Quiet Confidence

 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you! Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

Psalm 141:1-5 (ESV)
 
A desire to listen to God comes from understanding that listening to man without God is futile.
 
In quietness and confidence comes our strength, not in rhetoric or argument. Man needs to learn to be quiet and value those around them who will "strike" them when they begin to falter to keep them from evil.
 
"For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’ But you were unwilling…." Isaiah 30:15
 

The Danger of Deception

 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV)
 
I cannot honestly search my heart, for I am often more prone to deception than honesty. God alone is truth and is always honest, regardless of shenanigans. If I am to live in the truth, I need to position myself to hear God, and if I listen to Him, I need to be ready and willing to change how and what I am thinking according to what He reveals to me.
 
I would not want to lie to another person intentionally; if I did, I would be overcome with guilt. However, I have learned to lie to myself quite well, often without remorse. This makes my self-talk most dangerous because a lie repeatedly heard becomes one's "truth."
 
Being deceived is most dangerous because we do not know we are being deceived; therefore, we have no way out unless there is some intervention.

Foolishness

 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

Psalm 139:13-18 (ESV)
 
To deny God's role in the creation of any living thing is foolishness, and therefore, those who believe such nonsense are fools. It only takes casual observation to conclude that there must be a God. Since science is based on observation, it should lead us to God instead of driving us away from Him.
 

History…Adjusted!

 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?

Psalm 139:1-7 (ESV)

The tension between God's sovereignty and my choice is evident. God knows everything I will say and do before I ever say and do it, and I have a real option to say and do what I will, if He allows it.

The real issue is that God knows what is to come and has adjusted history to ensure that He wins in the end. For me, a mere man, it is difficult to comprehend what it must be like to know the future and to have already adjusted the events of history.
 

We were not meant to make our own gods.

 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.

Psalm 135:15-18 (ESV)
 
The worthless trust in worthless things. As politically incorrect as it may be, the Bible makes it clear that those who do not live life as intended have wasted their lives, or live worthless lives. The children of Israel, who decided to follow their fears and not enter the promised land, ended up wandering in circles for 40 years. They lived a meaningless existence, and they died in a meaningless place.
 
Today, the objects of our worship have changed, but the problem remains the same. Giving control to anything other than God will cause a loss of purpose that will be impossible to regain without repentance.
 
We were not meant to make our own gods; we were meant to love the only God. Any other arrangement is futile.

Unity comes from submission!

 Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

Psalm 133 (ESV)
 
Unity throughout the Scriptures refers to unity with God and each other, not just unity with each other. Unity with each other can be contrived or manipulated, whereas the unity of the Spirit is wholesome and evident.
 
Ephesians 4:4 (ESV) tells us this: "There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call."
 
Understanding that we are one means understanding that we are one with God and His leading, His purposes, His provisions, and more.
 
Unity comes from submission, not agreement, and submission is only valid when we submit to one who truly loves us. God alone is worthy of complete submission, and through our submission to Him, we submit to those in leadership who submit to Him, and we all stand as one.

Blessing

 

Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! May you see your children's children! Peace be upon Israel! Psalm 128 (ESV)   Blessed in this Psalm is equivalent to the phrase "how happy." How happy is everyone who fears the Lord and obeys the Lord. That would be a simple summary of what makes someone successful. The rich, the poor, the healthy, the sick, the tall, and the short can all choose to fear and obey God. If they decide to do this, they are choosing to be blessed.   Blessing does not have to do with being rich, poor, healthy, sick, tall, or short, so pursuing those things will leave one empty.

Wasted Time

 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127 (ESV)
 
Doing something that wastes time is, well, a waste of time. Perhaps there is no feeling like the one that overtakes one who has invested much and gained little. Those who decided to work at making sense of this life without God, and work at having something or someone to trust other than God, will someday have that sinking feeling that their work was in vain, because it is/was.

God alone is worthy of our trust.

 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 121 (ESV)
 
Our help does not come from money, friends, family, or the government. If it did, it would be dysfunctional help. The only "functional" help comes from the Lord.
 
Often, God uses a lifetime of lessons to teach us that He is the only one worth trusting. It starts with an understanding of who is responsible for all things created, which puts our focus on that for which we are accountable.
 
God alone is worthy of our trust. Those who trust Him will never be ashamed.
 

Fulfillment

 Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me. Redeem me from man's oppression, that I may keep your precepts. Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes. My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

Psalm 119:133-136 (ESV)
 
When was the last time I shed streams of tears because the people around me did not listen to God? Perhaps my indifference to the sin around me is limiting my impact on the sinners around me. Those who live in sin without God have no hope, no way of having a purposeful life, and no way of honestly loving others. They have no way of enjoying life apart from using others.
 
Those who love and obey God need not use anyone to find fulfillment. Instead, they can give to others, love others, and be obsessed with making others successful. Those who give will be taken advantage of by those who take. However, in the end, the givers will get, and the users will be losers.

A Clear Message

 Righteous are you, O Lord, and right are your rules. You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness and in all faithfulness. My zeal consumes me, because my foes forget your words. Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it. I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts. Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true. Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.

Psalm 119:137-144 (ESV)
 
Throughout Psalm 119, we keep seeing the importance of God's Word to the Psalmist. Status, money, and power pale in comparison. We are not sure who wrote this chapter, but most believe it was King David, to teach Solomon the alphabet, Ezra, or Daniel.
 
No matter who the author is, the message is clear. Our reliance needs to be on God and His precious Word. All of the suspected authors are gone, but God's Word remains and will remain throughout eternity. I know where I need to put my hope.

His tears are not for himself…

 Turn to me and be gracious to me, as is your way with those who love your name. Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me. Redeem me from man's oppression, that I may keep your precepts. Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes. My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law. Psalm 119:132-136 (ESV)

 
This passage allows us to enter the heart and mind of the Psalmist. We see that those who love God dialogue with Him. The Psalmist would like God to treat him like He would treat anyone who loves Him. He desires to know that God is directing His paths and has no problem talking to God about protecting him from the sins that can so easily destroy him.
 
The Psalmist is concerned that those to whom he ministers will oppress him, and throughout this oppression, he wants to make sure he keeps God's precepts. His main desire is that all that happens to him allows him to understand God's ways, and his tears are not for himself but for those who don't get it.

God's Word is always illuminating!

 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105 (ESV)
 
Throughout the Bible, light and darkness are contrasted. Darkness has no power over light. Light exposes; darkness hides. Light guides; darkness confuses.
 
The apostle Paul said this in Ephesians 5:7-11: "Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them."
 
Looking for a way through the dark is impossible. To know where you are going, you need, at least, a sliver of light. Those trying to make their way through life without God's Word will stumble; they have no choice, for they cannot see.
 
God's Word is always illuminating. You will see and understand the good and evil and be able to make wise decisions as you abide by His principles.

If we value Him, we value His law.

 Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:97-104 (ESV)
 
How would I honestly fill in the blank of the phrase: "Oh, how I love ________?" Would I honestly blurt out "Oh, how I love your law?" What would it take for me to have that on my mind when I think of something pleasant? I could see myself blurting out, "Oh, how I love pizza, comfort, or money," but "your law?"
 
We have a relationship with God and His law allows that relationship to flourish. If we value Him, we value His law.

God brings stability to life.

 Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules. I will keep your law continually, forever and ever, and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts. I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.

Psalm 119:41-47 (ESV)
 
God brings stability to life. Without Him, nothing makes sense.
 
Stephen Hawking claimed to believe only in science and firmly believed that there was no God. He died; God remains. Stephen Hawking was constantly trying to discover the final cause, the meaning of it all, and never found it.
 
Smart people start with God and end exalting Him. Stephen Hawking exalted his mind. His life was tough, and his death was tragic, for his opportunities to respond to God were over.