for the enemy, at that time, is relentless?

We are not victims…

 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 30:1-5 (ESV)
 
Joy comes in the morning to those who extol God during the night. It is our choice as to what we do with our thoughts, for our thoughts should not take us captive; we should take them captive.
 
We are not victims; we are warriors who are assured victory if we only listen. God can and will provide when and where no one and nothing else can.
 
For now, we have the choice of where our minds will dwell.
 

God is the only constant in the universe.

 Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalm 28:6-9 (ESV)
 
If the Lord is your strength and shield, none can take you down. If you're counting on someone or something else, you're vulnerable.
 
It's an antinomy. You become strong if you are weak and dependent and cast all your care and hope on God. However, you lose if you are strong and independent and cast your hope on yourself and your resources.
 
God is the only constant in the universe. If we cast our hope anywhere else, we could well be duped. It's one thing to lose when you expect to lose; it's quite another when you lose when you thought you would win. Both are tragic, and the latter is tragic and devastating.
 

The universe is in sync with God.

 To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.

Psalm 28:1-2 (ESV)
 
Who or what do you call on in times of trouble if you have ignored God all your life? People who ignore God would cry out to the rocks to kill them and have the stones ignore them, for the rocks are not in charge of life or death and are subject to God. During their lives, they lived futile lives; at the end of their lives, they depended on meaningless and silly things to relieve their suffering.
 
When people live without God, they become gods. If they live long enough, thinking the world revolves around them, they actually begin to trust in themselves. In the end, they are most miserable.
 
The universe is in sync with God. We need to observe and do likewise.
 
 

Those who know God fear God.

 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 (ESV)
 
Fear drives us. We fear people, failure, death, life, and more, and whatever we fear controls us.
It should be evident that God loves us and that no force, no matter its apparent strength, can stand against Him. Our fear of God gives us the ability to trust in God, and our trust in God gives us the peace that passes all understanding, regardless of our situations in life.
 
The fear of many circumstances has never yielded peace; it only causes stress, anxiety, and hopelessness. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Trusting in God is the ultimate goal, and that goal is a byproduct.
 
Those who know God fear God, and the final verse of Psalm 27 is the byproduct. They are those who can wait on the Lord, for they know He will come through. They can be strong, for they trust in His strength. Their heart is courageously hopeful.
 
 

There is no hope in man apart from God.

 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Psalm 25:4-5 (ESV)
 
Reading these verses could be an ideal way to begin your day. If you know God's ways and align yourself with them today, you will be where you belong, doing what you should be about.
 
As you seek, know, and enjoy God's ways, you will be one with others doing the same, and you will experience genuine significance in your life.
 
Our Christian life encompasses relationships that point towards a future of hope that God can provide. There is no hope in man apart from God, but we can rest in God's promises and provision.

God is not hiding.

 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

Psalm 24:1-6 (ESV)
 
There are those who realize that God alone grants purpose, blessing, and hope, as evidenced by creation itself. That group seeks and finds God, and experiences His blessings. God's blessings are not random, have nothing to do with luck, and are given generously to all who truly seek Him.
 
God is not hiding. Seeking and finding Him is easy. If we struggle with such things, we have allowed the clutter of life to distract us. Perhaps it is time to remove the clutter.
 

Protection, Peace and Security

 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23:5-6 (ESV)
 
I imagine we would like to enjoy a meal away from our enemies. Yet, it is clear in this passage that the Shepherd allows us to eat and enjoy a meal in the presence of our enemies. The enemy does not stand a chance against our Shepherd, and therefore, even though we are being sized up for their meal, we have no fears because God is with us.
 
Unless, of course, God is not with us. Then, we need to find a place to eat that is enemy-free, which, in this life, is impossible. Therefore, whenever we pause to enjoy a meal, we are being sized up to be the meal for someone else.
 
Protection, peace, security, and fulfillment are not available to us apart from the Shepherd. If we choose to stray, we choose to pay.

Focus

 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:3-4 (ESV)
 
We are followers by nature. We always choose who or what we will follow. When we follow something or someone other than God, we will live in fear outside His protection and guidance.
 
I would like to say that living outside the guidance and protection of God is uncharted territory, however, I think it is charted quite well. Those who live outside of God's protection and guidance live in a continual state of fear, and endure overwhelming feelings of insignificance and insecurity because they are insignificant and insecure.
 
For some reason, we want to make the dangerous journey apart from the Shepherd. When we are away from Him, we must focus on the enemy, and what the enemy is doing so we can keep doing what we are doing. It's best to be single-focused, and for now, the choice is ours.

If I were wise…

 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

Psalm 23:2 (ESV)
 
When the shepherd is around, I am safe. When I am near the shepherd, I am safe. When I yield to the shepherd, I can lie down, enjoy provision, and rest.
 
When I fight the shepherd, I fight against my only hope to enjoy life. I am not cared for when I am not under the shepherd's care. It is not that I am not popular; I am. It is just that I am popular with all the wrong "types" of animals for all the wrong reasons.
 
I became popular so that I could be used and abused by those who would find pleasure in doing so. I am popular for what they might gain from my destruction. I am popular because I am no longer safe.
 
If I were wise, I would double down on focusing on who the shepherd is, and make sure I am by His side, for indeed, there is no hope whatsoever in any other position or process.
 

I Shall Not Want

 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psalm 23:1 (ESV)
 
God compares us to sheep. Sheep are dependent animals. They have enemies they did not ask for or provoke, and they cannot defend themselves. They are helpless without a helper, defenseless without a defender, and lost without a guide. They are followers by nature, and this following can be great or tragic, depending on who they follow.
 
God made sheep and God made us, and He knows to what He is comparing us. This comparison might be one of the most important for us to grasp if we are to live life the way it was meant to be. The lamb's life under the protection and guidance of the shepherd is wonderful. A lamb's life apart from the shepherd is a disaster. We cannot change it because of how we are made.

Sometimes It Tough To Figure Out

 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; "He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"

Psalm 22:1-8 (ESV)
 
Sometimes, we cannot figure things out. As Job was on display for those on earth and the heavenly host, yet had limited answers, we, too, are on display. We must ensure that what we say in the light aligns with how we live through the darkness.

Trust In God.

 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Psalm 20:1-7 (ESV)
 
Wherever I trust other than God, it will prove futile. Money, health, power, position, family, and friends will all eventually be unreliable. God alone is reliable. This concept is challenging because we do not want it to be true. It's too bad believing something does not make it true.

It is an evil thing to empty your mind.

 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14 (ESV)
 
"Meditations into which a man puts his heart will prove the spring of action. The depths of this prayer are reached in the petition concerning the meditations of the heart. Meditation is only unuttered speech. We think in words. Yet the words we utter have a separate existence, and most powerfully affect the thoughts of our mind. Language has a reflex influence upon our thoughts. Thought is revealed in speech, but speech reacts upon thought. The Bible is fully alive to the importance of right words." (Biblical Illustrator)
 
Often, good concepts from the Bible are taken and tried by the secular world to profit personally or corporately. Meditation is good if you meditate on God and His Word and reflect about how your life aligns with it.
 
It is an evil thing to empty your mind, for then you are prime to have someone else fill it for you. We must meditate on God's Word day and night, not on nothing.
 

Satisfaction can be found in God alone.

 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

Psalm 19:7-10 (ESV)
 
God's Word is perfect, reviving, sure, wisdom-giving, right, pure, and enlightening. God's Word makes the heart glad. ESPN can never deliver those things.
The fear of the Lord is pure and enduring. Money could never make that promise
 
The rules of the Lord are trustworthy, correct, and to be desired above all else. The laws of the land do not come close to that.
 
Why would anyone skip time in God's Word? Why would we read it only under obligation rather than because of the joy it brings our souls?
 
Satisfaction can be found in God alone, and His Word allows us to see Him.

God has no language barrier.

 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Psalm 19:1-6 (ESV)
 
When my wife and I go for a walk, I often look down at the pavement and ignore the surrounding National Forest. I see a lot of dirty grays when I can see the brilliance of a forest while listening to the sounds of the tufted grouse.
 
God has no language barrier. Perhaps it's time to look up and listen. It could change your life.

Twice Rewarded!

 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

Psalm 18:24-30 (ESV)
 
Scripture clearly teaches cause and effect. If we seek God, we find God. If we ignore God, we ignore the source of life, hope, peace, joy, and more, and thereby never find them.
 
In a way, you get rewarded twice when you do as you should. While doing what you should is one reward in and of itself, having God say "Well done" is the icing on the cake.