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I was responsible to do a little devotional today for a meeting, and this is the written version. :)
In the little line of instructions/introduction before Psalm 84, it says "on the Gittith." The word "gittith" means "wine-press". It was probably some kind of musical instrument that looked like a wine-press.
But it's not an accident that it's there in the introduction! Because this psalm has a lot to say to those of us who are being pressed ... whose lives are in turmoil.
Our church has gone through a lot of turmoil this year ... the only reason I'm vice-chair of this committee is becaus the lady whose job it was went home to be with the Lord suddenly just before the Labor Day weekend. We've lost so many others this year, and there have been business troubles, and lost jobs, illnesses, and currently a big real-estate nightmare, all touching people in our fellowship, and so touching us as a whole.
So what does this Psalm have for those who are feeling the press?
How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
We have a home ... we have security ... no matter what the press may be, or how painful the crushing ... it only intensifies our longing for our real home, and for Him.
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
The sparrow is a picture of loneliness, and the swallow of restlessness ... isn't that just the image of our lives in the press? It's easy to feel so isolated, and to settle down and relax (or trust!) just isn't possible. BUT the lonely and the restless DO settle in one place ... near His altar. There is a blessing for us, dwelling in His house, praising Him. We can "dwell with Him" as we go about our day, while we deal with the beauraucrats and betrayers ... internally, our hearts have a place of rest and praise.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
When we set our hearts on the pilgrimage ... on the path He's laid before us, we will pass through the valley of weeping. And we WILL weep ... there will be springs left behind when we're done! But the pain isn't for naught. It will be a place of refreshment to the pilgrims who follow us. There are lessons we learn in these dark times, in the press, that we won't learn anywhere else. We will go from strength to strength, always growing to be more like Him, until one day we appear before God.
Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob. Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
The Lord Jesus is our shield ... nothing touches us, but that which comes through Him. God looks with favor on Him, and by association on us as well. He doesn't waste our trials, nor allow them needlessly.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
No matter what the press holds, it is the best we could ever want, because it comes from His hand. No matter what lowly service our life holds, if it's for Him ... it's a position of honor.
Elizabeth Prentiss (if you haven't read Stepping Heavenward, you're missing out!) said:
Dare to belittle and unknown
Seen and loved by God alone.
It's so true! The world around us values achievement, and celebrity ... God values lowly service. Whose approval are we after?
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.
When we belong to Him, if the press comes to us, it is a good thing. And if something we deeply desire is withheld? It is also a good thing. In trusting Him with the management of our life circumstances ... we are blessed.
*****
Got to the gym this weekend, and also spent a lot of time with the eyetoy game (I do love that thing). :)
Trinka
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2 comments:
This is all true!
And God is worthy to be praised!
Those words from the poem by Prentiss, this is exactly how God has been dealing with me lately, and as He shows me to walk this way, this becomes my heart's desire - to have God smiling on me rather than man. For man's favor is fickle, and man will turn on you in the blink of an eye. And when man turns his back on you, it's a lonely, cruel, cold world. But God's favor is from everlasting to everlasting!
I want to comment on what Carol said. According to what Trinka just wrote, we should be humble and trusting. That is what He asks. If, in addition to being humble and trusting, a person is fortunate enough to have the strength to serve others, we are to speak the truth with love - explain who Jesus is, and explain the gospel. But, when you look at peoples' needs, you see that they need eyeglasses so they can read the Bible, they need a Christian they can trust to work on their computer, they need rides to church, etc. So if a person doesn't know where God is leading, isn't it better to just prepare to meet a need? Or are some people guided every step of the way? Or most steps of the way? What does everyone think?
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