Many people take comfort in the beautiful poetry of the book of Psalms. It’s a book in which we see our own humanity with its frailties and failures, while seeing the almightiness of victory and strength in God alone. The verse that comes to mind today is the first part of Psalm 96:1, Sing a new song to the Lord. There are many hymns and praise songs with more being written every day. Is this what the verse is instructing of us? To learn newly written songs? Actually, the meaning goes far deeper. It’s not about a recently developed song, but about an element of us being restored and reinvigorated.
Like David, who wrote most of the Psalms, we find ourselves in perplexing situations. We face anxiety, fear, sorrow, and doubts. Our enemy, Satan, seizes every opportunity to whisper lies that there are no answers, fear is our lot in life, and sorrow and doubt will never go away. These lies can weigh us down, rendering it difficult to even think of a new song, let alone sing one, but this is what we must do. A new song is renewed praise. It is fresh encouragement that comes through praising. It may understandably be asked, Am I to thank God for terrible things that happen in my life, to my loved ones, and in situations around the world?
The above attitude means our focus in on the sorrow itself. It is saturated with fear. Our focus sets our course. As an athlete keeps eyes looking at the goal, so our eyes direct the course on which we run. Paul said, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us (Philippians 3:14 NLT). When we choose to keep our eyes looking at Jesus as we run our race through life’s journey, then songs of praise, refreshing us, comes to our mind and sings from our heart. Our new songs are heart songs that proclaim praises to Jesus.
Troubles, deep troubles, come to us all. We have a choice: focus on the troubles only, and fear will grow, or focus on Jesus who leads us through the troubles, and joy supersedes all our anxiety. A new song is fresh songs of praise no matter our difficulty. Praise and worry cannot co-exist. One will rule over the other. What governs our mood; be it joy and calm or fear and worry, depends upon our focus. Troubles or Jesus? I hope we each choose Jesus who calms the storm, rather than the storm itself. One has us sinking in despair; while the other has us walking on water.
I remember as a child when my mother would often come to my father with a large jar of dill pickles in hand. “Would you open this?” she would ask. I watched as Dad strained with his attempts to open the jar but the lid wouldn’t budge. He would then pass it over to me and say, “Vickie, you try.” I also strained but just a bit as the lid turned and I proudly pushed the now open jar back to my mother. Do you know, I was nearly fully grown before it dawned on me that Dad was always loosening the lids for me. I asked him about it with a laugh. He smiled and said, “You were always so happy that you could open those jars. It made me happy just watching you.” It’s no different with our Heavenly Father.
There are times in all of our lives when we feel what I call, the holy nudge. We sense the Lord leading us in a certain direction, but we feel scared and unprepared. Perhaps it’s something we have never done before. Maybe an opportunity of service to God in our church or community comes across our path. We feel ill equipped to even try. It could be a character flaw that the Holy Spirit has brought to our attention. We need to give Him our anger issues or our fears but we know we can’t do it. It’s in those moments we must remember — we can’t but He can. You and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).
Is Father leading you to do something today, to tackle an obstacle, to tread upon a path you have never gone down before? Please remember, in Christ you are never alone. He is forever loosening the jar lids of life so you can go forth in victory, having opened them, not in your strength, but in His power which never fails.
When we read the story of the crucifixion of Jesus, His words on the cross have perplexed and brought about discussion for centuries. It has been unclear as to why Jesus declared He felt forsaken by His Father. We know on the night Jesus was arrested, He had been praying diligently, and under such stress about the death He knew He was destined to fulfill, He sweat droplets of blood. This medical condition is called Hematidrosis, which means capillary blood vessels rupture due to extreme physical or emotional stress. Angels were present to minister to Jesus during this time; His greatest hour of need. He made the incredible choice to obey His Father, taking upon Himself the sins of the whole world. For God made Christ, Who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ (II Corinthians 5:21, NLT). We cannot imagine the emotional torment He endured.
Remember, Jesus was 100% God but He was also 100% man. That is why the Scriptures can accurately say of Him, We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15, NIV). It can be argued that Jesus, in His humanness, was experiencing a feeling of abandonment. However, there is another, very plausible reason. It has to do with fulfilling Bible prophecy.
Surrounding the cross were Jesus’ accusers, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, learned religious men of the day who knew the Old Testament Scriptures exceedingly well. They knew the prophecies of the Messiah; they just didn’t believe Jesus was that person. When Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me,” (Psalm 22) He was pointing to prophecy that was being fulfilled right before their watchful eyes. This Psalm, which the religious scholars knew well, goes on to say, My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced My hands and feet. I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at Me and gloat. They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for My clothing. Is this why Jesus shouted out the first verse of the Psalm? Was He pointing to the reality that Psalm 22 was indeed about Him?
Even in His time of agonizing physical death and horrendous, emotional turmoil, was Jesus, in HIs perfect compassion, pointing His accusers to the truth of the cross, that through His death they could live? Jesus is the epitome of love. He is salvation; the only way to eternity in Heaven where death no longer exists and pain is a thing of the past. Jesus was demonstrating His love on the cross. He was declaring to all who would believe that He alone was the only one who could pay the penalty for our sin. He alone is the only way to eternal salvation. Just think, in the midst of the angry jeering of the crowd, Jesus was shouting out the biggest clue that indeed He is the Son of God.
If you have received Jesus as your Savior, may this Easter weekend be a joyful reminder of His love and victory over death. If you have not received Jesus as your Savior, may this Easter weekend open your eyes to His love, and may you receive His magnificent gift of salvation. This gift is only a prayer away. Ask and receive His forgiveness of sin today, and have the most blessed Easter ever.
When I was a child I loved watching Superman and Batman. They won over the bad guys. Nothing could stop their quest for goodness. Bullets could be fired, traps laid, but with their superpowers they beat the evil plans of their foes every single time. While such stories of Superman and Batman are make-believe, you and I have a reality of a super power at work in our lives. We, too, cannot be beaten when our super power is ignited. It’s all to do with our shield of protection.
David wrote in Psalm 5:11-12, But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread Your protection over them, that all who love Your Name may be filled with joy. For You bless the godly, O Lord; You surround them with Your shield of love (NLT). We can read this verse and be easily confused at first. We may ponder that God’s children aren’t always protected. They get sick, they are wounded, they are killed, they are falsely accused, they die of disease. How is any of that being protected? Such thoughts come when we make the mistake of putting our focus on the physical rather than the spiritual.
Jesus Himself said, Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul (Matthew10:28, NLT). You see, of course Christians can and do suffer physical ailments. Some are indeed killed for their faith in Jesus. Others are falsely accused, starved and tortured. Man can hurt man terribly, but is there still a super power at work? Oh, yes, because every child of God has within them the all powerful Holy Spirit. Nothing is impossible for Him.
When our faith and trust could be shattered, the Holy Spirit whispers God’s truths into our minds, soothing us with the truth that Jesus will be our everything to get us through anything. We have the joy of the Lord within us in the most grievous of situations. We have God’s own peace soothing troubled waters in the storms of creeping doubts. We have God’s wisdom and His emotional strength to endure whatever; yes any hardship at all, that comes into our paths. When Satan shoots His fiery darts, we are protected by God’s Word reigning in our minds, and by God’s love for us, which is a shield that nothing can penetrate. This is why David could also write with certainty, When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You (Psalm 56:3, NLT).
When physical pains take hold, look to Jesus, for He will be your comfort. When emotional sorrows cause grief and hurt, look to Jesus, for He will hold you close. Jesus has not left us alone to fight our battles. He has given us the precious and unfailing gift of the Holy Spirit. When we are weak, because of our Father’s shield of love, we are fully protected from all attacks from demonic forces. Nothing is too hard for God; therefore, because of Him and through Him, nothing is too hard for us either. Let us go forward in the joy of the Lord, for it is indeed our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).
Have you ever tried to contemplate the greatness of God’s love? Of course, it can’t be done. His love is endless, eternal, immeasurable. It’s higher than the heavens and deeper than the seas. It encompasses all we can imagine. It’s rather mind-blowing to try and envision the vastness of God’s love, but it’s even more stunning to try and grasp His personal love for you as an individual.
His care for you as a solitary person is incalculable. There is an astonishing verse in Jeremiah 1:5, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations (ESV). There is often debate as to the beginning of life: does it begin at conception or at birth? The Bible, our final and ultimate authority, clearly informs us that it begins neither at conception or at birth. No, it’s far greater: your life and my life began in the very heart of God. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Life is precious because it comes from God’s love.
Just think, before anyone else even thought of you, you were already living in the heart of God. He already had a plan for you. Jeremiah understood this. That is why he could write in Jeremiah 29:11, ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’ (NLT). Life is precious to God. Your life began in His heart of unfathomable love, continued on into conception and birth, lives on physically with His eyes never ceasing to watch over you, and promises to bring each of His children into spectacular eternity to live in Heaven where sorrow, pain nor tears exist. Who wouldn’t want that life with Him for eternity?
Almighty God loves you. Just meditate on that for a moment. Almighty God has a plan for you. Almighty God never stops thinking about you. Almighty God desires to be your everything to get you through anything, and to do so with His own peace and joy reigning in your heart and mind. Oh, how He loves, loves, loves, you. Therefore, why forfeit a day without spending precious moments with Him? Sit in His presence. Are you hurting? His presence will soothe. Are you confused? His presence with guide. Are you lonely? His presence will comfort.
He has loved you from the beginning of your life: it began in His heart.
Recent Comments