The times are perilous. There is much confusion everywhere. There are so many distractions all around. Everyone is vying for our time, our energies, and our resources. I don’t know about anyone else but I have often felt overwhelmed and completely drained spiritually, and physically.
I have learned to find my balance in the Scriptures, first and foremost. Then I absolutely must have a designated, unrushed time, preferably early in the morning where I can just pour my heart out to God. Sometimes I do all the talking. Sometimes as I read, God does all the talking. Then I have to process it all and consciously make a decision about what He has said to my heart, or rearrange my attitude about what I did all the talking about. It is a precious time. Just me and God. In His presence.
Psalm 16 is a beautiful Psalm that puts a few things together in my heart about joy in His presence. When our children were younger, we used to take turns deciding which passages of scripture to memorize together as a family during morning and evening worship. Quite a few years ago, my daughter chose this Psalm because it was relatively short. Little did she realize how packed it was for me. It has become a staple in my thoughts during my quiet time.
There are 4 key points that this Psalm reminds me of as I pray and spend time with Him daily: Trust, Praise, Focus, and Joy.
“Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not unto thee”. Vs 1.2
Trust: As I daily put my trust in God, He alone preserves me. He preserves my sanity. He preserves my life in a crazy and dangerous world. There are many “gods” but He alone is my Lord. The true God. My goodness doesn’t come close to His. I have no goodness anyway (Luke 18:19).
“I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons” vs 7
Praise: God deserves my praise for so many reasons, but He through prayer and study gives me counsel and instructs me when I need it the most. For that alone, I give Him praise! For some reason, even though I am an excellent sleeper, the Lord will often wake me up during the night and has literally given me counsel about various concerns I’ve had. What a loving God! Praise Him!
“I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved” vs 8
Focus: I can recall seeing horses with blinders on. They keep the horse focused on the task ahead. They literally reduce their visual field from distractions from behind and peripherally. I am learning to use my prayer and study time as a blinder. Keeping the Lord before me in all my decisions keeps me grounded. As we embark upon the dark days ahead before Jesus comes, we must not be moved from our biblical positions as we keep the Lord and His purposes before us.
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” Vs 11
Joy: Some of my best moments are in the early dark hours before sunrise. I don’t seem to be able to get up earlier than the birds that melodiously serenade me around 4:30 am but there is just something about those hours. I can feel God’s presence meeting me there and no matter what I am going through, no matter the crisis or the anxiety, somehow, by the time I get into His presence, a deep sense of joy floods me at some point. It may even mysteriously pop up later in the day during a quiet moment. But God wants to give us joy. He wants us to stop looking for false substitutes in all of the idols and distractions around us. Not only can we experience joy through His presence through prayer, but through precious fellowship with other believers where He guarantees us, He also abides (Matthew 18:20). Despite the reality of the times, we should seek every opportunity to be in His presence. The added bonuses are the pleasures from His right hand that he adds to our life as we abide in Him daily. May we all experience joy in His presence.
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