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You Answered Me!
Psalm 138:1-3 NASB
I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.
I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.
Yesterday I wrote about the spiritual warfare I was going through personally, and how I was battling with sadness and crying (weak emotions). Some of you said you would pray for me, and I truly felt your prayers, and I thank you. For, the Lord heard your prayers, and he answered. He heard my cries, and he answered me, and he lifted me out of that sadness. He lifted my spirits, and he made me “bold with strength in my soul.” Amen!
Today I am refreshed in my spirit, I am strengthened in heart and mind and body, and I am ready to face another day in the strength of the Lord, in his love, and in his grace and mercy. So, I thank Him and I praise Him for lifting my burdens and for bringing healing to my wounded heart. I thank Him, too, for how he is always filling my mind with songs of worship, encouragement, praise, hope and healing. God is so good! All the time!!
Every day is a new challenge for me. Every day brings its own trials and tribulations. They are magnified somewhat now as we have added on additional life situations which I am certain are here to test me and to try me. So, with each new situation I must give them over to the Lord, pray for his guidance, and pray that he would fill me with his Spirit so that I respond to these situations with the love, grace and wisdom of God.
The Ways of the Lord
Psalm 138:4-6 NASB
All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
And they will sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.
Sometimes, when I am going through such trials as this, I don’t know what to do. Not everything is black and white. The Bible does not give us specific instructions for everything we face in this life, although there are general instructions we must always follow. But, some things are subject to interpretation to specific situations, and so it is not always clear what is the best way to go.
I am not speaking here about sinning or not sinning. The Bible is real clear on what is sin and what is not sin. But I am speaking here on areas that may not be as clear, like what should I say to someone or where should I go today, or how much time should I give to this or to that. The Bible is clear that everything must be done in love, but different people interpret “love” in different ways, and so it is not always clear what is the most loving thing to do in any given situation.
So, it is in these times, in particular, that we really need to hear God speak his words to our hearts, to show us the way to go, to give us the right words to say, and even to know what to think about any given situation and what is the most loving and kind response. So, as I prayed about this, the Lord spoke to me that I should do as he would do, so I examined what I knew of what scripture teaches, and I did what I believed Jesus would do.
In the Midst of Trouble
Psalm 138:7-8 NASB
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
I walk in the midst of trouble most days of my life, it would seem. Not every day has huge troubles, at least not every day has blatant troubles, but some things are always there, and daily I must give them over to the Lord and pray for wisdom, for the right heart attitude, for healing, and for me to respond in the correct manner. I don’t always.
I don’t always respond with the love and grace of God, but that is my goal. And, that is what I seek after, that I may walk in the ways of the Lord always, and that I would always show forth his love and grace, even in the direst of circumstances. I want to be like Jesus in all that I do, and in all that I say. So, daily I die to sin and to self, and I put on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil schemes against me, so that I can walk by faith and not by sight, and so I can shine forth Jesus always in all that I do, and in all that I say, for the glory and praise of God.
It was just a few days ago that I had this same passage, and again it is encouraging my heart that what concerns me is what concerns God, and that God will accomplish what concerns me, because it is what he cares about, too. I get burdened over the same things as which grieve the Spirit of God, and so I daily have to give these burdens over to the Lord in prayer so that they don’t weigh in on me, and so I do keep singing. Amen!
He Keeps Me Singing
Hymn lyrics and music by Luther B. Bridgers, 1910
There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
“Fear not, I am with thee, peace be still,”
In all of life’s ebb and flow.
All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,
Discord filled my heart with pain;
Jesus swept across the broken strings,
Stirred the slumbering chords again.
Feasting on the riches of His grace,
Resting ‘neath His sheltering wing,
Always looking on His smiling face –
That is why I shout and sing.
Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,
Trials fall across the way,
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep
See His foot-prints all the way.
Soon He’s coming back to welcome me
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to world’s unknown,
I shall reign with Him on high.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus –
Sweetest name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.
*copyright status in public domain
Sunday, July 8, 2018 – Thank You, Jesus, for encouraging my heart today.
Psalm 138:1-3 NASB
I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.
I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.
Yesterday I wrote about the spiritual warfare I was going through personally, and how I was battling with sadness and crying (weak emotions). Some of you said you would pray for me, and I truly felt your prayers, and I thank you. For, the Lord heard your prayers, and he answered. He heard my cries, and he answered me, and he lifted me out of that sadness. He lifted my spirits, and he made me “bold with strength in my soul.” Amen!
Today I am refreshed in my spirit, I am strengthened in heart and mind and body, and I am ready to face another day in the strength of the Lord, in his love, and in his grace and mercy. So, I thank Him and I praise Him for lifting my burdens and for bringing healing to my wounded heart. I thank Him, too, for how he is always filling my mind with songs of worship, encouragement, praise, hope and healing. God is so good! All the time!!
Every day is a new challenge for me. Every day brings its own trials and tribulations. They are magnified somewhat now as we have added on additional life situations which I am certain are here to test me and to try me. So, with each new situation I must give them over to the Lord, pray for his guidance, and pray that he would fill me with his Spirit so that I respond to these situations with the love, grace and wisdom of God.
The Ways of the Lord
Psalm 138:4-6 NASB
All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
And they will sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.
Sometimes, when I am going through such trials as this, I don’t know what to do. Not everything is black and white. The Bible does not give us specific instructions for everything we face in this life, although there are general instructions we must always follow. But, some things are subject to interpretation to specific situations, and so it is not always clear what is the best way to go.
I am not speaking here about sinning or not sinning. The Bible is real clear on what is sin and what is not sin. But I am speaking here on areas that may not be as clear, like what should I say to someone or where should I go today, or how much time should I give to this or to that. The Bible is clear that everything must be done in love, but different people interpret “love” in different ways, and so it is not always clear what is the most loving thing to do in any given situation.
So, it is in these times, in particular, that we really need to hear God speak his words to our hearts, to show us the way to go, to give us the right words to say, and even to know what to think about any given situation and what is the most loving and kind response. So, as I prayed about this, the Lord spoke to me that I should do as he would do, so I examined what I knew of what scripture teaches, and I did what I believed Jesus would do.
In the Midst of Trouble
Psalm 138:7-8 NASB
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.
I walk in the midst of trouble most days of my life, it would seem. Not every day has huge troubles, at least not every day has blatant troubles, but some things are always there, and daily I must give them over to the Lord and pray for wisdom, for the right heart attitude, for healing, and for me to respond in the correct manner. I don’t always.
I don’t always respond with the love and grace of God, but that is my goal. And, that is what I seek after, that I may walk in the ways of the Lord always, and that I would always show forth his love and grace, even in the direst of circumstances. I want to be like Jesus in all that I do, and in all that I say. So, daily I die to sin and to self, and I put on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil schemes against me, so that I can walk by faith and not by sight, and so I can shine forth Jesus always in all that I do, and in all that I say, for the glory and praise of God.
It was just a few days ago that I had this same passage, and again it is encouraging my heart that what concerns me is what concerns God, and that God will accomplish what concerns me, because it is what he cares about, too. I get burdened over the same things as which grieve the Spirit of God, and so I daily have to give these burdens over to the Lord in prayer so that they don’t weigh in on me, and so I do keep singing. Amen!
He Keeps Me Singing
Hymn lyrics and music by Luther B. Bridgers, 1910
There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
“Fear not, I am with thee, peace be still,”
In all of life’s ebb and flow.
All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,
Discord filled my heart with pain;
Jesus swept across the broken strings,
Stirred the slumbering chords again.
Feasting on the riches of His grace,
Resting ‘neath His sheltering wing,
Always looking on His smiling face –
That is why I shout and sing.
Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,
Trials fall across the way,
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep
See His foot-prints all the way.
Soon He’s coming back to welcome me
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to world’s unknown,
I shall reign with Him on high.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus –
Sweetest name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.
*copyright status in public domain
Sunday, July 8, 2018 – Thank You, Jesus, for encouraging my heart today.
