Answer Me When I Call

Psalm 4 ((ESV)) 

Answer Me When I Call

 4 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! 

2 O men,how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? 

 3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him. 

4 Be angry,and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. 

 5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord. 

6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” 

7 You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. 

8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

As a single parent there were many many times when I would turn out the lights, and my mind would just start racing. No sleep for me! There was so much riding on me, so much I could do wrong, no one to lean on.. I was alone and afraid. During the day, I could just force myself to take one step at a time.. but at night when there was no sound.. yeah, much harder.

I of course figured out a way to quiet the voices.. I slept with the TV and lights on.. Sure chased the voices away but also made sure I didn't get any rem sleep for years. I became totally and completely exhausted. In many ways this helped lead to my breakdown. No real sleep.

What I should have done was turn those problems and issues over to God.. He would have given me the relief I so desperately needed. I might have still heard voices in my head but they would have been the comforting prayers to my God.. 

I could have had spent those hours rejoicing rather than fretting.. I can not change the past but I can change the future.. I can take those precious moments before I fall asleep and spend them with God.. Offering my fears and failures up to Him. They won't go away, they will just be easier to bear.. 

Shauni

Surrounded by Enemies

Today's verse has a split concept.. and one thing speaks loud and clear, David's request.. 
Save Me, O My God
(A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.)




O Lord, how many are my foes!
2 Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God. 

We are all beset with enemies from time to time.. we see those around us as willing to destroy us. Sometimes we actually wage in battle. I know in my past I have been mired in the muck of battle and while it was hard fought it was never won. Why? Because I did not cry out to God to save me, I just wallowed in the muck. And without God's guidance.. that's all there is.. muck. 

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill.

I think the worst thing we can do as Christians is think we can fix it ourselves.. we forget or don't acknowledge that without God's shield we are unprotected. Sure we might thrive for a while in the secular world but there will always come a time when our enemies come at us. If we do not cry out to God.. then eventually we will fall to those enemies..

5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

See, there are times when we have to rest, refresh.. take the time to regroup.. Spend it in prayer and God will protect us, nourish us and yes save us from our enemies.. No matter the crowds, no matter the numbers God can always overcome it to protect us.

7 Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people!  


I often forget how powerful such a simple message can be.. I am beset by enemies, be they my own demons or those around me wanting to tear me down.. the true battle comes from how I choose to fight those enemies.. Do I gather my personal strength and carry on. Putting one step ahead of another determined to do it on my own? Or do I relinquish my enemies to God and allow Him to stand before me, clearing the path? 

The amazing thing is, life is so much easier when we allow God to guide us and yet we fight that over and over and over again.. Choosing to go out on our own, doing it ourselves.. Why is that? What contrary little niggle to we have to our make up that says.. hey stupid, let's do it the hard way? 

Now, for just a moment I want to direct this same verse to our country.. Today is September 11, the 12th anniversary of the attack on our country.. how can this verse apply to our country??

 Today is September 11 an anniversary of the day our enemies came to us. Tried to take us down but as a nation we stood strong and refused to waver. And yet right this very minute our president has the entire issue of Syria on his plate. Another enemy, another country that wants to take us down? Or is Syria destroying itself? My point being that our country is often surrounded by enemies.. too many to count it seems. Even our friends can be swayed.. how can a nation survive? 

We must as a nation remember what we were founded on, the right to worship God.. and we must as a nation chose to do just that! Stand up for God and bow down to Him.. Ask Him to secure our safety, to protect us from our enemies and to allow us times to refresh, re-nourish and regain ourselves.. 

Honestly, there is no other way.. to allow the few to demand we step back from our faith, is destroying that very building block that created this great country.. 

Shauni

Again.. I am not a preacher or a learned woman.. just a woman who wants to study God's word and apply it to my life

Who Do We Follow and Who Do Those We Follow, Follow?

Psalms 2  ((ESV))

1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 

3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”

I really don't think any of us need further explanation to these verses.. But one has to ask, who does our leader follow? Does he follow God's word and has been anointed by God? Or does he follow the word of man. The council of the world? Does he stand up and say I am a Christian and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God? And LIVE. BY. THOSE. WORDS. Or does he mouth platitudes and give in to the counsel of the world? 

It has to be hard to be a leader of peoples.. to stand firm in your convictions no matter what everyone else is saying. It has to be hard to stand strong in God's word.. (shoot it's hard as an individual) but when you take your oath as president, you place your right hand on the Bible and swear unto God. If you are swearing such, you need to remember that.. every single action you take you are representing God. Make your choices wisely.. spend your time on your knees.. because God is gonna want answers. 

But there is more to it than that.. we, the people, the faithful need to demand those answers as well. To question whether our leaders (church, school, government) are following God's word and are anointed by God. We need to ask questions and demand answers. If we don't find the right answers then we need to take a stand. Yep, we need to vote!! Use our powers (that of course if for government). For Schools, churches, we need to research where we attend.. seek God's guidance and then make educated choices. 

When we stand righteous.. God is with us.. it's that simple

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Simple enough when you read it.. I know, hard to live.. but as Christians who is more important? God or man? Whose opinions really matter? God's or man's.. 

Shauni

Remember.. I can only tell you what these verses mean to me.. what God is whispering in my ear.. 

Walking in God's Counsel

Psalm 1:1, 3-4 ((ESV))

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

How Can I apply that to myself? Where do I walk? From whom do seek my counsel?

I walk in shadows not hiding in the dark. I find that I compartmentalize my faith. I protect it, keep it huddled in the corner. Not because I am ashamed but because I am afraid. Afraid of those who will mock me. Afraid of those who will judge me. And yes afraid of those who will find my faith lacking. 

  So I walk not in the counsel of the Lord but rather in the counsel of the wicked. Those whom I have given power to knock me down. 

  But there is more to this verse it also says "nor sits in the seat of scoffers" think about that. When you sit at the seat of scoffers you become a scoffer. You can't help it your are surrounded by people making mockery of others. The unjust, the wicked... if you don't walk in God's word - gird your self for battle, using all the tools available you walk in Shadows.

  Shadows are not the light! So you can say you don't walk in darkness but you deceive yourself. I know... I do.

3. He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
4. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

   So basically, when you walk with God your talents grow, expand bear fruit. You live a fulfilled life. But when you walk with the wicked, your talents are scattered your focus is lost. You remain afloat with no comfort. 

  Interesting isn't it how you can open your Bible and find a solution to your prayers? 

  I have been searching, seeking, looking for a way to use my talents. I know I have been blessed with them but constantly get distracted, blown in the wind. 

  Why? Because I have not been walking with God. Rather with teh wicked, my goals got twisted. Now it's time to stop living in the shadows and walk in the light.

Shauni

Bear with me on my thoughts and interpretations . I am not learned in the word.. just a simple woman who seeks God's guidance and has this need to voice those thoughts.. feel free to share your opinions..

Psalms

Have you ever noticed that when you are searching for a verse, be it on anger, strength, love, faith, fear, rejection, redemption or just about anything.. There is a verse in Psalms that meets your needs? One has to wonder why.. well, we know why, it was a written by David about his emotions and relationship with God.. So he felt all of those things..

While I am not David, nor am I a learned person, I will be spending the next few weeks just reviewing and meditating upon the Psalms. I feel a need for the uplifting power of Psalms. To be shown just how unbreakable our relationship with God is. 

For the next little while I will be discussing what I discovered in my daily devotions.. Not whatever thought pops into my head. 

A Little bit different tack for me but hey, thought I would give it a try!! 

So bear with me, my friends if my interpretation of something is different than yours.. I will be as always speaking from my heart

Shauni