Dear Grief

Unfortunately, you are a very hard thing to deal with. I don't like you... I guess I'll have to get used to you though-because suffering produces endurance-- and a lot of other things that are forming me into the image of Christ.

Just because I battle you, does not mean I'm sinning. For it is indeed a battle, and in this round, I have been stabbed too many times.

As long as the Lord keeps me fighting- as long as I stand, press forward, my eyes toward the goal-- you will never win.

You oh grief, do not hold any power over me. Your child anger cannot bruise me. Fear-he cannot cripple me. Guilt? Your lovely cousin? Cannot tempt me. I stand in the grace of God. There's nothing he can say, nothing he can accuse me of that th eLord hasn't forgiven me for. That my Jesus' nail pierced hands don't speak for.

As for your father and mother?
Sin and Death? Ohhhhh... My daddy has words for you!!! "Death is swalled up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our lord Jesus Christ." 1 Cor 15: 54-56

Oh guilt, oh death, sin, grief, anger. To be honest I cannot defeat you. I look at you and I cringe, for you are painful, and I wish if I just ignored you, you would go away. But you won't.

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,"

THEREFORE:

I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamaties,

For when
I
am
weak
then

I
am
STRONG

What's up with Psalm 139?

So I was reading through one of my favorite Psalms, and remembered what a friend had talked to me about once. He was confused as to what the second part of the Psalm meant, in his Bible Study his group had discussed the first half, but never touched the second. As I was reading through this Psalm, a "solution" suddenly dawned on me.

Well, enough of the introduction, the Psalm that I was reading is the commonly quoted Psalm 139 which you can read in it's entirety by clicking on the chapter number.

The Psalm is most famous for speaking on the subject of beauty. Many a core-group leader, has tackled insecurity by quoting this Psalm. "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well" It continues on in worshiping the Lord because of his knowledge, his control, and his omnipresence. The Psalm is beautiful, and is a great encouragement when someone feels lonely.

But that's not really why I wrote this post, now is it?

If you read the rest of the Psalm it continues on by stating

"If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies"

What in the world? To any non-Christian, the Psalm just took a turn for the worse, who is this God that would slay people? Aren't we supposed to love our enemies, and bless those who persecute us? Aren't we supposed to "Hate the sin, love the sinner"? So why is this here, why is this in the Scriptures, if God is love, than what does this portion mean??

Okay, let's take it piece by piece here. Let's go back to what we know:
1.God is Holy, man is not.
So for starters, we'll never completely understand everything about the Lord.
2. God cannot tolerate sinners, he CANNOT b"e in their presence.
3. The only difference between us, and the "wicked" mentioned in this passage is that we have been enabled to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by his blood God sees us as clean.
4. We know God is love. God doesn't love. He IS love, we wouldn't know what "love" was, if God didn't show it too us.
5. We know God cannot sin. So therefore, for God to hate people, it isn't wrong. Think about it, what's the third commandment?
"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. " Duet 5:11

In this passage, they have broken this commandment, the promise along with it, is that God cannot hold someone guiltless who misuses his name. (The rest of that verse is a whole different subject, but let's move on with this passage first.)

What is our goal in life? What is our true purpose? For us as Christian's it should be Christ, Christ's glory and honor. Above all else. Christ's honor is what brings us joy and satisfaction, it's what we're meant to do.
So if we're so concerned about Christ's glory, won't those who try to stamp out your life's purpose become your enemy? Shouldn't you hate those God hates? Because he has the same goal as you... His glory. When we are trying to please other people, then this passage seems insane. When we put God first, it makes a little more sense.

Also, don't stop at the end of that part of the passage, read this next part:

"Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."

We're to be focused on God's glory, no person should get in the way of that. David understood this, and wrote about how God's glory should be preeminent in his life, THEN he asks God to make sure that he himself (David) isn't a hindrance to the glory of God. But he doesn't leave it there. David knows that in and of himself he cannot be holy, and without God he is God's enemy, just like those he was previously asking God to slay. So he says "Lead me".

We cannot put God first on our own, we need help. Let's each ask God to lead us, and to SHOW us, how to put him first, and to trust his judgement on those who he condemns.

It's a really difficult concept, mull it over in your mind a few times, and talk to God about it. Then comment and let me know if you think I'm way off base.