Why live your life for less?

 

Psalm 97:1–12 (ESV): 

The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; 

let the many coastlands be glad! 

 2  Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; 

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 

 3  Fire goes before him 

and burns up his adversaries all around. 

 4  His lightnings light up the world; 

the earth sees and trembles. 

 5  The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, 

before the Lord of all the earth. 

 6  The heavens proclaim his righteousness, 

and all the peoples see his glory. 

 7  All worshipers of images are put to shame, 

who make their boast in worthless idols; 

worship him, all you gods! 

 8  Zion hears and is glad, 

and the daughters of Judah rejoice, 

because of your judgments, O Lord. 

 9  For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; 

you are exalted far above all gods. 

 10  O you who love the Lord, hate evil! 

He preserves the lives of his saints; 

he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. 

 11  Light is sown for the righteous, 

and joy for the upright in heart. 

 12  Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, 

and give thanks to his holy name!

it is so easy to live your life for other things. To have idols and gods that you worship rather than The Lord of all the Earth. This psalm speaks into this by referring to God and gods. The One God who is the maker and sustainer of all things, and the gods which we put in positions of power in our lives - the things that consume your thoughts, time and budget. The things or people that you are proud to know about or be involved with and aspire to have more of can become idols, it is easy to worship those things that are not God. Yet they really have no power or influence at all, just the power and influence that you give them. They don’t even have a capital letter, for they are but gods! However you can place them as major influences in your life. It could be anything for example; relationships, wealth, health, food, hobbies, work, TV, people. Anything that you choose to structure your life around and live for. None of these things are bad, unless you turn them into gods. So be careful about what you allow to direct your actions, finances and time. The things that you are passionate about can easily become idols in your life as you give yourself to love, revere and admire them in preference to God. It is then that they have undue prominence in your life, and you will end up structuring your life around these idols rather than God. For He is the only One that your life should revolve around. He should be your major influence, have your love and time and direct your relationships and money, not the other wat around. Other things should be competing for the time and influence that God has in your life, not ‘God-time’ being something that is squeezed, sometimes into your schedule. The reality is that these minor gods that will never give you long term satisfaction, peace or love, God can and does, so why live your life for less?

When you become interested in something that is not God, whether it be a music artist, an activity, or a person, watch out. Ensure that these things are put in their rightful place -  under God, and so have an appropriate amount of your attention. Do not let them become something you worship or live your life for. Enjoy them in good measure and keep God at the centre of your life. For things other than God are ‘worthless idols’, and one day, they will put you to shame (v7). So put your life in right order now and consider where your time, money, hopes and thoughts go. Is there something other than God that has become an idol in your life? 

There will be a day when everyone will see that, ’the heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory’. One day, God will reveal Himself in a way that is undeniable to all. When that day comes there will be two responses; Some will rejoice because they have lived their life with Him as their God and they know He has come to judge the earth (v12). The rest who have honoured other things and disregarded God will ‘be put to shame’ as what they have lived for will be shown up as ‘worthless idols’. No matter how important, valuable or powerful other things or people may seem, they are worthless when you compare them to The Lord God. He alone is enwrapped in light and clouds with the authority to cause mountains to melt. It doesn’t matter how good or great other things appear, nothing else has established it’s power and kingdom through righteousness and justice as He has. 

Those who worship only God are patiently waiting, knowing that this awesome day of The Lord is coming - The day when God will reveal Himself to everyone and everything will declare God’s glory. They anticipate the joy, righteousness and fulfilment that He will bring, awaiting to join heaven in proclaiming His holiness. Those who love Him look forward to His glory being revealed and look out for it now. For they know God has created and still rules the seas, earth and heavens. So they wait. They set themselves apart to honour and love Him now, not allowing anything else to take their focus, and they wait excitedly to see His glory. They are eager to hear of His arrival and await for Him to exert His righteousness and justice across all of creation. If you are one of His, if He is your God, keep waiting. Don’t be distracted by other gods, for the day of the Lord is approaching! Think about how that will be, imagine God’s appearance; wrapped in cloud, firing out lightning, consuming wickedness with fire. Remember what God has promised, and keep living with hope for it is God’s assurance that justice and righteousness will prevail. There are no gods that can give you anything like what God does, so why live your life for less? 

Power of Patience

 Psalm 25:1–22 (ESV):  

1  To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 

2  O my God, in you I trust; 

let me not be put to shame; 

let not my enemies exult over me. 

3  Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; 

they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 

4  Make me to know your ways, O Lord; 

teach me your paths. 

5  Lead me in your truth and teach me, 

for you are the God of my salvation; 

for you I wait all the day long. 

6  Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, 

for they have been from of old. 

7  Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; 

according to your steadfast love remember me, 

for the sake of your goodness, O Lord! 

8  Good and upright is the Lord; 

therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 

9  He leads the humble in what is right, 

and teaches the humble his way. 

10  All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, 

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. 

11  For your name’s sake, O Lord, 

pardon my guilt, for it is great. 

12  Who is the man who fears the Lord? 

Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. 

13  His soul shall abide in well-being, 

and his offspring shall inherit the land. 

14  The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, 

and he makes known to them his covenant. 

15  My eyes are ever toward the Lord, 

for he will pluck my feet out of the net. 

16  Turn to me and be gracious to me, 

for I am lonely and afflicted. 

17  The troubles of my heart are enlarged; 

bring me out of my distresses. 

18  Consider my affliction and my trouble, 

and forgive all my sins. 

19  Consider how many are my foes, 

and with what violent hatred they hate me. 

20  Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! 

Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. 

21  May integrity and uprightness preserve me, 

for I wait for you. 

22  Redeem Israel, O God, 

out of all his troubles.

This psalm is clearly the reflection of someone who has walked with God for a long time and experienced some troubles along the way. They refer to being guided during the time of their youth, and mention God helping them through various trials. The manner in which this is written shows a calm, confident maturity. Even when the writer speaks of times of distress this is not with explosive emotion, fear or anxiety, but with a calm assurance of God’s steadfast and certain assistance. Asking God to intervene and confident that He will as God, ‘will not put to shame’ those who walk with and depend on Him. The author of this psalm clearly had a long-standing relationship with God as they are sure of His work in every aspect of life. They trust in God for; being released from shame, triumph over enemies, direction, teaching, salvation, forgiveness, goodness, continued presence and care, faithfulness, honesty, truth, guidance, love, steadfastness, well-being, inheritance, care of generations to come, rescue, grace, company, relief from trouble, protection and refuge. In all these things the writer knows God can and will act as He has done previously in their life. They have grown in their faith to reflect the steadfast, secure nature of God. They have done this by continuing to put God in the midst of whatever they have going on. Their life is not their own, but one lived in consideration of who God is.

This psalmist is able to reflect in this prayerful manner about how God has been steadfast, true and helpful throughout his life. Therefore in this present distress that has brought loneliness, fear and sadness, they still trust and wait for God. They have learnt the power of patience. The practice of waiting is referred to several times in this piece of writing. Specifically, waiting for God to come and turn around situations. For; salvation, escape, refuge, restoration and release from shame. Do you need God to intervene in a situation in your life? If so, take some advice from the wisdom of this man of God and wait. The person who wrote this psalm and has learnt these things is David. He is the one who has walked with God from his youth into old age and is sharing his experience in this psalm. He is sharing some important things that he has learnt about living such a life, and one of those things is patience. Are you allowing God into your difficulties and awaiting His response? David has learnt over the course of his life that it is far better to wait for God to bring rescue, hope and restoration than trying to get it through your own methods. God does not work in your time frame, but He is working and His conclusion to your situation is far greater and more beneficial than any you can manufacture yourself so are you waiting God's response?

When you consider that the author of this psalm is David, you can start to appreciate the things he had to wait for; being acknowledged as king, rescue from Saul, and his son, forgiveness, battles to be won and his life to be restored are just a few things i can recall. David did not have it easy. He suffered at many times, some because he went wrong but mostly because of others’ sin. In times of distress he is known to have prayed and waited. We can see that from other psalms he has written. David' life was not easy. He experienced a lot of turmoil and distress and it was tempting to do things his own way. However David learnt that if he continues to wait, God would transform the situation and bring about a greater victory than David could. So now, David is sharing his simple and effective wisdom for when you are next in troubled circumstances. Whether it is an external battle or, the ‘troubles of my heart', you too can be quietly assured that God can change the circumstances around you. You just need to keep walking with God, pray and wait. 

When you decide to live your life walking with God as David did, you get to have a relationship with a living, powerful, almighty, loving God. You can be certain that God hears every prayer, and acts in the best way for you in every situation when you follow Him. So, keep walking with Him and asking Him to intervene in your life and you too may have a few tales to tell like David did. You will grow in wisdom, confidence and patience when you entrust your life and it's troubles to God. Learn to pray and wait. If you do that you will see God’s faithful love, powerful rescue and unbelievable transformation in your life. You will become confident in His power, forgiveness and restoration as David did. You just need to ask and then wait. 

How do you need God to intervene in your life today? Tell God about it, ask Him to intervene, and wait. Then you will see God's salvation come. 'Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame'.