Let Your Mercy, O Lord, Be Upon Us

Wednesday, January 5, 2005

"The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works. No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

"Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, just as we hope in You."


~Psalm 33:13-22~

Sometimes in life, we just don't know which way to turn or where to go. We don't know what God wants us to do, and every tried and true principle we've ever owned will not fit the situation He has called us to. We come to the end of ourselves and our resources and find ourselves caught between our longing for God and our desire for the approval and commendation of other believers who have chosen instead to condemn us. The confusion would take us over because there is no "right path."

So where do we look? Can there be joy, if we make the wrong choice? What if others are hurt by the choice God leads us to make? Can it possibly be His will?

Ultimately, in the midst of the storms and the trials of living, there is only one stay for any of us--knowing that the Lord is in HIS heaven, that He does not change, and it is because of this that we are not consumed. We are not God to know every angle of His will or the story He is writing to bring Himself glory. We cannot take His throne to rule the will of men or be sovereign over the events of our lives.

Right now? I'm shaking. I know what God has allowed me to do, what He has given me peace about in seeking His face and taking refuge in Him. My life has not exactly gotten any easier, but my circumstances cannot determine the truth I choose to believe.

God is God, outside of situations and circumstances that I would seek to control. He is on His throne, judging ever righteously and guiding me into the fear of the Lord. I am going to make mistakes. I can't explain everything or justify myself. Yet He is God, and He is MY God, and I want to trust that when my way is not clear, if I lean on His understanding and acknowledge Him in ALL of my ways... He is going to make my crooked paths straight. He's God, after all, isn't He? Asking Him to work within the realm of His will: seeking peace, reconciliation, a love that is like His--these things are things that He has promised, and promised even more strongly through His son, Jesus.

The "our" in the above passage is really neat, because it draws for me the connection that many Christians, being quite human, tend to forget. Our ultimate bond through anything that should come against us and draw us from the abundant life found abiding in Christ to the darkness of bitterness, anger, and hatred is the Spirit who drew us to Jesus in the first place. If God has started a work in us, He will be the one to finish it, however terribly we manage to get ourselves into trouble with our own decisions. If He has called us according to His purpose, He truly will work all things together for our good, because of His everlasting love.

Please, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt HIS name together! If we could but worship Him, we might perhaps see past our divisions to the bond of unity for which Christ prayed in John 17. HE is our help and our shield. HE is our great reward. He is our only hope for anything in this world where any choice we make can lead to heartache and pain. It is His mercy that we cling to through the cares that our pride would place upon us.

Abba, please, let us hope in You.

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

Be still, my soul, the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide.
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul--thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life.Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

~Psalm 30:4-5

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