All you who fear God, how blessed you are!
how happily you walk on his smooth straight road! You worked hard and deserve all you’ve got coming. Enjoy the blessing! Revel in the goodness !Psalm 128:1-2 (The Message) In this Psalm of Ascent, the pilgrims are focusing of the concept of the blessings of God. Can't you just picture them walking together on the road to Jerusalem singing this song together. Let's apply this song to our hearts. When you think of the term blessed, does it bring to mind images of a trouble-free, pain-free, life full of convenience, low stress and bliss? As awesome as that sounds, I'm not sure it is the accurate picture of " being blessed". What does it look like to be truly blessed? A blessing is defined as God's favor and protection. Think of it this way: You are blessed when God is active and present in your life. Does that mean there is no pain or despair? No. Does it mean there is no sickness or hardships? No. It simply means that God is holding your hand, comforting you, loving you and guiding you. Jesus gives us a picture of what it means to be blessed . To some, it seems counter-intuitive. But to the Christian, these words from Matthew chapter 5 are powerful. “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.Do you see a theme here? Blessings come when we experience God's closeness. They come when we are obedient even when we don't feel like being obedient. The circumstances of life may be painful and devastating, but the circumstances of our heart are changed when we sense God's presence. This is the true source of healing. Jesus is showing us that it is the very difficulties of life that allow us to draw closer to God and be blessed. What is the result of being blessed? The kind of happiness that can only come from above. My friend, you may be experiencing some of the worst times of your life. Perhaps you're still dealing with the pain and loss of a past event or relationship. But please realize, you are blessed because the One most dear to you is embracing you right now. Can you feel it? Journaling Ideas1. Read Luke 11:27-28. According to this passage how can you be blessed by God? 2. Have you had a time in your life when you were experience pain and heartache, yet felt blessed by God. Describe that time. How did you feel? 3. Write a letter to God telling Him how you feel about His blessings. “They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young”
—this is how Israel tells it-- “They’ve kicked me around ever since I was young, but they never could keep me down. Their plowmen plowed long furrows up and down my back; Then God ripped the harnesses of the evil plowmen to shreds.” Psalm 129:1-4 (Message) If anyone had the right to talk about being bullied and kicked around, it was the Israelites. Time and time again they were enslaved, hated, and oppressed. It's no wonder they sung about it on their pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem. What about you my friend? Have you been abused? Do you have enemies that stomp all over you every chance they get? Are you feeling beat up? Then you can probably relate to this song. We all have enemies. Some of them we can actually see, others fight us in the spiritual realm. These enemies are our oppressors. They seek to attack, persecute and take away our freedom. According to this psalm, they plow furrows into our backs. I don't know about you, but that is a disturbing word picture for me. Yet, it's true isn't it? They knock us down and plow over our backs trying to constrain us and tie us into knots. The question is, are we going to stay there? Are we going to remain under oppression? Are we going to allow them to have a victory? If we want to have victory over the oppression of our enemies, it is important to remember some major points. 1. The Psalm points out that God is our protector. You will see that He ripped the harnesses out of their hands and tore them to shreds. In other words, while it may seem like our oppressors have momentary victory, the truth is that God will frustrate their efforts. He does this out of love. Always remember that our true defense is God and God alone. (Feel free to praise the Lord right now.) 2. God is righteous and loyal to His beloved children. Because of His loyalty, we can be assured that we can leave all vindication in His hands. This is a crucial point in the healing process. If we seek vindication ourselves, we will not experience healing of our hearts and our minds and our behaviors. Furthermore, if we hang onto a need for vindication then we run the risk of moving from being oppressed to becoming an oppressor ourselves. Allow God to do a deep work of healing in your life and leave the rest to him. 3. Patience will lead to perseverance. Perseverance will lead to a final and complete victory for us. However, perseverance will not be the result of our own determination or power, but of God's faithfulness. He alone can cut the bonds our oppressors have on us through His supernatural power. It is God's great love for us that will turn the tables on our enemies. If we remain in His Word and obediently walk with Him daily, our plowed up back will be come fertile ground for the seeds that God will sow in our lives. What kind of seed will that be? Why an acorn of course: ...to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3 (NIV) Journaling Prompts 1. Read Psalm 129:5-8. How will God deal with those who oppress His children? How does this affect you? 2. Think about times when God has been loyal to you in the past. Write about them and let them give you encouragement as you face your current battles. 3. Write about your own experiences of oppression. What action is God directing you to take right now? Hopelessness is one of the saddest words I know. That bleak feeling of having no expectation of success or improvement can be overwhelming. Believe me when I say that God does not want you to stay in a state of hopelessness. After all, it is the opposite of what He promises. Consider what the Lord says in Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.God promises hope and our job is to wait and watch. This is the very idea the psalmist is conveying in Psalm 130. Notice how he cries out in despair to His heavenly Father but reminds himself of promised hope.
Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life! Master, hear my cry for help! Listen hard! Open your ears! Listen to my cries for mercy. If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that’s why you’re worshiped. I pray to God—my life a prayer-- and wait for what he’ll say and do. My life’s on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning, waiting and watching till morning. O Israel, wait and watch for God-- with God’s arrival comes love, with God’s arrival comes generous redemption. No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel, buy back Israel from captivity to sin.My friend, this song teaches us the formula for dealing with hopelessness. 1. Cry out to God. Verbalize your pain and suffering to Him. Doing so will add dignity to your suffering because it allows you to enter into the depths and be near to where Jesus was when he was dying on the cross. 2. Wait and watch. Does it seem like these are two of the hardest words in our language sometimes? We don't like waiting do we? But when we wait with expectation while watching for evidence of God in our lives, we are grabbing onto the hope that He is offering. 3. Remind yourself of the goodness and faithfulness of God. The traveling Israelites knew sunrise was a sure thing. And, God is a sure thing. Proclaim that your suffering will never the ultimate bottom line. For the Christian, God is the foundation and therefore the bottom line. No wonder the Israelites sang this song as they journeyed along to Jerusalem. Their trips were dangerous and their nights were scary. Can't you just imagine the wild animals that had their eyes on them as they slept on the side of the road? They assigned a watchman to guard them who just watched and waited until the sunrise. He knew it was coming. I can assure you my friend, your sunrise is also coming. Journaling prompts 1. Describe how you feel when you read Psalm 130. What does it mean to you? 2. What are some areas in you life that you have feelings of hopelessness. Write a letter to God and describe them. 3. What do you sense God is saying to you as you write your letter to Him? Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too difficult for me. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself like a little weaned child with its mother; I am like a little child. Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forever. Psalm 131 Most of us have held a baby who has fallen asleep in our arms. Have you ever considered how trusting that child must be to be so completely relaxed that they let go of all their worries and cares and just sleep while you hold them? When was the last time your were that relaxed? When was the last time you trusted God enough with your painful circumstances to just fall asleep in His arms? Arthur Weiser offers his thoughts about being as content as a baby... "The Christian is not like an infant crying loudly for his mother's breast, but like a weaned child that quietly rests by his mother's side, happy in being with her....No desire now comes between him and his God: for he is sure that God knows what he needs before he asks him. And just as the child gradually breaks off the habit of regarding his mother only as a means of satisfying his own desires and learns to love her for her own sake so the worshipper after a struggle has reached an attitude of mind in which he desires God for himself and not as a means of fulfillment of his own wishes. His life's centre of gravity has shifted. He now rests no longer in himself but in God." I especially like the reference to having a sift in your center of gravity. If our center of gravity is off, then we can't walk without toppling over. In fact the struggle to walk upright is exhausting and full of extra effort. But if God is our center of gravity, our walk is easy and requires very little effort. Walking with God becomes as automatic as breathing. Dear one, what has thrown your center of gravity off and prevents you from resting in your Father's arms? Identify it, tell God about it and then leave it with Him. His arms are more than strong enough to hold you while you sleep. Journaling Prompts 1. Describe how your painful life experiences have either led you to rest in God or rest in yourself. 2. Write your own version of Psalm 131 and personalize it to your own circumstances. For example: "God I curl up in your arms now to rest and sleep knowing that you will keep me safe and sound." 3. What do you need to walk away from ( or wean yourself from) that is preventing your from putting your hope in the eternal God? For example: fear, pride, arrogance... "May the LORD, Maker of heaven and earth bless you from Zion"Psalm 134:3 HCSBWe have traveled a long journey with the Israelites, haven't we? We sang their songs with them as they journeyed and learned their life lessons. As a result, we have been on our own pilgrimage to a higher experience of worship and relationship with God. Now we look at the final words of the Psalms of Ascent and dig out the last nugget of gold they have to offer. The fact that the Maker of the Heavens and Earth blesses us.
What does it feel like to be blessed by God? What impact does it have on your life? We recently talked about the importance of blessing God; but now Psalm 134 is telling us that the reverse is the life blood of our existence. The LORD blesses us. Let that sink in for a moment. The Maker of the heaven and earth blesses you. God blesses us in order to dramatically change our lives. He wants to alter our outlook concerning the hurt that life brings and draw us closer to Him. He wants to open our eyes to the hope He is offering. The surrender that He seeks from us makes room for the wonderful things He wants to bring into our lives, hearts, and relationships. He is blessing us. Yes, we are to bless God but God blesses us in return. However, consider the fact that the blessings are not and could never be equal. "...the exchange is quit unequal: to bless God is to acknowledge gratefully what He is; but to bless men, God must make of him what he is not and give him what he has not. " Derek Kidner God's capacity to bless us greatly outweighs our capacity to bless Him. And what does that mean in our every day lives? Every time we bless God, His return blessings are disproportionate. He doesn't look at our inadequacies and selfishness and hands out blessings accordingly. No,He sees our act of obedience - blessing Him - and lavishes His favor on us. He gives us what we don't have and makes us what we are not. My friend, don't leave God's blessings behind. Worship Him. Bless Him. and receive what He is offering you. Journaling Prompts1. Write a letter to God blessing Him and shower Him with gratitude and praise. Then, describe how you feel. 2. What has God given you that you did not have? What changes has He brought into your life and your heart? 3. Is God asking you to take a step of faith in an area of your life? If so, describe the healing that would come to your heart if you take such a step. Have you ever issued a distress call? Maybe you fell and cried out for someone to help you get up. Perhaps you were injured or sick and called 911 to come and rescue you. Clearly, the writer of Psalm 120 in the Old Testament was in distress. Did you notice to whom he cried out for rescue and help? He cried out to the LORD, the One who created him. He cried out to the One who knows what the outcome of our distress will be before it even began.
You may be wondering why it is important to pray to God when He already knows about your crisis. The fact is that God’s greatest priority is a relationship with you, His child. Any relationship needs communication and interaction to be deep and meaningful. Yes, God wants to be available with emergency response, but He is patiently waiting for you to speak to Him. Another passage in the Book of Psalms underscores our focus today: I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble. Psalm 142:1-2 Written while he was hiding in a cave in fear of his life, King David pours his heart out to God. Not only does God hear David’s complaint, but He hears his heart. The same God that provided comfort and rescue to David is offering His open arms to you, my friend. Don’t worry about saying the right words, or even being calm before your Heavenly Father. Empty yourself of the hurt, anger and despair that is holding you captive and share it with God. Don’t hold it in. Take a lesson from King David and give yourself permission to cry and complain to the One who knows you so well that He knows how many hairs are on your head! Journaling Prompts 1. Read Psalm 120. What phrases in the passage resonates with your soul? Write them down. 2. Write a letter to God telling Him of the troubling and hurtful things that are on your heart. 3. After you have written your letter to God, pray and ask Him to reveal any underlying issues to which you may be blind. Write them down. 4. Describe and identify at least 3 emotions you have experienced in the last 2 days. Sunscreen is a very important part of my life. Due to my very Irish skin, I am predisposed to an intolerance of the sun: also known as sunburn! ouch! I even keep a small bottle in my purse for emergencies!
Last year we made a trip to Florida. I purchased an awesome umbrella that actually reflects the sun and protects my fair skin. I carried it with me the whole trip. Granted, some people gave me a confused look because I was using an umbrella in bright sunshine, but I didn’t care. I was protected! Psalms 121 describes a Protector that is available to every believer. His name is the LORD. The Lord watches over you-- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. God is our perfect sunscreen! He protects us and keeps us safe. Psalm 91:4 tells us that our Father keeps us under His wings – right next to him. Not only does He protect us in the physical world, but He protects us in the unseen spiritual world. Jesus told us not to fear those who could harm us physically because they could not kill our soul. (see Matthew 10:28). This is because the God of Angel Armies is right by our side. Oh what peace this knowledge brings to those of us who are facing an uncertain future, deep heart ache, or grief. The Lord watches over us as we come and go. Lather on your perfect sunscreen my friend. You don’t want a sunburn! Journaling Prompts 1. Read Psalm 121. Write about the verses and passages that speak to your heart. 2. Why is it important to believe that the Creator of the Universe is protecting you during your hard times? (refer to verse 2) 3. Make a list of ways God can help you and protect you that your friends cannot. 4. Write a prayer of Thanksgiving to God. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” For my brothers and companions’ sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good. Psalm 122:6-9 Psalms 120-134 are unique among the other Psalms in the Bible. They were songs that were sung by the Israelites as they sojourned to Jerusalem for the festivals. Traveling in groups on this annual pilgrimage, they would sing these songs for encouragement, praise and thanksgiving. It was their “playlist” for the trip. Once they reached the city, they would sing Psalm 121 – a Davidic song sung as a blessing over the city. As children of God, our lives are also a pilgrimage. We walk every day toward the purpose and destination our Creator has designed for us. The Israelites prayed for peace in the city.( In fact, the very name Jerusalem means City of Peace in Hebrew. ) They prayed for peace within the community, among their friends and family , and with their neighbors outside the walls. Do you pray for peace? Do you pray for unity within your family and your own church? Are you actively looking for ways to ensure harmony among your fellow believers? Sometimes our lives are so busy and over-scheduled, our prayers wind up being mostly about our own needs. Maybe our own pilgrimage has been rough and full of disaster. When we are heart-broken, sorrowful, and depressed it can be hard to think of the needs of others. Yet, God is teaching us here the importance of intercessory prayer – prayer on behalf of others. Look around. Has God shown you someone who is in need? If He has, then He is providing you with a tool to help you cope with your own despair. It is the tool of putting the needs of someone else ahead of your own. Serving them. Praying for them. Encouraging them. The amazing thing is that as you decrease the focus on yourself and put the spotlight on others, you are bringing peace into your own troubled life. As you zero-in on the welfare of the Kingdom of God, you are positioning yourself for an outpouring of healing and a calm spirit from your Heavenly Father. Go ahead, for the sake of our brothers and sisters and friends, let’s all say “Peace be with you”! Journaling Prompts 1. Read Psalm 122. What do you believe God is teaching you in this passage? 2. Read Ephesians 2:11-22. In what ways does this scripture parallel Psalm 122. (Note what Christ is called in Ephesians 2:14) 3. Write your own prayer for peace to God. I’m sure I’m not being overly dramatic when I say that the hurts of life often leave us feeling as if we’ve been SWALLOWED ALIVE ! The writer of Psalms 124 understood those feelings:
If the Lord had not been on our side-- let Israel say-- if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away. Do these words touch a place in your heart because you have felt the same way? I’m sure Jonah had such feelings before he was eventually swallowed by a whale. Here’s how he described his feelings of despair in Jonah 2:5: The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. Now, lets direct our focus on the first verse of Psalm 124. I’m referring to the phrase “If the Lord had not been on our side”. This is a pivotal phrase in this song of healing. Can you imagine how defeating our pain and heart ache would be if the Lord were not on our side? What if God had not rescued you? How much worse would it have been? Dear friend, we have not been given a promise of a problem-free life. There is no promise of calm seas. There is no promise of a perfect life. However, we have been promised deliverance and healing. Consider for a moment what God has rescued you from… It’s true that the enemy of your soul may have kicked you in the shin, but your Savior prevented you from being completely overthrown. He kept you from being swallowed alive. I’m not referring to salvation, I’m talking about a life delivered from defeat. The writer of Psalm 124 realized this truth when he said: Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Let us all remember to thank our Heavenly Father for what He has protected us from. Journaling Prompts 1. Read Psalm 124. What does it mean to you that God is on your side? Do you truly believe that He is? Why or why not? 2. What would have happened to your life if the Lord had not been on your side? How much worse would it have been? 3. Read John 13:7. How do you feel about these words? |
About Cathey
Cathey Stott is a wife to Steve and mother to Serena, Dusty and Meagan. She has a passion for turning women into purposeful followers of Jesus. Cathey is a Life Purpose Coach and Board Certified Pastoral Counselor. ArchivesCategories |