Verse Ten: Psa 32:11 Appreciating Forgiveness

So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure! Psalm 32:11 NLT

(10 of 44 of H1523)

If you don't look at the whole entry, sometimes these verse can just seem repetitive, can't they? Oh look another verse that says "rejoice and be glad!" And it rolls right off you like nothing even happened. Maybe it's just me :) I can very easily be like that, but I don't want this blog to be that. I don't want this adventure to be THAT. I want to grasp the opportunity for this to really change my life, to write these words on my heart and not so easily lose hope. I struggle with depression and I have for as long as I can remember now. I don't believe that this is what God wants for me and the more I seek that out the more I see that its like a muscle you have to work and God is ready and waiting to be your trainer as soon as you "hire" Him. I say this all for a reason, I approach these verses with intention and with an effort for it to be not of my own logical mind working out the puzzle but as a download from God. I want to know "What do you have for me today from this? What do you want to tell others?" And believe me, until I do that, I am usually pretty stuck on what to write! He is so faithful to answer.

This verse wraps up Psalm 32, which carries a lot of interesting wisdom about how sin/transgression affects our bodies, minds, hearts and especially our relationship with God. The Psalm starts out saying  "Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven" and you can easily see why he would be blessed. Look at the side effects of not coming clean to God:

"When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long." (verse 3)

"My vitality was turned into the drought of summer" (verse 4)

"Do not be like the horse [or] like the mule, [Which] have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you." (verse 9)

"Many sorrows [shall be] to the wicked" (verse 10)

So to recap, NOT confessing our sins to God and asking for forgiveness leads to: Aching bones, lifelessness, cranky-stubborn attitude, and sorrow. Hm. And what about when we do confess it all? Well one, all of those nasty things go away (sweet!) and we gain forgiveness (v. 5), preservation from trouble (v. 7), deliverance (v. 7), a refuge/hiding place (v. 7), instruction and guidance (v.8), understanding (v.9), and mercy (v. 10).  

So in the end David sums it up by pointing out we that, if we have obeyed God and confessed our sins to Him, then our hearts are pure because they have been forgiven; for that reason let's rejoice and be glad :) 

Verse Nine: Psalm 31:7

"I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, For You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities and have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place." Psalm 31:7-8 (NKJV)

(verse 9 of the 44 H1523)

Mercy. 

Did you know the webster definition of mercy is "compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm." I didn't, in fact I don't think I have ever bothered to research the word. It's one of those concepts you just get. Mercy is that scene in the movies when a man is about to be killed or beaten and he cries out for "Mercy!" Sounds kinda weird and dumb when I type it out, haha! But when I read the definition, something more clicked. 

Lets be honest, we don't always believe in God's mercy, do we? I think most of us tend to get hung up on our faults and how much we don't deserve mercy. Somehow we think it's easier. It certainly seems more logical. I did X so I deserve X. It's consequences. We've learned that since birth. Touch the hot stove you get burned, tell a lie people get angry with you, get an A on the test and you get approval. Being in a relationship with God doesn't mean that there are no longer bad consequences, that's not what I am saying... King David made mistakes and he still had to face the consequences of them and he was the "man after God's own heart."  But Love can cover a multitude of sins, right? To be loved in spite of all you have done, to be loved through the mess and darkness, to never be alone because He is always with you? That can make all the adversity so much easier. Christ takes the love further than simply warm cuddly feelings. Romans 8:1-2 (The Message) says

"With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death."

His mercy has given us freedom. What a wonderful reason to rejoice and be glad today and everyday!

One year now...

I suppose you could say I took a year hiatus from this blog. A lot has happened in a year! I started a new job, we moved into a new place, and I took on quite a few new projects all in a new state. It's hard to believe it all happened in a year, now that I think about it. But lately I have been thinking about the project and wanting to explore it again. It's a means for the Lord to get some good lessons into my head and I need that more than I think. Life is like that, right? :) Sneaks up on ya. I look forward to getting back to this, we will see where it leads!

Verse Eight: Psalm 21:1

Psa 21:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The king shall have joy in Your strength, O LORD; And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! (NKJV)

(verse 8 of the 44 H1523)

It's interesting that in the NIV version of this verse, it says "the king rejoices" rather than "shall." I am not an expert by any means, so I am simply speaking from a layman's point of view here...but when I was reading this and searching out what to say about this verse, what the Lord wants to reveal here, the difference between the verbs strikes me. I think it's because it is more of a recommendation with "shall." Let me explain, "The king rejoices in..." is present, it's happening. The king is happy. But with "shall" it changes it just enough to be significant to me. It's going to happen. Have you ever had to choose to be happy about something? Maybe your heart just wasn't in it, maybe you were having a bad day or felt too tired to be excited about anything. Emotionally speaking, you're in a bad mood and you know it but there is a reason more important than yourself that motivates you to choose a better response. 

I have met a lot of people in life that don't believe you can choose your emotions. If you're sad, you're sad, etc. But this puts the person out of control, without responsibility and in the place of the victim. It's also not true. You are feeling grumpy but then lets say you walk into the next room and there is a cute little kitten playing and its just altogether comical, you feel at least a little bit better. It might even be enough to turn your day around entirely. Well, you can choose to dwell on something good rather than just wait for it to happen. Write down the things you have to be thankful for in life, look at fun pictures or meditate on a happy memory. Get outside, read some jokes, watch a funny show, whatever.  

I think that's what David was doing here. I have heard a lot of references to David being a sort of bi-polar guy. manically happy in one psalm and then at the bottom of the pit of despair in the next. But what if what David was doing, at least in some of these, was recalling all the reasons he had to be happy and focusing on those things instead? 

If you read the rest of Psalm 21 its thirteen verses of reason's David has to be rejoicing, all attributed to God:

• strength
• salvation
• heart's desire
• crown of pure gold
• life
• glory through God's salvation
• honor
• majesty
• mercy
• trust
• defense from enemies 

David had a lot of reasons to be down- he was under attack, he was hated, he had a huge responsibility, he messed up quite a bit. He could have easily focused on that and on the enemies in his life. Instead he looked at what God had given him, what God could do and had done and he declared that through song. I am guessing he sang it until the truth sunk in and his heart REALLY rejoiced :) simply awesome.

Psalm 21:13 Be exalted, O LORD, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power. (NKJ)