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Psalm 18:30b

Psalm 18:30b, “He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.”
 
[Here is another statement of the perfect partnership you desire with us: your powerful protection is predicated on our premeditated hiding in you. If we choose to rely on ourselves, refusing to flee to you, to seek your wisdom, to obey what we know to be true, to run in your Way–we place ourselves outside your shelter.
 
But if we run to you for help, thinking Truth, praying for guidance, submitting to your Wisdom–then you swing your shield of protection over us, keeping us safe from all true harm.
 
How do we run to you? Primarily through the three actions of praise with prayer, thinking your Word, and obeying it. It means taking seriously such statements as “I will boast all the more gladly in my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest on me” (2 Cor. 12:9), and “…call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me” (Psa. 50:15).
 
It means implementing Philippians 4:6,7 “in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [shield] your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
 
So, for example, when we are sick, taking refuge in you means our first move is to praise, thanking you for the situation, then asking for your help and healing. Then going to the doctor if necessary. This declares our dependence on you, gives you glory and opens the way for you to work through whatever means you choose to bring healing at the right time.
 
The opposite of this is seen in the life of King Asa: “Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians” (2 Chron. 16:12). And he died.
 
When we believe your Word, Lord, and offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, you raise up your shield of love and power over us. We hide in you by giving you honor in words of worship and as we exalt you in faith, you protect us.
 
To praise in trust ahead of time for whatever you will bring is a wonderful partnering with you, a taking refuge in you, a strong statement of faith, a great giving of glory to you before the unseen hosts.
 
Praise be to you, the faithful and holy One, the good and wise God who is never too late, never too early, always prepared and powerful enough to work out all the details of life. I give you glory, Lord Jesus, for you are the trustable Teacher, the good God, the powerful Protector and the saving Shepherd.
 
It is so true, Lord, that you are “a shield for all who take refuge in you.” You are worthy of all worship. Help me to worship you today by taking refuge in you each moment.
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Incredible Planning

From today’s entry in EDIFIED!
 
You, Lord God, are the marvelous One, for you are able to weave the evil decisions of all people and the conditions of this warped and twisted creation into the detailed plan for your recovery of righteousness and holiness in the universe.
 
In your wisdom you got Jacob, that stubborn, self-centered, rebellious, underhanded man, to move to Egypt, to where he didn’t want to go, so that his family line could be preserved and produce the mother of the Messiah. “You called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food…” (Ps. 105:16). The far-reaching features of the famine (foodlessness and fear) drove Jacob to leave his beloved land and go where you wanted him.
 
And you didn’t leave him unprotected: “… and you sent a man before them—Joseph, sold as a slave” (Ps. 105:17). He didn’t go on a camel as an esteemed emissary, but as a slave, in chains, cut off from hope, experiencing the death of his vision to be a ruler.
 
It was no pleasant position, being a slave: “They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons…” (Ps. 105:18). As he trudged across the sands of the desert, the shackles cutting into his ankles, the iron ring on his neck burning in the sun, you spoke to him, you brought him to surrender, burned the bitterness out of him, saved him from his self-centeredness, prepared him for being a productive person.
 
Then the years of service, of disappointment, of imprisonment (a second death of his vision), then of abandonment as Pharaoh’s servant forgot Joseph’s help and his plea for reciprocal help, leaving him to rot in jail for another two years (a third death of his vision). You kept him there “till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true” (Ps. 105:19). You refined him, broke and reshaped him, taught him to trust you no matter how bad it looked.
 
Then when things were ready, when Joseph was fully prepared by you, “The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom” (Ps. 105:20-22).
 
At the right time, you elevated him from the lowest position, a slave in prison, to the second highest position in the kingdom, Prime Minister, as it were. And he was ready to rule: having learned obedience and submission to you, he was able to lead others.
 
You, Lord God, are wise, all-knowing, all seeing, ever looking at the goal, always weaving every detail of life into the fabric of your plan, bringing history to the conclusion you desire: the exaltation of your Name, the elimination of evil, the elevation of the saints and an eternity full of praise, worship and glory.
 
Your wisdom is wonderful, your strength is sure, your love is long-lasting, your grace is ever good, your plan is perfect, your execution is excellent, your greatness is gracious, your workings are wondrous—you, O Triune God, the Excellent One, are worthy of worship and whole-hearted obedience through all eternity.
 
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Psalm 18:30b

Psalm 18:30b “the word of the LORD is flawless.”
 
[Praise you that we can trust your Word completely: there is no error, no contradiction, no mistake in it. When you speak, command, direct and teach, what you say is right and we can trust it fully.
 
Praise you that you have carefully had your words recorded in the Bible, and that we can take it at face value. Sadly, many twist it for selfish reasons, cutting it out of context, taking a superficial understanding, even blatantly denying what it clearly says and using it for their own ends rather than your purposes.
 
Give us wisdom to discern these perversions when confronted with them–or are tempted to use them ourselves–and to replace them with your clear and clean Truth.
 
Protect us from the traps of the enemy and keep us on the pure path of your perfect way as revealed in your wonderful Word. Help us to be consistent in reading, meditating, believing and living it out every day.
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Psalm 18:30

Psalm 18:30 “As for God, his way is perfect;”
 
[You, O Lord God, make no mistakes, you do what is right, with excellence and without error all the time. We can trust you to lead us aright, to teach us your wonderful way, to show us what is perfect. Thank you that you promise to, “lead us in paths of righteousness for your name’s sake” (Ps. 23:3). Help us to actively, wholeheartedly follow.
 
With your Word, you turn the negative values of the world right-side-up because we live in the upside-down-world where selfishness and rebellion are natural, where fear, despair and hopelessness abound. You teach us to live by dying, to get by giving, to grieve by praising, to give thanks before there is an outcome. There are so many opportunities to live by faith as we reject the values of the world and instead walk in the light of your powerful Way.
 
Praise be to you for teaching us that being weak is a wonder, that we should delight in our deficiencies and difficulties, for in such weakness, your power is made perfect and Christ’s might comes upon us (2 Cor. 12:9,10). You teach us that to embrace our neediness and suffering is freeing, empowering and transforming for us and greatly glorifying for you.
 
Praise you that you give us vision and understanding of your perfect ways. “Teach me your way, O LORD; I will walk in your truth: unite my heart to fear your name” (Psa. 86:11).
 
Help us to walk in your truth consistently, denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily and following you, for therein lies the purpose of our lives, the meaning of existence and the hope of glory with you.]
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Psalm 18:29

On this Independence day, here is a declaration of dependence, a plan for joining God rather than asking Him to join me.
 
Psalm 18:29 “With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.”
 
[This is a beautiful picture of David’s dependence on you, Lord, seeing his own weakness in the light of your wondrous power. Humanly speaking he could, on his own, easily move toward an enemy and climb a wall, but he knew from experience that doing so in your power is vastly different than doing it on his own.
 
And he moved forward in your power by praying in preparation for the battle, seeking your wisdom, asking your help. There are several instances where this is specifically shown in the Old Testament.
 
In 1Samuel 30:8. David and his men returned to their town, Ziklag, to find that the Amalekites had come and captured all their families. Instead of rushing off to rescue them, David first went to God in prayer, he “inquired of the LORD, ‘Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?’ ‘Pursue them,’ he answered. ‘You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.’ And David and his few men did that, defeating a much larger force and getting everyone back.
 
In all the stories of the Old Testament, there is no record of David ever being wounded in battle. He knew your protection, Lord, your power, your provision in the hand-to-hand combat of dozens if not hundreds of battles he participated in.
 
He declared, “Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle” (Psa. 140:7). Therefore, it was in your active power that he trusted. He saw clearly that in the common doings of his day, he needed your help and he prayed for it.]
 
Lord, help me to be that dependent on you like David, realizing I need your power in even the mundane things of life. Help me to be consistent in praying through my day, in asking for your guidance, protection and power in all that I do.
 
May prayer be the foundation of all, as I remember your words in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
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Safe in Jesus

From EDIFIED! the devotional book
 
“He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations….”
Psalm 105:8
 
This morning I woke up late, have a headache and a scratchy throat, had disturbing dreams and am groggy. This is a great chance to praise you, Lord Jesus, for your unchanging, ongoing, immutable, eternal faithfulness, your consistent character and beautiful being.
 
I change, vacillate, fail and am fickle, but you, Lord Jesus, are rock-solid, reliable, never wavering, fully faithful, always true, reliably righteous, ever the same, ever perfect.
 
My ups and downs become an impetus to praise you, Lord Jesus, as they highlight the unwavering majesty of your mighty and magnificent character. You are the perfect One, whose plans stand firm forever and whose purposes continue through all generations. You promise, you follow through, you fulfill–always.
 
I think of the time gaps between the giving of prophesies in the Old Testament and the fulfillment in the New: the promise given in the Garden of Eden of your coming as the Deliverer from the curse; the promises to Abraham some 2000 years before your coming; the Psalm 22 prophetic poem of David, written 1000 years before your incarnation, detailing your death on the cross long before crucifixion was known; the clear declaration in Isaiah 53 of the details of your work of salvation, written 700 years before you accomplished them. So sure was the carrying out of your plan that you are called the Lamb of God, sacrificed before the foundation of the world.
 
Today, as we see the increase in earthquakes, in political turmoil, in immorality, in rampant self-centeredness, in the coldness of believers—all prophesied in your Word—we remember how faithful you are in fulfilling what you promised as you carry us on towards the conclusion of history.
 
In our daily life you, in your faithfulness, prepare, protect and propel us forward in our walk with you. Whatever comes, whatever happens, whatever failures, problems, difficulties, insults, weaknesses, persecutions, sicknesses, hurts, losses or tragedies may come, you are there.
 
You are our Refuge and Strength, an ever-present Help in trouble (Ps. 46:1). You are our Shepherd and Shield (Ps. 18:1-4), leading us forward, fulfilling our needs, giving us rest, restoring our souls, protecting us from the enemy, providing peace, giving grace, manifesting mercy—all out of your faithful and sure character.
 
As I go into this day with a headache, I want to praise you, Lord God, for you are worthy of worship, glory, honor and obedience at all times, in all circumstances. You are to be lifted up, exalted and honored and I commit myself to do that today.
 
Prayer: “You are great and glorious, Lord Jesus; may my love for you today also be great, demonstrated in obedience and praise when I don’t feel like it. Amen.”
 
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Fresh Starts

Written July 1, 2017
 
A new day, a new month, a new beginning of things. Praise you, Lord, for a fresh start every day, every time we sin, every time we mess up. You forgive us, so we can forgive ourselves and we can ask forgiveness of others.
 
Praise be to you, Lord, for your great goodness to us! What a joy to know you, to walk with you, to be your child, your friend, your co-worker, your partner, and in the end, your bride.
 
I praise you, Lord, that you are the good God of gracious gifts, gorgeous in glory and gigantic in greatness. To you belongs honor, submission, obedience and praise. May I give you all of those throughout today as you bring the change, the challenges, the help, the guidance we need.
 
I thank you now for whatever you will do with those who are bringing trouble to me. Bless them, do good to them, and guide me in doing the same.
 
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Psalm 18:28

Psalm 18:28 “You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

[You are light itself, Lord, shining brilliantly across the eons of time, shining long before the sun and stars were created.

And now you are the source of light for our lives—physical light as well as the light of wisdom, insight, guidance and warning. You actively grant direction when we have no idea what to do. I praise you for your faithful, sure, constant presence, your leading us on in the challenges of life in this dark world.

You are the One, Lord Jesus, who brought us out of the dominion of darkness into your Kingdom of Light. As it says in Proverbs 4:18,19, “The way of the wicked (as we were) is like deep darkness, they do not know what makes them stumble.”

In contrast, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever more brightly until the full light of day.” Help us, Lord, not to look back on the darkness, but to look ahead at your guiding light, moving ever more into it’s full strength so that we may see and void what can make us stumble.

I praise you that darkness cannot hide anything from you, Lord, for you see all and you let us know what is necessary, giving us enough light so that we can move ahead with you, doing what is best. Help us to live in the light with you, Lord, joining you in what you are doing, thereby bringing you glory.]

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Psalm 18:27

Psalm 18:27 “You save the humble”
 
This, Lord, is your requirement for salvation: humility. It can be defined as “seeing ourselves as you see us.”
 
As we stand before you, the Mighty and Eternal One, the Star-breather, the Galaxy-maker, the History-ender, the Pure and Powerful One, what can we do but see our sinfulness, our unworthiness, our puniness–and see the immense contrast between our shriveled, rebellious hearts and the stunning beauty of your Holiness.
 
To you we must bow in humility, accepting your view of our situation. Somehow you work with our will to bring the desire and the decision to surrender, to reject the illusion of independence for the reality of total healthy dependence on you.
 
Reality is that you are the One in charge, who holds together the nucleus of every atom in the universe, who keeps every star in place, who brings the dawn, gives the rain, provides our food—we are totally dependent on you in every area without knowing it! And you give us the added privilege of completing that dependency by willfully embracing it in belief and submission, giving you all that we had been holding back, including our future.
 
Praise be to you for working in the heart of each one whom you know will believe, bringing the wise and persistent pressure that will lead to the break-through, giving the understanding, the desire to know you, to live for you, to walk in the light, to bring you glory. What a high calling you give us, what a privileged position, what an existence of ongoing, ever growing joy you offer.
 
You give us the exact opposite of what we deserve, at great cost to yourself and at great profit to us, your thankless enemies. You are a marvel, a mystery: majestic and mighty in your provision of rich, unending agape love. Such Truth leads us to wholeheartedly and joyfully bow before you and shout, “Glory!”
 
“but [you] bring low those whose eyes are haughty.”
 
[This you also do in your love: you humble those who live in the darkness of self-delusion, thinking they are good enough to get to heaven, thinking they are better than those around them.
 
Lord, how easily I get caught up in that same sin, thinking negative, critical thoughts of others, comparing myself to them rather than you.The truth is that the negative I see in them is also potential in me, if not actual; I could easily do the same things I proudly condemn in them. I blithely underestimate the evil of my old nature.
 
Yes, Lord, keep us in the light of your revelation and bring us quickly low when we are proud so that we may immediately repent and be raised up to living in the luster of your love rather than the darkness of our deception.
 
Praise be to you, for your gracious and patient, continual and deep working in us to bring transformation in our mind, will and emotions so that we might walk on ever higher levels with you. Keep our spirits open to your conviction, direction and protection, remembering that “You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.”
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Psalm 18:25-26

 
Psalm 18:25,26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure,”
 
[we can only have these qualities, Lord Jesus, as your Holy Spirit produces them in us. As we cooperate with you in the process of transformation, willfully wanting to be faithful, blameless and pure, you reveal your marvelous qualities to us more and more, giving us greater ground for surrender, worship and wonder,–which then bring more transformation.
 
As it says in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we all, who with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” A gracious cycle of your goodness poured out more and more on those who are willing to join you in what you are doing.]
 
“but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.”
 
[On the negative side, you interact with rebels in a way that is meaningful to them, a way that gets their attention, a case in point being Jacob. From the beginning he was crooked in his dealings, manipulating and using people all through his life. And he brought on himself the same treatment. Your shrewdness in thus dealing with him brought him, in the end, on his death bed, to surrender before you.
 
You know how to work with people, you are never at a loss, never confused on how to proceed, never without wisdom. Praise be to you for your patience, persistence and perception in the process of wooing every single person in the world, as the Holy Spirit convicts everyone of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-11).
 
How you must grieve at those who stubbornly refuse to bow their knee to Truth, to Wisdom, to Reality, and instead rush headlong down the slope of self will, away from goodness, forgiveness, grace and light. In the end they go over the edge of time, falling into the pit of separation, darkness and desperation, sealed off from all good, getting what they wanted: full independence from you.
 
Praise you, Lord, that you go to great lengths to give them full opportunity to embrace Truth, even though you know they will not accept it. It is wonderful that you are not fair, for then we would all end up in hell. Instead, you are full of grace, offering us freely the opposite of what we deserve: forgiveness, cleansing, transformation, acceptance, belonging, worth, purpose, protection, provision, hope and a certain future with you.
 
Help me to focus today on the wonder of who you are, Lord Jesus, not the minuscule disappointments of life that seek to grab my attention. Thank you for how you are going to guide me today in joining you, exalting you, living for you.