Offer Right Sacrifices

 

 

“In your anger, do not sin; when you are on your beds,

 search your hearts and be silent. Selah

Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.” Ps 4: 4-5 (NIV)

 “In your anger do not sin. . . “ How many times have we done something silly or even stupid when we were angry at another person? A friend’s husband speaks of being angry at situations or processes in his work that don’t do as they should. Like all of us, when he reacts to the frustration, he usually has to ‘pay for it’. I have to admit; I have reacted to things and caused bigger problems. If I had just prayed about the hurt and the need I would have not felt guilty about the added work or expense we had.

” . . . search your hearts and be silent. . . “ When we follow the Lord, He allows us time to look into our hearts and see what we have in there-sometimes, what we see may not be very attractive. God provides a remedy for those horrible images- He tells us to not speak. What he implies is that we listen to what He has to tell us. Have you ever heard of the concept that we “are given two ears and one mouth? We should use them in that proportion.”

”. . . Selah. . . “ Think about what you just read. The musicians of the Temple placed these ‘stop signs’ in the hymns for the congregation to ponder the words they had just sung.

”. . . Offer right sacrifices. . . “ In our 21th Century world what is the right sacrifice for God? Is it our time? Is it our talent? Is it our treasures? Is it our trust? Is it our telling? Or do our sacrifices encompass all four of these? We hear of parent’s sacrificing for their children. We hear of one spouse sacrificing for the other during pursuit of educational goals or times of illness and distress.

” . . . and trust in the LORD.” Without our trusting in God and in others, what would our world look like? We wouldn’t be able to confide our feelings with friends. People wouldn’t feel comfortable asking for help from another other persons. If we didn’t have faith in our doctors, we wouldn’t trust them to tend to our ailments.

The Lord’s Love Surrounds

 

Many are the woes of the wicked,

but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds

the man who trusts him. Ps 32:10 (NIV)

 

Some people seem to have trouble follow them everywhere they go. Sometimes, these woes appear because of their behavior. Other times, the individual is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When we see a person who has few problems in life, we wonder, “What does he or she have that I don’t?”  Quite possibly, that individual has a better outlook, a godlier outlook on things.

One who trusts in God believes:

* that God is present with him or her in every situation-good or bad.

* God will bring him or her through the circumstance-whatever it may be.

* God uses the times of hardship to teach him or her something to make them more like Him.

Like a Tree Planted

 

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree

 planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream

. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.

 It has no worries in the year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

 Jeremiah 17: 7-8 (NIV)

 

Jeremiah tells us that God blesses those who trust Him and rely on Him. We are told that people who trust God become strong, have deeps roots in Him and can withstand great quantities of stress. Their attitudes are always gentle and kind. A person who trusts the Lord does not worry about the hard times that come that are out of their control and are always productive.

As I wrote these thoughts, I had to confess that I haven’t always trusted the Lord as I should have because I have had times when I worried about how certain issues, especially those I could not control, in my life would work out. My attitude has not always been cheerful or kind. My days are not always productive. The bottom line is I have not learned to trust Jesus enough-yet. But I am learning.

I am partial to the saying, “I know I’m not what God wants me to be. But praise the Lord; I’m not where I used to be.”

God Blesses Those Who Trust Him

 

“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.” Psalm 40: 4 (NIV)

 

”Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust. . . “ God showers us with multitudes of blessing when we turn our cares over to Him.  Our days go better, the colors of the flowers and leaves look brighter. When we know that He is in charge of our lives, issues don’t bog us down because we have turned things over to Him.

               We do have times when we have worried and stewed about a circumstance- usually one that we can’t control. We may find ourselves getting sick over that situation. We finally realize we have to let God have it and we turn it over to Him. All our worry- those sleepless nights, those rankled nerves- have left us weak and tired. We gladly turn to Jesus and practically beg for Him to step in and remedy the issue. I heard is said many times that we have to get so far down that the only way we can look is up.

               In order to trust God, we have to relinquish ownership of what seems to vex us. 

“. . . who does not look to the proud . . . “ As disciples of Jesus, we have been instructed to look to Him for our guidance. Our main source of our knowledge is the Father’s Word- the Bible. As we seek His guidance, Jesus aims us on a path and brings others into our lives that help us grow and aid us through those difficult times we experience.

 

“. . . to those who turn aside to false gods.” When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we begin a journey for the rest of our lives. We have to keep our eyes on Him and live our lives aimed for perfection. We will continue to strive for this goal until Jesus calls us home. When we trust Him, He is there to guide us, to teach us and to bless us.

Trust in Him

 

“Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn the justice

of your cause like the noonday sun.”

 Psalm 37:5-6 (NIV)

 

“Commit your way to the Lord. . . “ Turn your ideas and plans over to Jesus before you do them.  Ask His guidance in how to handle sticky issues.

” . . . trust in Him. . . “ Listen to Jesus as He tells you how to handle the issue or issues that plaque you. Do as He says. If He says to extend grace, do it. If He says to leave it with Him, then, again, do it. If He says to seek forgiveness from someone, find that person or persons and speak to whoever you need to.

“He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn. . . ” You will become models of grace and love. You will show Jesus to those who see you. They will look at you and see Him.

“ . . . the justice of your cause like the noonday sun” People will know that your faith is real and, more importantly, that God is real.

               This is yet another lesson from God for me.

Trust at All Times

 

 

“Trust in him at all times, O people;

Pour out your hearts to him

for God is our refuge.” Selah

 

Psalm 62: 8

 

“Trust in him at all times . . .” We are to rely on God and seek His wisdom not just when our world is a shambles-when things go wrong. We are to approach Him when we have no problems besetting us. When we have times of blessing, we are to thank Him. The nation Israel had a roller coaster relationship with Yahweh because they forgot about Him when they had a smooth path-when the going was easy.                  

” . . . pour out your hearts to him. . . “ We can tell God anything-yes, anything. Even if we are angry at Him, he will hear us. If our closest friends have caused us hurt, He wants us to talk to Him about it. If there is an issue you feel that no one else will understand, He will.

” . . . God is our refuge.” The Lord God is our protector. When He wraps His arms of love around us and draws us close to Him, it is if we are in a cocoon, awaiting the day we become a full blown butterfly in all our beauty. We are safe from the world’s hurt, from unthinking people’s action or inaction, and from our own rash decisions or actions.

”Selah” I found out that originally this word was a liturgical musical term. The word was not to be read. It signified to the worshippers a rest. A musical interlude filled the sanctuary. The worshippers were to stop and listen or consider what they had been singing.¹ The sons of Korah must have felt the message was important and wanted that thought to resonate with the people. When we see this term, we should stop, and consider what that particular message has for us.                         

____________

1.Information courtesy of Pastor Regina Rogers Kirkland,former associate pastor at our church.

Take Refuge in Him

 

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.”

Psalm 118: 8-9 (NIV)

 

Has God ever let you down? Has it ever seemed like He has? God always sees the big picture and we don’t. When we feel that He has let us down, it’s because we may only have one piece of the puzzle. It also could be possible that God chooses not to honor our request because it isn’t in His will for us. We have to believe that God is in control and have to trust the outcome to Him.

Has another person ever let you down? How did you feel? What do we do with the hurt? The psalmists in Psalm 42: 5, 11 tell us to look to the Lord when we are downcast.

As a young adult several years ago, I remember hearing someone say that holding grudges and being remorseful over something done to us causes our hearts and souls to corrode from the inside. In other words, we can cause our own heartaches.

We have to turn each hurt over to the Lord in order to get beyond the damage. For me, I have to practice this on a regular basis; if I hadn’t learned to do this; my faith would have stagnated several decades ago.

Life is not perfect. But God gives it to us-the good and the bad. He entrusts us with it, allowing us to grow in our faith but we have to trust Him for each outcome.