The Mighty Hands of God

“Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.” ~Ps. 40:4
“My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?... Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” ~Ps. 42:2, 11
“Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love.” ~Ps. 44:26
“My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king…” ~Ps. 45:1a
“You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” ~Ps. 45:7
“God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble… The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” ~Ps. 46:1, 11
As summed up in these verses the last little while devotions seems to have run a theme, at least within my heart, of trusting in the Lord. These are times of seemingly greater struggle and falling yet the Lord through all of that desires and asks me to trust in Him. To trust Him for His grace and forgiveness, to trust Him for my desires and passions. To trust Him to provide the relationships and various other social, psychological, and physical needs I have. Extending off that comes the need to be one who seeks the needs of others, to reach out and not worry about people reaching into me. In Ps. 44 the psalmist writes a fairly interesting reality of the Lord allowing hardship to fall even while the people are trusting in the Lord. The response is to keep trusting, keep believing in the power and unfailing love of the Lord. As he says, “Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love.”
Today that theme continued as I read through Ps. 45 and 46… I love the “poetry” of 45:1 and the truth of verse 7. This latter verse shows how as we seek to live right lives, even in the midst of a dark place where there is little companionship towards that end, we are set apart by God. Not set apart so as to boast, nor necessarily in how perfect our lives are/look; rather as I seek to know the Lord more and more, closer and closer, I’m set apart in the area of joy. Many of the circumstances may be the same but I’m different in the factor of trusting and knowing the One who is in control of it all. I can know and feel the safety of God’s mighty hand around and upon me as I walk in the midst of a battlefield.

In other "news" yesterday was really great for me, the morning I wasted but it was all pulled together in the afternoon. My friend Tim and I went Bowling, talked with some "Church of Latter-day Saints" (Mormon) guys... that was interesting we'll probably be in touch again. We also walked around the Legislature, out for a Mongolian Supper and then played pool with others (i.e. Conal). Tim also put up with me stopping at a place I used to live and walking around telling him all kinds of stories, great friend or what :)