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Psalm 18:31

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 21, 2022
Psalm 18:31 “For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?”
There is no one else like you, O LORD, the Eternal One with no beginning or ending–all others are creatures with a finite start, each one designed to be in relation to you. You, as LORD, are the only source of unchanging goodness, unwavering stability and unending grace.
Although you are the great and mighty God of history, of eternity, of all that is to come, you have made yourself “our God.” You are not distant and demanding. No, you are personal and patient, compassionate and kind, concerned and consistent. In your love we find rest.
 
You are the “holy wholly other One,” different from your creatures in essence, in eternalness, in entirety.
 
You are perfect in each part, so there is no need for change or growth, maturing or learning. You know all, you do all in completeness, you make no mistakes.
 
Fellowship with you is the great privilege of being your child. Faith in you is well placed. Finally will be our eternal home with you. Praise be to you our great and perfect Shepherd. Help me to follow you well today.
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Psalm 18:30b Again

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 20, 2022
More on Psalm 18:30b, “He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.”
 
This means our first move in difficulty is to come to you in praise, thanking you for the situation, knowing you have allowed this for a reason; 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 in his illness.
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, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving; and as we exalt you in faith, you protect us.
To praise in trust ahead for whatever you will bring is a wonderful way of partnering with you, of 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.” Therefore you are worthy of all worship. Help me to worship you today by taking refuge in you each moment.
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Psalm 18:30b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 19, 2022
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, Lord: 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, offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving, submitting to your Wisdom–then you swing your shield of protection over us, keeping us safe from all true harm. “He who DWELLS in the shelter of the Most High will REST in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1).
How do we run to you? Primarily through four actions: praise in all, praying in all, preemptively thinking your Word, and persistently 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 [our part]. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [shield] your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” [God’s part].
 
It means living out Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace AS YOU TRUST IN HIM so that your life may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
 
So the choice is ours several times a day: trust, take shelter, praise and obey.
 
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Psalm 18:30b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 18, 2022
Psalm 18:30b “the word of the LORD is flawless.”
[Praise be to you, Lord, that we can trust your Word completely: there is no error, no contradiction, no mistake, no flaw in it. It is a light to our path in this dark world. When you speak, command, direct and teach, we can trust that what you say is right and we can lean on it fully.
Praise you that you carefully had your words recorded in the Bible, using faulty 40 men over 2000 years to produce a perfect product.
We can take it at face value, and then dig deeper by reading, studying, memorizing and meditating to find the profound and powerful aspects hidden beneath.
Sadly, many twist your Word for selfish reasons, cutting it out of context, taking a superficial, separate 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 of your Word when confronted with them–or are tempted to use them ourselves–and to replace them instead with your clear and clean and complete Truth.
Help us to ever come to your Word to see what you say (exegesis) instead of coming with our preconceptions, looking for some verses to support our position (eisegesis). Seeking your Truth will then lead us away from the very human tendency of asking you to join us in our plans, instead asking you to help us in joining you in your plans.
Protect us from the traps of the enemy and keep us on the pure path, in your perfect provision as revealed in your wonderful Word. Help us to be consistent in reading, memorizing, meditating, believing and living it out every day.
May be an image of sky, nature, tree and twilight
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Psalm 18:30

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 17, 2022
 
 
Psalm 18:30 “As for God, his way is perfect;”
[You, O Lord God, make no mistakes. You always do what is right, with excellence and without error. We can trust you to lead us aright, to teach us your wonderful way, to show us what is perfect, true, noble, lovely and praise-worthy so we may follow you there.
 
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 an upside-down-world where selfishness and rebellion are natural, where fear, despair and hopelessness abound.
You teach us instead to live by dying, to get by giving, to grieve by praising, to offer thanks when we’d rather complain, to trust you 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. 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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Declaration of Dependence Psalm 18:29

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 16, 2022
Written on July 4th, 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 powerful picture of David’s dependence on you, Lord, seeing his own weakness in the light of your wondrous might. 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 strength is vastly different than doing it on his own.
He moved forward in your power by praying in preparation for the battle, seeking your wisdom, asking your help. Here are examples 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 and goods. 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 with 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 in 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 even 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 as David was, 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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Psalm 18:28

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 15, 2022
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 its 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.]
May be an image of lake, twilight, tree and nature
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Psalm 18:27b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 14, 2022
Psalm 18:27b “but [you] bring low those whose eyes are haughty.”
[This you also do in your love, Lord: you humble those who live in the darkness of self-delusion, encouraging them to come to you in the light. But unfortunately, they prefer darkness, 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, blithely underestimating the evil of my old nature.
Yes, Lord, keep us in the light of your revelation and bring us quickly to repentance when we are proud, so that we may immediately submit to you. Then we may be raised up to living in the luster of your love rather than the darkness of our deception.
Praise be to you, for your working in us–gracious and patient, continual and deep–bringing transformation through your Word 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 18:27

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 13, 2022
Psalm 18:27 “You save the humble”
This, Lord, is your requirement for salvation: humility, which can be defined as “seeing ourselves as you see us.”
As we stand before you, the Mighty, Eternal One, the Star-breather, the Galaxy-maker, the History Beginner and the Ender of time, the Pure and Powerful One, what can we do but see our sinfulness, our unworthiness, our puniness, and yes, our putridness. We see the immense contrast between our shriveled, rebellious hearts and the stunning beauty of your gracious 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.
The 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 enhancing 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 especially 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 and surrender, 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 that you offer.
You give us the exact opposite of what we deserve, at great cost to yourself and at great profit to us who were naturally your thankless enemies.
You, Lord God, are a marvel, a mystery; you are 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!”
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Psalm 18:26b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 12, 2022
Psalm 18:26b “…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.
 
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