“I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.”  Psalm 89:1,2

I’ve been meditating more on Psalm 89:15, “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,” meaning those who are learning to recognize you in every detail of the day, to be aware of your constant work in their lives and therefore to praise you in every circumstance. They see frequent “God sightings,” as you clearly meet their needs.

These believers, “… walk in the light of your presence….” They are aware of your faithful attendance to them, of your being with them, shining your wisdom into their lives, lighting the way.

“They rejoice in your name all day long, they exalt in your righteousness….” You are their focus, your qualities are guiding their thoughts, and therefore their actions and reactions, “for you are their glory and strength.” They are constantly looking to you for help, drawing their significance from you, aware that belonging to you is a great joy, that you are the meaning of life, the importance of existence, sharing your greatness with them.

Walking in the light of his presence is a decision we can make every day, every minute. What are we waiting for?

The last verse of Psalm 50 reiterates this powerful truth of thanksgiving: “He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me and prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.” (NIV)

How often have I blocked God’s help by a rebellious heart, by an unthankful attitude? By my complaining rather than trusting?

This truth of Psalm 5f0:23 is a vital one for us in this difficult Middle Eastern country we lived in as we are continually faced with attacks of all kinds from the enemy. But in giving the “sacrifices of thanksgiving” we can open the way so God can turn these seeming defeats into victories—something we have seen happen often.

Like the time our 6 year old went to the corner grocery store to buy bread (a very common practice here) but didn’t come home! We thanked God for what He was doing in this crisis, and looked for him but no success. Then there came a knock on the door and there stood the daughter of the janitor of our former apartment building. She said she found him a mile down the hill still looking to buy bread! This happening reopened our relationship with that family—God had a purpose and a plan.

When we trust, that brings glory to Him instead of to us. When we give thanks, we express our faith in God’s wisdom in allowing this situation and in His power to straighten it out!

Prayer: “Lord, lift my eyes and thoughts to you when difficulties come. Help me to remember to give thanks for what I don’t like so I can give you glory and cooperate with you in bringing your desired outcomes. Amen.”

God has  higher plans, greater purposes for us than we can know. We, however, like the Israelites, persist in our rebellious ways, refusing to trust Him. “…. they did not believe his promise” (Ps 106:24b).

We look not to God, but to the problems before us; we fail to recognize that each difficulty, each obstacle, each burden is a chance to see God’s promises come to pass, to see Him act, to bring Him glory. We fail to flee to the Word, to remind ourselves of God’s promises and how He fulfilled them in the past.

“They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD” (Ps 106:25). Lord, we fail to praise you for the difficulties you allow in our lives. We choose NOT to see them as a call to action, to an adventure with you, a chance to join you in your great redemptive plan for the universe. We see only our own inconvenience.

Therefore we grumble, bringing great dishonor to you—our unbelief, our rebellion against your Word and Character steal glory and praise and honor from you before the unseen hosts of demons and angels, from before the people around us, from our own eyes. We dishonor you for the sake of our own convenience!

Forgive us, Lord God, Heavenly Father. For your name’s sake cleanse us, bring us forward in our relationship with you. Help us to spot our sins, our selfish tendencies, our self-absorbed self-serving, self-centered orientation, and to reject them all.

Help us to walk instead in the light of your gracious, powerful, wise and loving presence, lifting up your name in praise for all that comes to us:

— both light and shadow,

–what is pleasant and distressing,

–positive and negative,

–health and sickness,

–success and failure,

–fulfillment and emptiness,

–fruitfulness and frustration.

For then we will be joining you in your great plan of redemption and transformation of all.

‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him….’ “  Psalm 91:14

You, Lord Jesus, are faithful, you are the epitome of follow-through. You speak a promise and it will come to pass. You bind yourself with a Word and always do it.

For instance, in Psalm 91:1 you powerfully declare, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” There is no doubt, no possibility of failure in this rest, if we remain in the protection you have provided.

I praise you, Lord God for your righteousness displayed here:

you cannot lie,

you always follow through,

you promise and act,

you continually keep your word.

I praise you that your character never changes:

your Word never fails,

your faithfulness never ends,

your presence never ceases,

and your love endures forever.

Psalm 34:4,5 show your faithfulness to bring your promise of help to pass, even in storms like in this picture:

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”

He deals with our fears before our problems. He is wise, good and trustable!

As the Word said, ’They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,’ declares the LORD.”  Jeremiah 15:20

“Yes, we’d like you to work for us; you can probably start next week!” Elapsed time to present: 75 days and work has not started.

“Your telephone will be connected next week.” Elapsed time to present: 92 days, still no phone.

Waiting is a major aspect of life here in the Middle East. It isn’t that the people making these promises are lying; they believe what they say and may even work hard to get us what they promised, but it’s just difficult to get things done

God, however, has much use for these delays. In this constant waiting and suspense that fills our lives, the Word has given us great comfort. Psalm 46:7 says, “The Lord of Hosts is with us….” (NKJV)

Who is this, “Lord of Hosts?” He is the commander of the Angelic Armies of Heaven, the only undefeated force in the Universe! His power is unlimited, His knowledge is immeasurable and His wisdom is unassailable. He wants to fight our battles for us and defeat the enemies who are far more powerful than we are. He will use His power to protect us if we trust in Him.

As it says in 1 Peter 1:5, we, “through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” If we trust, we are protected; are we trusting?