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Topic: Depend on God’s Faithful Love
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Found in Him
Advanced Member
Member # 7596
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posted
WildB writes....How have you seen God’s love for you demonstrated in the lives of others? To whom is God directing His love through you?
How?
The telephone call from a loved one stating "I just had you on my mind today" The letter in your mailbox that encourages you to keep on moving forward. The hug and smile that says You are loved... truly these are all precious gifts from God in a hard place.
To Whom?
All I come in contact with. That's the commandment.
One of the things that I deeply appreciate about David in the psalms is his willingness to be completely transparent with his maker. He never ceased to be open and honest with his feelings or pour them out-- whatever they were! God can work with an open heart like that. A heart that confesses sorrow, fear, lack of faith, stress or loneliness before God dosen't necessarily confess lack of faith but, trust in an all powerful Lord. Feelings are not to rule us-- allowing God to work and heal in the depth of our hearts through every difficulty cultivates trust, and a strong healthy relationship with the Author of our faith.
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
Posts: 1503 | Registered: Jan 2009
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WildB
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Member # 2917
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posted
Depend on God’s Faithful Love
(Ps. 42:6-11)
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
8 Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?
11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
The psalmist’s longing for God was driven at least in part by his physical separation from the Jerusalem temple. He noted, however, he would remember God even from his distant location. The psalmist revealed he was in the land of Jordan-possibly he had been exiled to the north of Israel. The hill Mizar may be one of the foothills near Mount Hermon: Mizar means small. The noise of..waterspouts-waterfalls-vividly reminded him of his alien circumstances.
The psalmist recalled God’s lovingkindness through his discouragement. Even in the night of doubt, God never would forget him. Why? He loved him! The Hebrew word translated as lovingkindness refers to covenant love or steadfast love. It speaks of God’s covenant loyalty to His people. Human love sometimes is fickle, but God is forever faithful, perfectly keeping his commitment to His people. Even when we experience pain and sorrow, God’s love never fails. The compassion He has for us is great indeed.
We can be completely candid as we pray to the God of…life. His circumstances notwithstanding, the psalmist knew the Lord was his rock-wholly dependable. Yet at times he still felt alienated from God. The psalmist asked why God had forgotten him-something we’re all tempted to do at times. As his enemies reproached him daily, he may have wondered, Where is…God? Maybe, he thought, these oppressors are right; just maybe God had forgotten him.
Thankfully, the Bible often reports honest prayers of God’s people who struggled with doubts when they experienced difficulties in life. God is big enough to handle our complaints to Him. Another important lesson for us here is we ought not trust our feeling: they frequently will mislead us.
When we are tempted to trust our own feeling, how difficult can it be to rely on God’s lovingkindness? How can we be honest about our feelings, yet refuse to follow them when they conflict with what God says about His posture toward us?
The psalmist repeated the refrain with a slight variation. He questioned again why his soul was cast down, but he also knew his ultimate hope was in the Lord. He had mentioned in verse 5 he would “praise him for the help of his countenance.” Now he said he would yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance.
Let’s summarize some applications we have made thus far.
-We need to realize the presence of trouble in our lives does not mean God has deserted us.
-God can use our difficulties to draw us closer to Him. For instance, the apostle Paul prayed for deliverance from his thorn in his flesh. God didn’t remove the problem, but He assured Paul His grace was sufficient in Paul’s weakness.
-The psalmist’s emphasis on God’s faithful love reminds us God continues to love us and care for us-even when life is hard.
God demonstrates His faithful love to us in many ways, but He also can-and wants to-express His love through us. Believers today can demonstrate God’s love to others by compassionately meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
As I write this lesson a good friend of mine is receiving additional military training before shipping out to Iraq. While there he will serve as a chaplain to troops who are facing difficult circumstances. Many of his friends e-mail him regularly to express their support. Some of my college students write cards to me at the end of a semester expressing their appreciation. Many of my former students are serving as missionaries for the North American Mission Board and for the International Mission Board. Sometimes they experience the same kind of loneliness voiced by the psalmist. As Christians, however, they also are aware of God’s steadfast love for them. We should pray for them and for others in similar situations.
How have you seen God’s love for you demonstrated in the lives of others? To whom is God directing His love through you?
(from Down South Hunting®™)
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That is all.....
Posts: 8775 | From: USA, MICHIGAN | Registered: Mar 2004
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