This morning as I was getting out of bed, I was asking the Lord what I should reflect on this morning, and I believe I heard Ps. 36, so that will be where I start my reflection this morning.
Psalm 36:5-10 NIV:
[5] "Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
[6] Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.
[7] How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
[8] They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.
[9] For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.
[10] Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart."
This is an interesting Psalm, for David actually spends the first four verses writing about the wicked and evil people that were surrounding him. However, I am not one to spend much time thinking about the bad, the evil one, or other such stuff, but rather I choose to focus on the Lord, and I do this intentionally. My Dad taught me a life lesson early on, and said that which we focus on is where we tend to go. He was speaking about drivers training at the time, and teaching us how to drive, and how not to focus on the things you didn't want to hit, but for some reason that message has resonated with me over and over in many areas of my life. Rather than focusing on the negative in any situation, I work to bring my mind, my attention and my focus on the positive. In this case, I could have spent some time reflecting on the bad and evil around me, but instead am choosing to focus on the goodness of the Lord.
In the same way, I would encourage those who are living in fear of this Covid-19 virus to stop listening to the news, and reading everything about it, and begin to fill your mind and heart with positive things. The more we listen to the voice of fear, the less we hear anything else! This morning I am going to reflect on the goodness of God, and I invite you to do the same. Holy week is often a bit dark as we remember the extent of the suffering Jesus endured out of love for us, but the week always ends with the Glory of Resurrection Sunday, Easter Sunday! Let us lift our eyes to His love and His promise to never leave us or forsake us!
So, back to the Psalm! The love of the Lord and His faithfulness are the first things David brings to mind when he turns his mind to the Lord! They are His chief characteristics, and the two things we should know about Him above all else. He loves us, and He is faithful to us! He will never not love us, He will never walk away from us! What a great reflection - God's love and faithfulness. It would be a wonderful thing if we spent today just recounting all the good things, all the daily blessings of the Lord! In David's thinking they were unending and unfathomable and impossible to know fully!
David goes on and then thinks about the righteousness and justice of God. Again, he is trying to provide some measure of them and ends with the highest mountains and the deepest oceans. Today man has explored the highest mountain, but still, almost 3000 years later we still haven't explored all the deepest places in the oceans. God is so far beyond our full comprehension, yet He makes Himself knowable to the least of us. His righteousness and justice relate to His always being and doing the right thing! His perception is perfect, thus His motives are always perfect. He has provided abundantly for us, and created an abundance of life and creation to surround us. He has given us free will, and minds that can reflect on His creation, that we can find Him in it. Even when we go astray, He loves us, and looks over us, and cares for us, and always treats us the same.
David, spends a whole one verse before he goes back to the Love of God. One gets a feeling that He really experienced God's love as His primary revelation! Oh that we would each know God primarily as the one who loves us! David comes back to the unfailing love of God, which really is just another way of expressing verse 5, God's love and faithfulness. God's love never falters, never lessens, never is interrupted, never takes a rest, never grows weary, never looks away, never stops! Can we believe this about His love for us today? Can we entrust ourselves to His great and unfailing love? Can we take refuge in the shadow of His wings, or in the protection of His arms? Can we believe that He loves us enough to protect us?
Continuing on, David remembers the abundant blessings he has received, the blessing of daily provision, the daily delights and blessings. If we were to make a list of all the Lord provides, we would never stop writing, for all good things, every gift and every blessing are ultimately from Him. He is the fountain of life! Our life, evey gift and physical ability, every thought, our bodies miraculous capabilities are all from Him. The order of the world, the incredible diversity in flora and fauna, the weather patterns, the elements are all part of His abundant creation. I love how people are posting positive pictures, places they have visited, things they have seen as a way to combat the constant flow of negative news. We would all benefit from reflection on the beauty with which we are surrounded.
Finally, a prayer that God would not change in His love towards who know Him. Since His love and faithfulness are never changing, it is almost an unneeded prayer, but yet it is reassuring to once again turn towards the Lord, recognizing that He is the source of life and goodness! It is good to be grateful for that which we have already received, and good to remind ourselves that the goodness we experience is from Him!
As a last note, as I was turning to Psalm 36, my eyes caught a verse from Psalm 34 the page before, which is a wonderful reminder these days. Psalm 34:7 NIV:
"The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." What a great promise, that we have the Angel of the Lord encircling us, protecting us, delivering us!
May the peace of Christ, and the knowledge of God's unfailing Love, and His protective angels, give you peace of mind and heart this day!
Sam
No comments:
Post a Comment