He's Talking to Me!
Psalm 32: 8-11
8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. 10 Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
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“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” I prayed yesterday. He has spoken! Am I listening?
The Lord Himself will instruct me. His eye is upon me. He is not indifferent to, or ignorant about, my life. I don’t know about you, but this sound very personal to me. And it blows me away that the Lord would speak to me like this – like someone who wants to be intimately involved in my life.
I…You, My…You. “You and I” the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, seems to be saying. “This is about how you and I will relate to one another.”
If you feel the Lord is addressing you as well, perhaps that’s because He takes the time to have a relationship with us individually. We are not some collective, faceless form He addresses, part of the unidentified masses. Far from it! He calls us by name, as He called Bezalel, and wants to counsel us personally, as He did with David.
“My eye is on you.”
Wow. Think about that for a minute. God Almighty has his eye on you and on me. There is something terribly intimate about that. And terrifying. It is enough to make us tremble with fear – appropriately so in front of a Holy God.
Yet, look at the context. These words are spoken to David. David – who should know –begins by declaring, “Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit… I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
David has confidence in the Lord, even as he acknowledges that he has transgressed, or perhaps because he acknowledges his sin and knows he’s been forgiven. There is nothing theoretical or abstract about David’s trust.
“You are a hiding place for me…you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.”
He has broken the law and his hiding place is in the Lord! Glad cries of deliverance surround David, provided by the Lord. The Lord not only affirms David’s trust, He goes a step further: “steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.”
“You won’t just be delivered,” the Lord seems to be saying, “You will also be surrounded by steadfast love.”
Who cannot take comfort in David’s confidence and the Lord’s response? It is an extravagantly generous, grace-filled personal response to every transgressor, who has confessed his or her sin to the Lord. Do you see the look of love in God’s watchful eye, as He counsels you? Can you see why we can trust Him?
As He did with David, God calls sinners – you and I -- to a personal relationship based on love and forgiveness. Make no mistake that it is a relationship in which He remains Lord; it is a relationship in which sin must be acknowledged before Him. But, it is reason to rejoice and be glad. For He forgives and shows us the way, and His love remains steadfast.
Hear Him today as He counsels you, and look around you for His steadfast love.
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Dear Lord,
Thank you for forgiving my transgressions. Thank you that you impute no iniquity to my name. Thank you for being my hiding place from condemnation. Help me follow your teaching, and listen to your counsel as you show me the way that I should go. I don’t want to be stubborn like a mule. I want to stay by your side. Let your steadfast love carry me through.
In Jesus, my redeemer’s name, I pray.
Amen.
8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you. 10 Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
---------------------------
“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” I prayed yesterday. He has spoken! Am I listening?
The Lord Himself will instruct me. His eye is upon me. He is not indifferent to, or ignorant about, my life. I don’t know about you, but this sound very personal to me. And it blows me away that the Lord would speak to me like this – like someone who wants to be intimately involved in my life.
I…You, My…You. “You and I” the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, seems to be saying. “This is about how you and I will relate to one another.”
If you feel the Lord is addressing you as well, perhaps that’s because He takes the time to have a relationship with us individually. We are not some collective, faceless form He addresses, part of the unidentified masses. Far from it! He calls us by name, as He called Bezalel, and wants to counsel us personally, as He did with David.
“My eye is on you.”
Wow. Think about that for a minute. God Almighty has his eye on you and on me. There is something terribly intimate about that. And terrifying. It is enough to make us tremble with fear – appropriately so in front of a Holy God.
Yet, look at the context. These words are spoken to David. David – who should know –begins by declaring, “Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit… I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
David has confidence in the Lord, even as he acknowledges that he has transgressed, or perhaps because he acknowledges his sin and knows he’s been forgiven. There is nothing theoretical or abstract about David’s trust.
“You are a hiding place for me…you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.”
He has broken the law and his hiding place is in the Lord! Glad cries of deliverance surround David, provided by the Lord. The Lord not only affirms David’s trust, He goes a step further: “steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.”
“You won’t just be delivered,” the Lord seems to be saying, “You will also be surrounded by steadfast love.”
Who cannot take comfort in David’s confidence and the Lord’s response? It is an extravagantly generous, grace-filled personal response to every transgressor, who has confessed his or her sin to the Lord. Do you see the look of love in God’s watchful eye, as He counsels you? Can you see why we can trust Him?
As He did with David, God calls sinners – you and I -- to a personal relationship based on love and forgiveness. Make no mistake that it is a relationship in which He remains Lord; it is a relationship in which sin must be acknowledged before Him. But, it is reason to rejoice and be glad. For He forgives and shows us the way, and His love remains steadfast.
Hear Him today as He counsels you, and look around you for His steadfast love.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Lord,
Thank you for forgiving my transgressions. Thank you that you impute no iniquity to my name. Thank you for being my hiding place from condemnation. Help me follow your teaching, and listen to your counsel as you show me the way that I should go. I don’t want to be stubborn like a mule. I want to stay by your side. Let your steadfast love carry me through.
In Jesus, my redeemer’s name, I pray.
Amen.
posted by Ruth at 6:18 AM
1 Comments:
Dear Ruth,
Did I stumble upon your blog by mere chance or was I guided?
What beautiful thoughts! How inspiring, concise, profound. I am thousands of miles from you, and perhaps an ocean or two, but through your writings I felt you not two feet apart.
I am not a particularly religious person but your pages fill me with emotion and move me to read the Book.
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