I Want To Learn To Rest In The Storm
You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words. I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; be merciful to me according to Your word. I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments. The cords of the wicked have bound me, but I have not forgotten Your law. At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous judgments. I am a companion of all who fear You,
and of those who keep Your precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy; teach me Your statutes. Psalm 119:57-64
Consider my affliction and deliver me, for I do not forget Your law. Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your word. Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes. Great are Your tender mercies, O Lord;
revive me according to Your judgments. Many are my persecutors and my enemies, yet I do not turn from Your testimonies. I see the treacherous, and am disgusted, because they do not keep Your word. Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O Lord, according to Your loving kindness. The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. Psalm 119:153-16
These words are my prayer of faith and bold confession of confidence in Him. He knows precisely where we are, the battles we are each fighting on many fronts. He has promised to deliver us if we will RUN and NOT DELAY to KEEP His commandments. He will “revive” us according to His testimony, His commandments and His judgments.
Note the terminology “revive” according to Your word – Your judgments – Your loving kindness. Mentioned three times.
There are days (perhaps many days) He is waiting for us to RUN to Him shouting “HAVE MERCY ON ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD. HELP ME, I HAVE KEPT YOUR COMMANDMENTS. REVIVE ME ACCORDING TO YOUR RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENTS AND LOVING KINDNESS!
The grandchildren don’t just casually come up to you and announce in a weak tone; “Mommy, there is a snake out there.” NO, they coming running, shouting at the top of their lungs, – “GET THE GUN, GET SOMETHING TO TAKE CARE OF THIS SNAKE.” They want action immediately. God is the same; He wants your attention and mine.
If I could bold the WORDS of the cry of my heart above, I would in order for all to hear of my confidence that He is not standing a long distance away observing the battle. He is down in the ditch with us when trouble comes our way and He desires for us to SHOUT TO THE LORD – LET THE DEVIL KNOW WHO IS ON OUR SIDE – STICK IT IN FACE OF THE ENEMY WITH SUCH PASSION that our companions will know and keep His precepts.
He is full of mercy, justice and loving kindness and He is possibly allowing us to be surrounded in order to prove he is bigger than our battle.
HE IS MY KING and HE RULES WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS and gives us His favor, judges our situation with justice and pours out the salve of His loving kindness to bring us to rest.
I could have stated “He brings us to peace” and that would be good. Within my heart tonight, I sense we will easily adopt peace to avoid battles, but God takes a great big step and leads us into battle to bring us to rest – where we can learn deeper truth and therein gain wisdom and become a little more humble.
There is a fundamental difference between peace and rest. Peace is a state of mind during the calm before the next storm; rest is a state or period of refreshing freedom from the the storm while it may be entirely surrounding us. Rest only flows out of a heart that has been refreshed during the storm.
As you read, I continue to need your prayers. There is no easy solution to the fires now burning. Yet we will walk through it and not be burned. And He standing looking over my left shoulder. He wants us to swing the first blow at the enemy. Showing up is 80% + probably you will win the storm. If you do not make yourself available to God, you will never know true rest. I challenge you to read Psalm 119 – there is a lot of meat in that long chapter.
I’m learning on the job, so please be patient with me. Please pray for me. Love each of you.
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