Golden Words

Psalm 56 was part of the Chronological Bible daily reading for today. At the top of Psalm were these words: "A Mikhtam of David."

The word "Mikhtam" (according to biblestudytools.com) means "golden" and indicates words that are so precious that they have been written down on a tablet to preserve them. The words of this psalm, then, are considered of great value, like gold. In a way, they are golden words.

This psalm was written by David during the time when Saul was pursuing him to murder him. The situation had become so precarious that David had taken refuge with the Philistines in Gath. The Philistines were enemies of Israel. David seeking refuge there would be like us leaving the United States to take refuge with a terrorist cell to hide from people in our homeland who sought to hurt us.

David was caught between two terrible choices. If he stayed home, he faced certain death from Saul or non-stop fighting and hiding to avoid it. If he went to the Philistines, he faced possible death and non-stop fighting and hiding to avoid it. There was no good option. 

It's clear from these words that David was weary and afraid to the point of tears. But. He had put his trust in God and he made a concious decision to keep his trust in God, not man.

That introduction made me want to see exactly what words would be considered golden. As I read through the psalm, I found these words:

"When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee.

In God, whose word I praise,

In God I have put my trust;

I shall not be afraid.

What can mere man do to me?"

"Thou has taken account of my wanderings; 

Put my tears in Thy bottle; Are they not in Thy book?"

Psalm 56:3,4, 8 nasb

In the midst of death threats, misunderstandings, and deliberate distortion of his words, despite his fear and sorrow and fatigue, David had a choice to make. He could give in to despair or cling to his faith.

David chose faith.

David chose hope.

David chose worship and thanksgiving.

Why? David recognized the watch care of God. God knew him, knew where he was and what he faced. He also knew that God would keep every promise He had given David.

In the midst of hard times, we, too, may be overwhelmed with sorrow and fear, but we don't have to stay in that mindset. We can, like David, choose faith, hope, worship, thanksgiving because we have not been forgotten or overlooked. We, too, serve a God who knows the circumstances we face and always keeps His promises.

They are golden words, indeed. No need to fear. God is on His throne and He will not be thwarted. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's blog post:
The Totality of Trouble and Complete Deliverance

In case you missed one of the Sam stories, here are the links:

Hunger and the Importance of Having Enough

Education and Reading the Bible

The Importance of I Love You
Just Plain Sam
Abominations, The Bible, and Praying for Our Nation
The Importance of Your Word
#MondayMotivation #fear #hope

Lessons from Sam: Hunger and the Importance of Having Enough

Yesterday (April 10th) was Sam Wiley's birthday. As you may remember, he is my much-loved neighbor. This was Sam's first birthday since his wife died, so we spent a good bit of the day together. 

After church, we walked through the azaleas and reminisced about all the years we've planted azaleas together. We'd plant as many as one hundred azaleas each spring. (Those were mainly the years when we found them on sale for $1 apiece because we are both frugal.) 

As you might imagine, it took a while to get all those azaleas in the ground, but it was worth it to us because we love spring. We love flowers. We love azaleas.

We spent some time talking about life and growing older, and I thought the lessons he shared were worth passing along. (You can expect a few more lessons from Sam this week.)

Sam was born in 1930. His father contracted TB while he was in the army, and he received a check every month for $50 from the government because of it. 

I complained that $50 seemed a pitifully small amount for such a dreadful disease, but Sam said the $50 saved his family. That meager amount made the difference between food in their bellies and hunger. "We never had to go hungry."

When he was ten years old, they moved from Center to Blue Springs. They loaded everything they owned into a four-wheeled wagon, hitched it to the mules, and moved to a farm. 

The family had ten acres that they share-cropped there. That was as much as they could farm with only two mules and just two sons still at home, but it was enough. Sam and his brother worked the land. Fifty percent of all they grew went to the landowner. That seemed like a lot to me, but Sam said not, because it still left them enough. They never went hungry. 

"We was just coming out of the Great Depression. I don't reckon it could've been any worse than it was, because it was bad. We didn't have nothing. Nobody ever told us we was poor, because they didn't have any more than we did. No one did. 

"You know, we didn't have much of anything, but we was happy because we had enough."

Sam and his family had food to eat, a roof over their head, and two mules to work the land. He looks back on those years with thanksgiving. He told me several times that he was never hungry, and I realized later that not being hungry was quite an accomplishment. 

Sam and his family were content. They didn't worry about having the latest car or a fancy suit or a pretty dress. His sisters didn't worry about having their nails done or getting a pedicure or having highlights in their hair. They worried about putting food on the table and, when they had food, they were concerned that it would be enough. It always was.

We're not talking steak or lobster. They ate cornbread and peas. Vegetables they grew in the garden. Pork from the hog they raised and slaughtered and preserved. Sometimes they had meat and sometimes they didn't. 

You may have noticed that several words were repeated over and over again. "Enough. "Never hungry". If you've never been hungry, you may not understand the importance of those words, but Sam does.

Sam understands priorities. He knows what matters and what doesn't. Food on the table matters. Going to a fancy restaurant to get the food doesn't. A change of clothes matters. A closet full of clothes doesn't. 

We've lost the perspective on priority that Sam has, and we are poorer for it. We've lost the sense of family and interdependence that his family had. They needed each other to survive, they worked together to make it happen, and they didn't complain. 

Paul wrote to young Timothy about the importance of contentment and the snare of seeking wealth. We'd do well to listen to his words and take heed.

"But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction." 1 Timothy 6:6-9 nasb

Today, let's take a close look at all the wealth we've accumulated and give thanks to the Lord for His great generosity to us. As we sit down to tables laden with food, let's remember Sam's words, "We never went hungry," and give thanks with a grateful heart for the bounty of the food God has provided. 

Let's look outside our own homes, too. There are people in need all around the world. There are still people who are hungry. We can do something about that, if we will. So let's do it. In the name of Jesus, let's reach out our hand and our hearts. Let's love our neighbors as we do ourselves. 

"The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'" Matthew 25:40 nasb

~~~~~~~~~~
We've had a great response to the new Bible study starting May 1, but there's still time to sign up. It will be an online course and those who sign up will have a link to access it. (It will not be posted as part of this blog.)  This 12-week study of Hosea is designed to teach the participants to dig out truth for themselves.

~~~~~~~~
In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Trappings of Religion

#Mondaymotivation #GoodMonday #Jesus #content 

Delay Does Not Always Mean Denial

The Hired Hand and I were talking a few days ago about an opportunity that had been discussed with enthusiasm initially, then seemingly dropped by the wayside. 

"It must not have been what God wanted."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that yet. God's delay is not necessarily the same as His denial. Maybe He's working something out." 

We pondered the ways of God for a while, then headed toward the garden, where we can easily see His ways in shades of green.

This morning, I read about Jotham and recalled our conversation.

When Gideon died, he had more than seventy sons. One of his sons, Abimelech, was the son of Gideon's concubine from Shechem. This was a complicated mess, but to sum it up (and vastly simplify it), Gideon's seventy sons judged Israel in Gideon's place. Abimelech, who was illegitimate, was left out and he was mad about it. 

He decided to take matters into his own hands. Abimelech convinced the men of Shechem that he should rule over them. They paid him seventy pieces of silver and he hired a crew of worthless fellows. They all went to Ophrah (Gideon's home) and killed the seventy sons, all except Jotham, who escaped.

Jotham went to the top of a mountain and pronounced a curse against Abimelech and the men of Shechem. "Fire will come out from you to him and him to you." (Leanna Paraphrase)

He hid out in Beer and waited for God to move.

Nothing happened.

He wanted one year, then two. Nothing happened. God didn't move.

He waited three years. It looked as if God wasn't going to avenge his brothers who had been slaughtered. 

After three years of Abimelech's rule over Israel, God abruptly moved against the men of Shechem and against Abimelech. It happened like Jotham had said.

Abimelech's rule came to a screeching halt. He burned the men of Shechem to death. In the midst of battle, a woman threw a millstone down from a tower onto his head and killed him. He was almost dead, but didn't want the dishonor of being killed by a rock-throwing woman, so he convinced his armor-bearer to stab him with a sword (and he did).

The seventy sons were avenged. Abimelech and the men of Shechem were disciplined for their evil ways. 

God moved at just the right time, but it wasn't on Jotham's timetable.

Perhaps you, like me, have had some experience in this area. 

I can't begin to count the times I've thought God would do something specific, waited patiently (or not so patiently), then waited some more. 

Whether He does what I expect or not, the waiting always has a purpose. Sometimes God uses the seeming delay to orchestrate events to work out perfectly. Sometime He uses the delay to refine something in me.

The time is never wasted.

There's a fun part of God's delays, and it's taught me that it's worth it to wait. By the time God moves, I've usually come to the point where I'm content with whatever He decides to do. When He moves, it surprises me and delights me. It's like double joy. First, at the possibility. Second, at the unfolding of the plan. 

Sometimes a delay is simply the anteroom to a divine delight.

I'm in one of those waiting places again. 

Decades of God-delays have prepared me for this place. Whatever my hand finds to do, I'm doing it with all my might. One day, hopefully this side of heaven, we'll see what God has been doing, find out what He has been orchestrating.

Until then, I'll work while I wait, serve while I surrender, pray while I'm patient, and let God refine me while He works out His plan.

Delays are never wasted. Sometimes they're denials, but many times those divine delays are nothing more than the orchestration of a YES that is so dramatically wonderful, it will make all the waiting worth it.

For those of us in God's Waiting Room, let's hold on. His timetable is not the same as ours. Divine delight may be just around the corner.

"But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord a day s like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9 nasb

~~~~~~~

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Leaning to Listen

#divinedelay  #mondaymotivation #delayisnotdenial #linesfromleanna