(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)
(Psalm 31:1-24) In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be put to shame;
In Your righteousness rescue me.
2 Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be a rock of strength for me,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;
For the sake of Your name You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5 Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;
You have redeemed me, Lord, God of truth.
6 I hate those who devote themselves to worthless idols,
But I trust in the Lord.
7 I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithfulness,
Because You have seen my misery;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not handed me over to the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body too.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My strength has failed because of my guilt,
And my body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a disgrace,
Especially to my neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten like a dead person, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the slander of many,
Terror is on every side;
While they took counsel together against me,
They schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, Lord,
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your hand;
Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me in Your faithfulness.
17 Let me not be put to shame, Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be speechless,
Which speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have performed for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of mankind!
20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of mankind;
You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown His marvelous faithfulness to me in a besieged city.
22 As for me, I said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the sound of my pleadings
When I called to You for help.
23 Love the Lord, all His godly ones!
The Lord watches over the faithful
But fully repays the one who acts arrogantly.
24 Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who wait for the Lord.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Let me never be put to shame;
In Your righteousness rescue me.
2 Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be a rock of strength for me,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;
For the sake of Your name You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5 Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;
You have redeemed me, Lord, God of truth.
6 I hate those who devote themselves to worthless idols,
But I trust in the Lord.
7 I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithfulness,
Because You have seen my misery;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not handed me over to the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body too.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My strength has failed because of my guilt,
And my body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a disgrace,
Especially to my neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten like a dead person, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the slander of many,
Terror is on every side;
While they took counsel together against me,
They schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, Lord,
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your hand;
Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me in Your faithfulness.
17 Let me not be put to shame, Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be speechless,
Which speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have performed for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of mankind!
20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of mankind;
You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown His marvelous faithfulness to me in a besieged city.
22 As for me, I said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the sound of my pleadings
When I called to You for help.
23 Love the Lord, all His godly ones!
The Lord watches over the faithful
But fully repays the one who acts arrogantly.
24 Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who wait for the Lord.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
We should never feel shame because we believe in Jesus. Even though this may be a struggle from time to time, the shame that we should want to avoid is sinning. Although even after we sin, we will sometimes struggle with our pride and resist confessing and apologizing. This becomes self-righteousness, and this in itself is a sin and is shameful!
In verse 1, David asks to be rescued with God's righteousness. I love this! Not only does Jesus give us the perfect example of what righteousness looks like, but God will convict our hearts and guide us towards what we should be doing and saying. The Bible and the Holy Spirit will enlighten us to God's wisdom and righteousness. It is better to be wise in God's eyes and look foolish to the world!
Now I'm thinking about God's timing and how it relates to shame vs wisdom. In verse 24, we see that we should patiently wait on the Lord... to wait for His perfect timing. In verse 9, David mentions God's graciousness. God is amazingly patient with us, because - well - we keep messing up! But regarding the need for salvation and the need to confess sins and return to the Lord - the time is RIGHT NOW!!! God's will for these things is that we should not delay.
In verse 2, David asks for this to be done quickly. Yes, why prolong our own stupidity!!! Especially since David admits in verse 10 that his strength has failed because of guilt. In verses 21-22, David even confesses his lack of faith compared to God's when he mentions that even though he felt like God was far from him, God WAS right there and heard his cry for help.
It's okay to want a quick answer to our prayers if our prayers are to know where and how we have strayed, and how can immediately return to living obediently. God's will supports this "demand". But we should remain patient when we ask God to help us through things. So while we wait on the Lord to address things in His perfect timing, we should be using that time to focus on God and living obediently!
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