Praising God for the Future

Praise him, O heaven and earth, the seas and all that move in them. For God will save Jerusalem and rebuild the towns of Judah. His people will live there and settle in their own land. The descendants of those who obey him will inherit the land, and those who love him will live there in safety. Psalm 69: 34-36 NLT

What future happenings can you praise God for? Or are you still praising God for things that happened last week or even a few moments ago? Is it possible to thank God and give God glory for things that have not yet occurred?

What do you think God will do for you in your immediate future?

I guess I know of things that I want to happen. However, all that I am assured of is that God will provide. God knows what is best and I will follow him, no matter what that means. I am assured because I have seen it happen in the not so distant past. All I can do is trust God. And when I am truly trusting God, I can truly praise him.

God, I praise you and give you the glory for things you have not yet done in my life and in the world. May all the world give you praise and glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims

Really Pleasing God

Then I will praise God's name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving. For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle, more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves. The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God's help be encouraged. For the Lord hears the cries of the needy; he does not despise his imprisoned people. Psalm 69: 30-33 NLT

What do you think you could do that would really please God? I mean really please God.

The psalmist says that God is more pleased with ardent praise than in carrying large offerings to the sanctuary. In other words, God wants our hearts more than our stuff.

Where in your life have you kept your heart distant from God? How have you used your “offerings” as a replacement of your true self and an abiding relationship with your Creator?

What can you do to change that?

God, I will praise your name with singing and honor you with thanksgiving. I will turn my heart to you and sacrifice my praise. I will offer to you all that I am and honor you in the process. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims

I am suffering and in pain

Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare and their prosperity become a trap. Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and make their bodies shake continually. Pour out your fury on them; consume them with your burning anger.Let their homes become desolate and their tents be deserted. To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury; they add to the pain of those you have hurt. Pile their sins up high, and don't let them go free. Erase their names from the Book of Life; don't let them be counted among the righteous. I am suffering and in pain. Rescue me, O God, by your saving power. Psalm 69: 22-29 NLT

Okay. Seems like the psalmist has had enough. Is this just anger speaking?

The first verse reminds me of the twenty-third psalm – a table is prepared in the presence of our enemies. But here, instead of feasting in front of the enemies, it is the enemies who have the table of food that becomes a trap for them. This is really where the tables are turned!

But why asking for them to go blind, to have tremors, to be consumed with God's anger, to have their homes become desolate? These enemies have added their own contempt to God's judgment. The psalmist wants to God to pile up their own sins and throw them in the dungeon. In fact, he wants their names erased from the book of life.

These petitions are spoken from one who is in a great deal of pain. Pain and suffering can create a great deal of anger, especially toward the ones who increase, or are the cause of, the suffering.

If you have ever been in a time of great pain and suffering, perhaps you can relate.

God, rescue me by your saving power. Keep me from suffering that would cause me to ask for others to be punished or make angry demands upon you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims 

Nobody knows the troubles I've seen

You know of my shame, scorn and disgrace. You see all that my enemies are doing. Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me. But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst. Psalm 69: 19 -21 NLT

Sometimes it seems like nobody cares for us at all. Only God knows what we are going through, yet what we really want is some human sympathy. When people have broken our heart, we need other people to help us to heal and live through it.

Think about a time when others seems to have broken your heart. What insults did they throw your way? What poison did they feed you? Did no one show pity or even empathy with your plight? Did you pray to God? What did you pray for, exactly?

As we shall see, this psalm become quite bitter and bloodthirsty. I would imagine that those surrounding the psalmist were causing deep and lasting hurt.

God, sometimes it seems as though no one is for me. Only you are with me. But I don't always feel your presence. I seem to keep praying but my prayers go unanswered. I just want someone to understand what I am going through, to see the situation through my eyes. Help me, Lord, help me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims  

Free me!

Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful. Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful. Don't hide from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble! Come and redeem me; free me from my enemies. Psalm 69: 16-18 NLT

There seems to be a theme of freedom in Psalm 69. If you get a chance this week, take some time to read the whole psalm in one sitting. The idea of freedom or loss of freedom come up again and again.

How would you define being free from your enemies? Free from bills or constant credit bureau calls? Free from having to work? Free from worrying about your kids or grandkids? Free from pain in your body?

I would like to be free from fear and worry. Often my worries morph into fears. I try to change them into prayers but they sneak back again in other ways. I really, really try to give them up but they seem to be constant.

But God's unfailing love is wonderful! God's mercy is plentiful! God will take care of me, even when I am in deep trouble. God will come and redeem me and free me from my enemies – even if they are my worries.

God, free us from whatever or whoever our enemies are today. We pray for this freedom in Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims

Don't let me sink any deeper!

Passion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. When I weep and fast, they scoff at me. When I dress in burlap to show sorrows, they make fun of me. I am the favorite topic of town gossip, and all the drunks sing about me. But I keep praying to you, Lord, hoping this time you will show me favor. In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mud; don't let me sink any deeper! Save me from those who hate me, and pull me from these deep waters. Don't let the floods overwhelm me, or the deep waters swallow me, or the pit of death devour me. Psalm 69: 9-15 NLT

Asking God for forgiveness and being humbled is one thing.

Asking others for forgiveness and/or asking God through others is much harder.

The psalmist has realized his mistakes and, it order to make amends, he has gone to what seems to be the extreme. He is spending all his time in the temple. He is weeping and fasting. He is wearing sackcloth (we know this as burlap), a very scratchy material used to transport feed and grain. Traditionally, this was worn in Biblical times to indicate mourning. He prays constantly to God for forgiveness.

Meanwhile, he has become a laughing stock in front of his hometown. People are making fun of him and everyone is gossiping about him and what he has done (you can imagine how that goes). Even the town drunks are ridiculing him by singing drinking songs with him as the subject.

So, the psalmist is asking for God's help in getting through this time of humiliation. He is already humbled enough. He asked that God not let all this overwhelm him. The best thing he is doing is not to give up on God and to continue to pray.

Have you ever tried to make things “right” but just made things worse or made yourself a laughing stock instead of a savior? If so, you can relate to the psalmist.

In your unfailing love, O God, answer my prayer with your sure salvation. Rescue me from the mud; don't let me sink any deeper! Save me from those who hate me, and pull me from these deep waters. Don't let the floods overwhelm me, or the deep waters swallow me, or the pit of death devour me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims

You know how foolish I am

O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you. Don't let those who trust in you be ashamed because of me, O Sovereign Lord of Heaven's Armies. Don't let me cause them to be humiliated, O God of Israel. For I endure insults for your sake; humiliation is written all over my face. Even my own brothers pretend they don't know me; they treat me like a stranger. Psalm 69: 5-8 NLT

God knows our sins and our foolishness.

That doesn't mean we want everyone else to know. That does not indicate that our faults should bring down other faithful people. We don't want others to be ashamed for what we have done.

We should be filled with remorse when our sins come to light but why should what we have done wrong bring others down with us?

I suppose part of that is the nature of sin: it is more corporate than personal.

Jesus told us that the greatest commandment was to love God with all that we have and to love our neighbor has ourself. Neighbor and self are connected. In breaking one, we break the other. Our sin affects us and our neighbor. We don't like to think so, of course. Afterall, what we have done in the privacy of our own homes should not have anythign to do with other people.

Yet, the psalmist understands that his shame really does affect others. Even his own brothers treat him as a stranger.

How are your sins and mistakes affecting others?

Take time now to admit as much as you possibly can to God. Ask for forgiveness.

God, you know how foolish I am. Please forgive me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims

Save me, O God.

Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can't find a foothold. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me. Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs on my head. Many enemies try to destroy me with lies, demanding that I give back what I didn't steal. Psalm 69: 1-5 NLT

Often we can have a couple of bad things happen and we may fuss but then we go on. But sometimes things can really seem to pile up on top of one another and life just begins to get to us. I'm not talking an absolute tragedy. I am talking about when things pile up one after another. You get a late notice, your cell phone falls in the commode, your daughter totals your car, you have to have major dental work, your company is being restructured, and they made a mistake on your credit card bill. That paper cut you get in the next five minutes is not going to be a minor incident. You are going to be screaming things you would not say in church.

Those are what come to my mind when the psalmist says he is up to his neck in flood waters. He is sinking deeper and deeper into the muck. He has been crying, weeping, calling out to God. Enemies seem to be multiplying so much that they are more than the hairs on his head. It has even come to being blamed for a crime he did not commit.

What do you do when you get up to your neck in life? What happens when you cry out to God but things continue to pile up? How do you handle having others act like enemies?

I often lose my temper. But, I should probably spend more time in prayer and perhaps give poetic voice to my complaints, much like the psalmist did.

God, save me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Copyright 2012 Amelia G. Sims