Lift Up Your Soul

"Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul." 

- Ps. 86:4

This is a prayer of David.

He is asking the Lord to bring him joy in the midst of a constant barrage of criticism and verbal abuse. And, while he is asking the Lord for joy, he is also aware that his part in receiving joy from the Lord is to lift up his own soul to God.

So, that got me thinking. How do we do that? How do we lift up our soul to God?

The first thing that came to mind is that it all begins with a mindset of total dependence upon God; a recognition that I absolutely need God's help for everything good that is going to come from my life, including joy.

Also, I am reminded that joy is an attitude that I choose to have regardless of my present circumstance. With God's help, I choose joy today.

Lifting up my soul to the Lord certainly involves some disciplined behavior choices; mostly the choice to consistently spend focused time with Him; reading His word, conversing with Him, spending more time listening than talking. This helps my mind to be focused and disciplined. It puts things in perspective. When I listen to God, when I gaze upon His power and majesty, when I lift up my soul to Him, I am reminded of the eternal. I remember that my problems in this life are small and temporary. I take joy in knowing that God is still in control and that He is working out His plan for my eternal good.

Bronze or Gold

"When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made. So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace."- 2 Chronicles 12:9-10

God allowed Shishak, the king of Egypt, to attack His holy city of Jerusalem and to plunder its wealth. And this was no small treasure. The city of Jerusalem abounded with prosperity because of the great blessing that God had poured out on Rehoboam's father, king Solomon. Now, all of that has been lost. And why?

When we read the verses preceding this section and those following, we learn that the people had deserted God and were pursuing the religious practices of the nations around them. Their hearts were not devoted to the Lord. The result of this was that God allowed them to have what they were asking for, a life free of His interference. What they got was bronze, instead of gold.

It had to sting every time they looked at those bronze shields and remembered that they used to have gold ones.

I wonder how many of us find ourselves in the same place- living with bronze, when we could have had gold. Now, before anyone jumps to the conclusion that I' talking about material wealth here: I'm not. I'm talking about God's blessing, God's best for our lives. When we continually choose our way over God's ways, we are unknowingly ripping ourselves off. It is only as we pursue Him wholeheartedly that we will walk in the blessing of His divine covering.

Spiritual bronze or spiritual gold? It's up to you. I say, go for the gold.

Jun 2011

14 Tue

"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near." Philippians 4:5

Paul has just finished asking the Philippian believers to encourage unity between two women in the church who, evidently, had been friends at one time, even working alongside Paul in the ministry, but were now at odds with one another. On the heels of that, Paul gives this exhortation to be gentle.

Gentleness does not come easy for most of us. It requires the laying down of our self-perceived rights and trusting that God, Himself, will be our defender. This is why Paul accompanies this exhortation with a great promise, "The Lord is near".

Trusting that the Lord is present helps us be more at peace, relaxed, and gentle. It's a quiet strength that come's from His presence.