Psalms 4

Ps 4:1 Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

Ps 4:2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame ? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ?


Ps 4:3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him.

Ps 4:4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.


Ps 4:5 Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.

Ps 4:6 Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.
Ps 4:7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
Ps 4:8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.


I have a friend who challenged me to read in the Psalms everyday. It is such an encouragement to me to spend time thinking over what is said in these writings.

It is apparent from the start of this Psalm that David is experiencing some difficult times in his life. He is crying out to the Lord in his time of distress. Evidently he is having problems with other people... sounds pretty much like how our lives go today, huh? For me, yes.

I love vs. 3. David, even though he seems to be stressed at what is going on in his life, still makes the comment that he knows God is in tune with him. He knows that God is listening to his prayers. Even more important, he knows that God is listening, not just to the words of his mouth but also is seeing what is going on in David's life. David finds comfort in knowing that God is there with him and for him.

How do I KNOW this to be absolutely true? Look at the wording of vs. 8. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Think about what he just said. Lie down and sleep.... what do you do when you have troubles that seem far to great for you to handle them? Me, sometimes I worry. I know, Jesus told us not to worry.... but... that is what I do. What David did was give his troubles to the Lord, then he went to bed. He left them at the throne of the Lord and went to sleep, knowing that God is in control and that he would bring the safety that David needed... God would supply the protection that David needed.

God will supply what we need too... so why worry, give it to HIM. When we are experiencing those times of incredible trial and sufferings, when we are going through tough times the best thing we can do is give it to God. Literally, give it to him. Pray to Him, pouring out your heart about your troubles, then letting go of the fears and unknowns and get some sleep. We have to trust that God, the same God that loves us so much that He sent his only son to come into the world to be a sacrifice for us so that we could be in a right relationship with Him, will take care of the problems in our live in the WAY THAT HE SEES FIT. He will provide for us, just as much as he did for David. He just requires us to trust in Him, like David did.

How about some rest. God is in control and He really does care for His children. So, how about you and I both start giving the things rolling around in our head, that seem to keep us up at nights, to our loving, caring, heavenly Father and let Him deal with them and we get the much needed rest that we require to deal with our everyday lives. David did. It is a great example for us to learn from. God bless you this day and may you bless someone else's life this day.

Mark

Endure or enjoy

Karen made a comment to me the other day and it really caused me to rethink some things in my life. She said that sometimes as we live our lives we must endure through the tough times. As I thought about enduring... I thought, it is true, sometimes just enduring and making it through a hard time is sometimes all we can do. Then things get better. I know that is okay for the really hard things... like someone close to you dying or surviving when your mate up and leaves you... but what about the things in life that are not so drastic. What about those things in life that are just not as much fun as other things. Like having to learn a new language, or moving to a new city, or going to some activity that really stretches you and makes you get out of your comfort zone?

What it really made me think of was the many times that I have gone ahead and done the RIGHT THING because that is what I am suppose to do as a Christian... but really on the inside only really was committed to enduring the event or function, just get it done and over with and then move on to the next thing... Well, I have to tell you that I am working on a new philosophy. It is called enjoying these things. Okay, I am not saying that it is easy, what I am saying is it is a mindset. For example, German. It is not easy to go to class and feel stupid so much of the time... Okay, humor me a little, I know that is an exaggeration, but sometimes when we are learning something new, it takes time, a lot more time than we want it to take and it gets old and .... you get the point. That is the point you tell yourself, all I need to do is keep doing it... it will be over one day and then you will be able to speak German fluently... or do what ever it is that you are doing and wish it was over... But how about instead of me having the attitude that I cannot wait to get this over with... I try and ENJOY what I am doing while I am learning. Novel idea huh? But not always an easy one to do.

If you think about it, it really is simple. We make up our minds about the situations that we are in or that lay ahead of us. We make a choice to be happy about it or to be upset or angry about it. When we know something is coming up and we are not looking forward to it, perhaps a good way for us to deal with that is to DECIDE that we are going to enjoy what ever lays ahead. I know, I know. I can hear you now! I realize this cannot work for everything, but maybe it can work for more things that you think it can. Look for the positive in every situation! I would venture to say that if you look, you will find something positive that can come out of almost any situation. Think about how you being more positive will also be an incredible witness to who Jesus Christ is! I hope you can enjoy the different things life gives to you. It will make you more pleasant and will really encourage other people that you come in contact with. God bless you!!