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Psalm 18:16-19

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 12, 2018
Psalm 18:16 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.”
 
[Our God is never too busy to stoop down and help any of His children; He pays close attention to each one and acts to help at the right time, especially as we fall into deep problems and trials. David was sinking in deep danger, he desperately needed help right away and God answered.]
 
Psalm 18:17 “He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.”
 
[You, Lord, are such a powerful and personal God; you reach down into time and history to save, protect and deliver us from the great power of our enemy, the devil, his forces and his pawns. They are far too strong for us, but you are immensely more powerful than they are and have no problem overcoming their plans.
 
In the midst of our difficulties, we can be certain that you, Lord Jesus, will act in the best way, at the best time, with the best means to sustain us and to give help in the right measure. Praise be to you for your faithfulness and goodness.]
 
Psalm 18:18 “They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.”
 
[When all seems lost, when our demise seems certain, you, Lord come in and rescue. As it says in Psalm 46:5, “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” Even in the small things you help us, like when I could not find the glue for my project, I offered the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and you gave me the idea of where to look, and there it was!]
 
Psalm 18:19 “He brought me out into a spacious place;”
 
[You don’t just rescue us, you bring us into a positive position, a superior situation, a wide and pleasant place with you. You are the giver of great good and abundant grace.]
 
“he rescued me because he delighted in me.”
 
[This statement, in my opinion, is the most significant one in this passage. You, Lord, do not act just out of pity or obligation, but because you delight in us, your children. You see us in Christ, transformed, accepted and beloved by you! What an amazing, encouraging, faith-building, wonderful statement!
 
You are powerfully pleased that we belong to you, that we cry out to you, our Abba Father. You are not bothered, irritated or agitated by our coming to you. No, you are richly pleased, mightily happy, deeply delighted, for you have inexplicably made us the objects of your unending, deep and rich love. You have made us the apple of your eye, the delight of your heart, the object of your continual affection.
 
We do not deserve this–which is all the more reason to praise you for your wonderful, eternal, infinite forgiveness, your unlimited, ever flowing grace and all-encompassing, deep love that gives us the opposite of what we should have gotten: a trip straight to Hell.
 
I will praise you now, today, and forever because you are worthy of all honor, exaltation and glory. You are the God who loves His enemies, who rescues those who deserve condemnation, who saves those who deserve defeat.
 
May your name be exalted in my life today and forever through surrender, faith, obedience and thanksgiving. Amen.]
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December, 1979

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 11, 2018
Our first few days in our new Middle Eastern country, December, 1979.
 
Our team leader, John, had rented a partially furnished apartment for us, so we could move right in. The only problem was that with a shortage of fuel oil, there was very little heat. Winter in this city is very similar to winter in New England, plus this happened to be the coldest winter in forty years with record-breaking amounts of snow.
 
The government had nationalized the coalfields, forgetting, however, that they had no equipment to mine it, so there was a lack of coal. Other things were also in short supply: propane gas, cooking gas, gasoline, light bulbs, toilet paper and many food products.
 
Another difficulty for us was the air quality; our city was located in a bowl of mountains, so the exhaust fumes from vehicles and the smoke from furnaces were of trapped in the city. That created some serious air pollution.
 
How different this was from our beautiful, clean and green Connecticut. But the Lord graciously reminded us to reject the temptation to compare. Barbara had a friend tell her, “Accept where you are, don’t compare. It will only make you unhappy.” So we set our faces forward, and accepted what the Lord had for us.
 
The day after Christmas, our tenth day in the country, our team leader took us on a seven-hour trip down to Tarsus—the town where the Apostle Paul was born. We were finding out how much biblical history there was in this country.
 
Our city was the site of Galatia. In the southwest were the seven churches of Revelation, along with Colossae. In the southeast was Antioch where the believers were first called Christians and Mount Ararat where Noah’s ark may have landed after the flood subsided. And there were many other sites.
 
It had snowed in the night before this trip, and I was thankful that the engine in our car was in the rear to give us traction as we drove up and up and up the Southern rim of the mountains to get out of the city. As we crossed the high Anatolian plain, the road became more treacherous, in many places covered with ice.
 
Most of the gas stations were closed because of the shortages of fuel, so when we saw one open I decided to stop and gas up. I just touched the brakes and the tires lost traction on the icy road. We began to slide sideways into the gas station, then spun around a couple of times and came to a stop when we hit the gas pump.
 
There was silence for a moment and then from the back of the car came four year old Josh’s small voice, “Do it again, Daddy!” We all laughed, but I was shaken.
 
We descended the steep and winding roads through the mountains, dropping to sea level, and arrived in Tarsus in late afternoon.
 
We went first to the home of a local friend of John’s whom we called Charles. John wanted to talk with him about setting up a foundation to use as a legal basis for outreach.
 
This was our first visit to a village type home. Every aspect of family life was different from ours: take off your shoes at the door, sit on the floor, eat from a common dish on a large tray on the floor, drink tea from diminutive glasses, and use a “squat” toilet. It was primitive and charming at the same time. We were definitely in the “tourist stage” of adjustment to a new culture.
 
Later we drove on to the next city, Adana, and stayed with other workers. In contrast to the freezing temperatures in our city, here on the Mediterranean shore we were fighting mosquitoes!
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Psalm 18:6-15

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 10, 2018
Psalm 18:6 “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”
 
[And when, in faithfulness and love He heard David’s cry, God moved in His might to answer:]
 
Psalm 18:7 “The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.”
 
[You, Lord God, are a person of passion: when you are aroused, there is no stopping you. You act in justice, you act in love, you act in conviction, you act in power! Praise be to you for your love so displayed.]
 
Psalm 18:8 “Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.”
 
[You wrath is righteous and will not be quenched until there is justice done and wrongs righted. The heat of your heart leads to the rescue of your children in the right way and at the right time. You act in power and swiftness, as this next section so graphically illustrates:]
 
Psalm 18:9-15 “He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.
He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them.
The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.”
 
[What a display of powerful, righteous and compassionate anger! Bigger than any star wars episode! You, Lord God, Breather of the stars, Spinner of the earth and Bringer of the Dawn, bent the elements to your will and acted in passion, bringing a storm at the right time to protect your own.
 
You are the God of wisdom and power, passion and might, mercy and action.
 
As David said in the beginning of this Psalm, you are our Rock, our Fortress and our Deliverer. In you we can trust, no matter how terrible things look. You have a plan to rescue us, and as we cry out to you, you will work it out at the right time and carry us forward along with you.
 
Help us to demonstrate our belief in you today by turning to you first in our needs, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving in all and praising you for your answers before they come.]
 
(Picture below from the internet)
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Giving Thanks

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 9, 2018
This week I had two clear God sightings which involved being called to give thanks for things I did not want.
 
We had a 8:15 doctor appointment in Norwich on Tuesday and left in good time, but got stuck behind a school bus. It stopped at the neighbor’s; the student was waiting on the wrong side of the road, ambled over and slowly got on the bus, took his time to sit down.
 
On to the next house, where four children waited, again on the wrong side of the road. They took their sweet time crossing the road, in getting on the bus and getting seated. The bus then came to the stop sign, from where we could see the next student waiting with his mother in a car. They saw the bus, but the student did not get out; he waited til the bus stopped for him; even then he waited a while before getting out of the car.
 
I was getting more and more frustrated at these delays and the thoughtlessness of the students in being so slow; and I was now worried about being late for our appointment. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me to give thanks for this bus, for the situation, for the slow students. So I gritted my teeth and gave thanks, reminded myself that God has a plan and chose to rest in him.
 
Within a few seconds the bus pulled over to the side and the driver signaled for us to pass! Frustration gone! In my experience, that is a pretty rare thing for buses to do, and it came right after confessing my frustration and impatience and giving thanks! Truly, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving opens the way that we may see the salvation of the Lord.
 
Then yesterday I was doing some plumbing work and couldn’t find the glue I’d bought the day before. I looked in several places to no avail. Then the Spirit reminded me to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving for this; I calmed down and shortly an idea came of where to look (an unusual place), and there was the glue!. Not only did it work out, but giving thanks allowed me to fulfill the purpose of my life: giving honor to God.
 
God is so kind to us, not only watching over us, but giving us a significant part in His plan, calling us to be partners with Him. And the primary way we do this is by giving thanks in and for all things.
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Psalm 18:3-6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 8, 2018
Psalm 18:3 “I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,”
 
[You, Lord [Jehovah], are worthy of praise because of your holiness. You are completely other than your creatures: eternal, pure, wise, all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, totally independent of all you have created. In contrast, we are weak, tiny, limited and ignorant–in total need of knowing you, fully dependent on you, whether we know it or not.
 
In your holiness, LORD, you are the One who hates sin and must punish it, while at the same time you love your rebellious creatures and have provided for them a way of escape from condemnation. Truly you are worthy of praise!]
 
“and I am saved from my enemies.”
 
[You hear my prayers and in your power, in your love, in your faithfulness you save me from my enemies. You rescued me from the devil’s dominion of darkness, you delivered me from his oppression, you freed me from the clutches of sin, you brought me out from under the condemnation of the world.
 
You saved me from death and dispair, and you continue to save me every day from the attacks of sin, selfishness, Satan and his servants. You are my Superb Savior in whom mercy triumphs over justice. You are worthy of continual praise, honor and glory for your incomprehensible love and grace!]
 
Psalm 18:4,5 “The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.”
 
[In David’s case, his life was in physical danger as Saul was in hot pursuit of him. This is also the case now for many Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, as groups like ISIS and hostile governments try to eliminate all followers of Jesus.
 
On another level of danger, we all were entangled by the cords of death, for we lived in the dominion of darkness, in the disparing
, depressing world of the dying, ensnared by the traps and tricks of the devil. Death was our certain destiny, there was no hope, no light, no escape in our own strength.]
 
Psalm 18:6 “In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”
 
[But you, LORD God, Jehovah Elohim, were there to hear us when we cried out to you and have delivered us from the darkness of death and brought us into your Kingdom of light.
 
You now continually invite us to cry out to you for you hear our cry and act in your undeserved faithfulness and love. Because you are faithful we can be certain that, despite our natural unworthiness, you will hear and answer.]
 
It is wonderful, comforting and encouraging to know that in all our difficulties we can cry out to you, that you hear us and will answer in what is best and in power. As it says in Psalm 86:7, “In the day of my trouble I will call to you and you WILL answer me.”
 
May we live in the light and joy of this truth, trusting through thanksgiving before we see any answer, knowing that your timing and wisdom are perfect. To you be honor and glory today in my life as I live in the truth that “my soul finds rest in God alone (Psa. 62:1).
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Psalm 18:2b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 7, 2018
 
Psalm 18:2b “my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.”
 
[You, O God, are Elohim, the powerful One who showed your might in creation; and you are the consistent One, who showed your faithfulness in providing salvation as promised in the Garden of Eden. You, the triune God, are not just the Rock, but MY Rock to whom I can flee and find refuge. In you is the ultimate in help and safety.
 
Guide me in consistently taking refuge in you through meditating on your Word, lifting my soul to you and praying about all that is in my life, giving you my burdens, fears, worries and frustrations.]
 
“He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
 
[You, O Elohim, are my personal, portable shield, protecting my head in the everyday battles that swirl around me; you are the power of my salvation; you are my sheltering stronghold which the enemy can never penetrate. You are the Ultimate in security, the Eternal in safety, the Almighty in victory. You are the only One to be trusted, believed in and obeyed.]
 
Praise be to you for how you are going to be my Rock, my Shield, my Fortress and my Deliverer today. Help me to remain in your love by obeying what I know to be true, and to honor you by keeping on the armor, standing in the evil day and, having done your all, to stand.
 
May all those who meet me today also meet the Holy Spirit as He fills and works in me. Thank you now for the answers you will give to these prayers.
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Psalm 18:2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 6, 2018

Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;”

[You, Jehovah, the holy and sin-hating God, Creator of the Universe, the Beginner and Ender of time, are our mighty Rock: unshakable, unmovable, unending and unchanging, ever stable, ever trustable. On you we can take our stand, on you we can rely, in you alone our souls find rest.

On this great Rock of protection, you are also our mighty Fortress in which we can take refuge, hidden away from the enemy and his hoards. This Fortress is indestructable, impregnable and impenetrable. The enemy can never breach the walls of your love, can never touch us without your permission, can never defeat your plans.

You are also our faithful Deliverer, outside the walls of the fortress, fighting for us in your might, wisdom and love. You foil the plans of the nations and thwart the purposes of the peoples. The enemy can never trick you, surprise you or defeat you. You are ever on guard, ever alert and active.

Even in your weakness as a man, Lord Jesus, with the possibility of defeat and failure yawning before you as you prayed in the garden, with death overtaking your body, you were solid as a rock. At the right moment, as our deliverer you rose up to win, to defeat death and the devil, to open the way to life for all. You are the God triumphant, the Victor in every battle, the Deliverer of all who are oppressed.

And you continue with that battle every day, surrounding us with your grace, goodness and glory in the ongoing spiritual warfare of this dark world. You shine like the full moon, showing us the way in the darkness. We can stand with you, in you, by you, for you, clothed with your amour, empowered by your grace, guided by your wisdom, following the plan you have for us each day, partnered with you in victory. Praise be to you!

Help us to so stand in you today, Lord Jesus, our Rock, our Fortress, our Deliverer, so that glory and honor may flow from us to you.]

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Psalm 18:1

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 5, 2018
Psalm 18 is one of my favorite psalms, for it reveals the rich and deep relationship David had with his Lord, who sustained him in the midst of the problems, pressures and the present dangers of his life. David is a good example to us, as he takes everything to God and lives in the Lord’s strength, power and protection, not trying to make it on his own.
 
“For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.”
 
[And we all know how Saul sought to kill David and how God protected him from Saul’s anger.]
 
Psalm 18:1 “I love you, O LORD, my strength.”
 
[You, Lord, are the intimate and ultimate God, whose deep love for us calls forth an echo of affection from our hearts. To love you is a great privilege, a wonderful freedom, a deep grace, bringing us out from our natural negative notions into the light of your marvelous presence, your mighty power and majestic wisdom. There your love overflows onto us, washing through us, bringing us cleansing, renewing and joy.
 
You, Jesus, declared in John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”
 
This is an amazing statement: Jesus offers us the great, eternal, all powerful love that the Father has for Him: whole-hearted, enthusiastic, unending, joyful, grace-filled, kind and warm. So, as Jesus is secure in His relationship with the Father, we can be secure in our relationship with Him. And His love calls forth the desire to love Him back, to remain in His love by obeying him in all that we know to be right.
 
In verse 11 Jesus continues, “…. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete”.
 
[You are not only the One who loves us but the one who desires to share your joy with us and out of that love and joy your power flows into our lives. You are my strength–I have so little; in fact, practically speaking, no strength of my own, especially in comparison to that of our enemy, Satan, who is much stronger than I am. So I need your power to stand against the wiles of the devil.
 
As it says in Revelation 12:17, “Then [Satan] the dragon was enraged…and went off to wage war against…those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.”
 
The accuser gives no quarter, and I cannot possibly defend myself against him—but you, O Lord God, are my defender, my salvation and protector.
 
Later in Psalm 18 David declares that the LORD “reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support” (Psa. 18:16-18).
 
Praise be to you, Lord God, that your power is made perfect in the poverty of our personal weakness. Our lack of strength is your opportunity to bring salvation to us, to display your great power in your love by providing, protecting and prolonging our lives in the midst of attacks by the enemy who is too powerful for us. Glory be to your name!
 
May I live in your love and under your protection today by keeping on your armor and offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving for whatever comes, trusting you, honoring you and seeing the salvation of the Lord.]
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Trip to the Middle East, 1979

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 3, 2018
On our way to the Middle East in November of 1979, we flew first to Germany, to spend some days with Barbara’s parents. There I bought an old VW variant, a small station wagon with the engine in the rear. When I told the salesman that I planned to drive it to Turkey, he laughed. “It may make it there, if you’re lucky, but don’t expect much more from it.” he said. However this faithful little car not only got us safely to our new country, but made the same 1800 mile (3000 kilometer) trip another four times as well.
We heard about the shortage of basic supplies in the country we were going to, so we stocked up with toilet paper, light bulbs, cooking oil and a tank for extra gasoline.
We set off at the beginning of December, making our way slowly down through Germany, stopping to visit several of Barbara’s friends. We also visited Litzen, the town in Austria where we’d worked three years before.
Climbing the switchbacks over the Alps, we left Western Europe behind and descended into Yugoslavia. We were following the main route between Europe and the Middle East, a two lane road that was filled with many trucks traveling in both directions. It was a constant game of catching up to a line of trucks, looking for an opportunity to pass them, then dropping back to pick up speed and zoom by.
In some places the road was so straight that it was hard to tell how far away the oncoming traffic was, or how fast it was approaching. “Should I pass or shouldn’t I?” was my constant question to myself. Along the sides of the road were the wrecks of cars and trucks whose drivers had misjudged the traffic and not made it. Grim warnings of the dangers we faced.
 
In Greece we stayed over night in the city of Kavala.
The next morning we left early and drove two hours on curvy mountainous roads to the next big town, Komotini. We stopped so I could go to a bank and exchange some traveler’s checks.
 
When I got to the front of the line, the teller wanted to see my passport, but I didn’t have it with me. I talked him into cashing the check anyway and went back to the car.
 
I asked Barbara if she had my passport; she checked and didn’t find it; hers was also gone! Then we realized that we’d left them at the hotel in Kavala.
 
When you check into a hotel in Europe, they take your passport, both to report to the police about who is staying there and to make sure you pay; we’d forgotten to reclaim ours before departing.
 
So, we had to drive back over those turning, twisting roads again. Two hours later we were back Kavala. The desk clerk said he’d run down the street after us as we left, calling to us that we forgotten our passports, but we hadn’t heard him.
We went to get gas and as I paid, I found that the teller in the bank had given me way too much money. It seems he had cashed the checks as English Pounds rather than dollars because the traveler’s checks were from a bank in England.
As we drove back over those hilly, curvy roads for the third time, we talked about the situation and decided to go to the bank and return the money.
When we arrived, it was after hours and the bank was closed. But I banged on the window and someone came to the door. When I explained what I wanted, the man took me in.
All the employees were standing around the teller who had waited on me, commiserating with him because he had to pay out of his own pocket the extra cash he’d given me.
I was ushered into this group and I presented the man with the extra money. He looked up at me in awe and asked, “Are you an ambassador?”
 
I was taken aback by his question and missed the opportunity of a lifetime to say “Yes, I am an ambassador of the Most High King, Jesus!” I had been warned so often about being careful in witnessing in the Middle East, that I’d become too cautious. Instead I muttered, “No, I just want to be honest.” The man was very thankful.
 
We drove on, but were too late to enter our new country. The Lord had a reason for this, which I tell you about next Sunday.
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Amazing Truths

Published by S.M. Wibberley on November 3, 2018
 
Praise you, my Heavenly Father, King of Glory, Creator of the universe, the Beginner and Ender of time. When you created all the physical universe, Satan was there, as were all the angels, fallen and faithful both.
 
What was there before all we know was created? We don’t know, but certainly there was a place where you dwelt, Lord, where you and all the spiritual beings you had created earlier existed.
 
You are much bigger, much more powerful and far greater than even the vast and deep spaces of the known universe indicate. It is, of course, impossible for our tiny human reasoning to grasp your dimensions, to understand what eternity entails, what it means to have existed forever, without being created, without change or growth because you are already perfect, living forever and ever.
 
Such thoughts are mind-warpingly beyond our comprehension, they are certainly magnificent and stunning—and comforting.
 
They are comforting because you, our Heavenly Father, in spite of your greatness and glory, in spite of your having no need for us, came to our insignificant Milky Way galaxy, crossing it’s 50,000-light-year radius to approach a tiny speck of dust tucked under one arm of the huge galactic spiral, and there, at great cost to yourself, proceeded to redeem the rebellious and repulsive population of sinners.
 
What reason could you possibly have had for this? There is no attractiveness, no usefulness, no positiveness about us–sinful and selfish as we are– to entice you into such a sacrifice. This is utterly illogical to our minds.
 
Yet, you, the Mighty and Majestic One, who has created all we can see and far more, stooped to gather into your embrace all the rebels who will come. You forgive, cleanse, adopt, equip and invite us into significant roles in your great plan to right wrong, infuse good, eliminate evil and bring a re-created universe into eternity with you. Wow!
 
Are we who have believed in you, going to refuse to join you in this great plan? Are we going to continue on in our self-centered, activity-based, feel good focus, taking for granted all you’ve done and given? Or are we going to embrace all you have for us, making you the center of our lives, our being, our day, our activities? A no-brainer if we are looking at reality.
 
And that’s the key: you have given us full reality, as far as we can comprehend it, from your revelation in the Word. We need to eagerly let go of our natural worldview and leap wholeheartedly into your biblical worldview where you are Sovereign, Powerful, Good and Loving; where everything is right side up: loving our enemies, forgiving as we have been forgiven, returning good for evil, giving thanks in all things.
 
You are inviting us into the adventure of living for you, in you, by you and with you in bringing history to a conclusion and sweeping as many as possible into an eternity with you, our marvelous and mighty God. To refuse such proffered purpose, meaning, honor and significance is the deepest form of insanity (being detached from reality). To surrender is the highest form of worship.
 
The choice is ours to begin now, surrendering our understanding to you, being filled with your Spirit, learning to think your thoughts, to live in your values and run in your paths of Truth, as laid out in your Word.
 
Lead us on to deeper and deeper surrender, Lord, thinking your thoughts, pursuing your purposes, living in your light, so that we may be more and more useful for you, continually bringing you greater and wider honor.
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