Good morning, Reader! What’s on your radar today? As with a typical radar, the center pointing out is you then anything that is in your life is on your radar coming toward you. As you look at your calendar, you see what has been planned and you know what is expected. But what about when the devil’s darts come your way? What about those things you weren’t expecting?
What does one do when the bombshell of all bombshells comes down on you? Do your emotions explode all around you? Do you react by blowing up or with peaceful assurance? Your Heavenly Father already knew this was going to happen and stands ready to provide you with comfort and peace?
Today’s verse speaks volumes! Two questions are posed and then the center of that verse provides the answers!
Psalm 42:5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
Psalm 42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
Noah Webster defines the word “disquieted” as:
DISQUIETED, pp. Made uneasy or restless; disturbed; harassed.
When bombs fall on your day and you are upset, ask yourself the same questions David asked? Why am I cast down? Why is my heart uneasy and disturbed? Pinpoint what is bothering you and then go to the responses David wrote:
Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the HELP OF HIS COUNTENANCE.
David praised God despite losing his son, Absalom. There’s nothing worse than losing a child! Our children are supposed to outlive us. But in David’s life, this wasn’t the case. Yet what did David do? He praised God because he knew that God’s plan was perfect! There’s something about praise that changes our heart! It takes our eyes off ourselves and places them on the Lord. This is exactly what happened to David. David wanted the help of God’s countenance not his own. David ends the Psalm with almost the same words. However, this time David has seen an answer to his prayer. Notice that David says: “…for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of MY countenance, and my God.” God did not return Absalom to David. But God did give David that calm assurance that God was in control and David wanted that calm assurance to be reflected on his face.
This reminds me of the beautiful hymn, “He Leadeth Me”! The words are ever so beautiful and you can see that Joseph Gilmore had a lot on his heart when he wrote this in 1862. Our Country was deep into the Civil War and it weighed heavily on Joseph. Read the words and let them bless you!
1 He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.Refrain:
He leadeth me, he leadeth me;
by his own hand he leadeth me:
his faithful follower I would be,
for by his hand he leadeth me.2 Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
sometimes where Eden’s flowers bloom,
by waters calm, o’er troubled sea,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me. Refrain3 Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine,
nor ever murmur nor repine;
content, whatever lot I see,
since ’tis my God that leadeth me. Refrain4 And when my task on earth is done,
when, by thy grace, the victory’s won,
e’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
since God through Jordan leadeth me. Refrain
Oh I could underline the entire hymn because all the words mean so much to me. But Christian, what do these words mean to you? Are you able to say that God is leading you through your trials? Does the unbeliever see God’s hand leading you? You are a testimony to those around you, whether saved or unsaved.
As believers, we have so much at our fingertips to pull from for encouragement. We can read our Bibles, search out songs to encourage our hearts, and bow before the Lord of lords and Kings of kings in prayer! We can have intimate fellowship with the Creator of the universe!! But to the person who is not born-again, he has only himself to turn to and there’s no comfort in one’s own heart. The unbeliever doesn’t have the comfort that the believer does; they may be able to access the resources but that comfort just isn’t there. Friend, don’t be willfully ignorant of the end times. (2 Peter 3:5) If you are not born-again, confess your sins and repent of them. The time is coming when it will be too late for you to repent. You will remember each opportunity you were given by God to be saved; you will remember each time you laughed it off and ignored it. Please Reader, repent and accept Christ into your life. (Act 16:31, Rom 10:9) I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!
