Waiting...

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation  ~Psalm 62:1
During my devotions this morning I just couldn't make it past this first verse in Psalm 62. Sometimes there is just so much in a verse it is impossible to get past in one morning. Here are a few thoughts and questions as I meditated on what the psalmist said...

For God alone...  ~Psalm 62:1

There are many things in this world for someone to desire... for the psalmist it is God.
Is God the greatest desire of my heart?
If God is my greatest desire, is it visible in my life?
Is my desire for God manifested in any other way than just waiting?
Do my family and friends see my desire for God without me pointing it out?


...my soul...  ~Psalm 62:1

For this soul God is the greatest desire.
My innermost being and thoughts... that which is eternal... who I am.
I can only speak for myself... can I recognize it in others?
My soul... where does that come from? God made me... I am His already


...waits in silence;  ~Psalm 62:1

Waiting for something ascribes it value and worth... a desirability.
Waiting for something speaks of a subjection to it... should be willingly.
Waiting in silence for a soul predisposed to anything else is impressive.
My soul does not have the ability to wait in silence... I want to worry and fret.
If my soul is waiting in silence then it is an act of God... seriously.
Waiting in silence inidicates a respect and reverence for what one waits for.
Waiting in silence for God indicates His ability to satisfy beyond the actual act of satisfying.


...from Him...  ~Psalm 62:1

That is God... there is no other way.
God is giving and gracious... He is so merciful to those who do not deserve it.
God has something for me... for you... from Him.


...comes...  ~Psalm 62:1

Everything does not have to be right now.
There should be an element of anticipation in my relationship with God.
This is why my soul can wait in silence... I know God comes.


...my salvation.  ~Psalm 62:1

God brings salvation with Him.
I need to be saved... do I know what from?
I have been saved from the punishment of sin... but not its power or presence... it comes.
There is a resolved and quiet calm because I am not trying to save myself.
My salvation comes from God... He is not merely contributing to what I am doing.
This salvation is personal... it is mine.
I desire God... salvation is the benefit of that desire.
Why doesn't the thing I need saved from disquiet my soul? Oh... right... God comes.
I and all creation are moving towards a day from which we need saved.
How did I come to know this God?

The Law and Our Hearts

I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!  ~Psalm 119:32
It has already been proven man cannot keep God's Law. His Word was not obeyed in the Garden of Eden, nor was it obeyed after Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Today we have the Holy Bible printed in nearly every language known. It is the most purchased book in the world and in almost every home, yet we do not obey it. One simply cannot obey God's Word just because one chooses to do so. Sin will always corrupt the best intentions every time. It has been said that obeying God is a matter of the heart.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?  ~Jeremiah 17:9

God, speaking by the prophet Jeremiah, made it quite clear that man's heart is desperately sick. It is in fact, incurable. When we try to clean up our act and make our outward behavior conform to the laws of society and the tenets of Christianity, we still remain the same on the inside. No amount of cleaning up, self help or behavior modification will work. The hopelessness of trying to obey God is enough to cause one to despair of ever seeing Heaven. Despair and failure is what awaits the one who tries to obey God on their own willpower and exactly what Satan wants. Remember the Word of God! The psalmist said something very important.

I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!  ~Psalm 119:32

The psalm writer said he would be able to obey God's Word because God would enlarge his heart! The man or woman in a right relationship with the Creator does not obey the Laws of God that were written in tablets of stone, or even those laws written in your Bible. The true Christian obeys because there has been a change of heart, a new birth, the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit! There is a desire to obey God now out of love for Him... His Law is written in our hearts. We are not saved because we obey God's Word; we obey God's Word because we are saved.

I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  ~Jeremiah 31:33b

Without God's Law in our hearts we will only be trying to follow someone else's rules. His Word must become a part of us, it must be written in our hearts. Have you ever been around a campfire at night? To receive its warmth, you must draw closer. If you spend all of your time hanging around in the dark, outside the influence of the flames, then you will never get warmer and you will never receive the benefits of its light. Are you tired of trying to be a “good Christian?” Has it become too much to keep pretending to love those whom you really despise? God has promised to enable us to do those very things, but as with the case of the campfire we must draw closer. By repenting of sin and trusting in Jesus Christ alone, we are saved! Read God's Word and believe His promises; trusting Him as you seek to obey out of love. Then and only then  do we become more like His Son, we are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  ~Romans 8:28,29

A Call To Worship

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men!  ~Psalm 107:15
For my family, Sunday is a day of worship. I look forward to it each week as a source of strength and revitalization. I gain a great deal from hearing the preached Word of God and taking part in the fellowship of like-minded believers. Yes, I gain a great deal from worshipping on Sunday, but what I get out of worship is not what's important or the reason why I worship. It is solely because of God's goodness and grace and mercy; it is because Jesus made it possible for me to go before God myself and worship the only One worthy to receive it.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble  ~Psalm 107:1, 2

Those who know of God's infinite mercy and of the perfect sacrifice offered by Jesus on the cross of Calvary, have plenty of reasons to worship on Sunday. Those of us, who can see a reason for worshipping God, have tasted of His kindness, and seen the miracle that only He can work in our lives. It is the rest of the world who ignores Him and refuses to give Him the praise and the glory only He is due. I understand the feelings of the psalm writer when he exclaimed "Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness"! They may not worship Him now, but there is coming a day...

So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  ~Matthew 13:49, 50

Recognizing God is the only One who deserves our worship and Jesus Christ is Lord, is something that can only be put off for awhile. The world may refuse to admit it now, but time is winding down to a close and the way of the wicked and unbelieving is drawing ever closer to the inevitable end Jesus spoke of in the book of Matthew. If only they would recognize and praise Him now! Are we to take pleasure that in the end there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth?

Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?  ~Ezekiel 33:11

If we do find ourselves taking pleasure that the wicked will be spending eternity in hell, then we should reevaluate our own walk with the Lord. Do our own desires align with those of God's? Have we shared the truth, or the reason why we worship with those who don't? For me, it saddens my heart to see others spending their Sundays enjoying the day without thanking the One who makes it so. I love God and I look to Him for what the day may hold. Praise Him for the day; praise Him for what it brings! Maybe if I live my life as one who is openly thankful to God then others may ask why.

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!  ~Psalm 57:9-11

Obedience Equals Love

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!  ~Psalm 119:2,3

Keeping God's testimonies speaks of obedience. While a large segment of today's Christianity attempts to “get right” with God by sacrificing time or money, He declares here in His Word there is a blessing for those who are obedient. Obedience is not something we just talk about, it is something we do and the lack of it in our lives cannot be balanced out with a bigger offering on Sunday. God prefers the obedience of His people over silver, gold, big new churches or a dozen new ministries. Samuel the prophet hit the nail right on the head.

And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”  ~1 Samuel 15:22

Our day by day and moment by moment commitment to God's Word indicates many things. One thing it indicates is how much we love Him and the Savior who gave His life for ours. It is out of our love for God that the desire to do those things He calls us to do comes from. Obedience to His Word blesses us in many ways and by it Christians secure divine fellowship. Jesus talked to the disciples about obedience.

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  ~John 14:23

The psalm writer also mentioned there is a blessing for those who seek God with the whole heart. How do we accomplish that? To seek God is to have a sincere desire to know His will and to do it, without hypocrisy, selfishness, or some other vain reason. God knows our hearts intimately and there is nothing hidden from Him, so it would be impossible for us to fool God by only seeking Him outwardly. The desire of our hearts must be knowing God and our Savior. If we truly want to know Him, He promised us we would find Him.

But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.  ~Deuteronomy 4:29

Were we obedient this past week? Did we seek God by doing those things which please Him or did we choose to go our own way? Remember the lack of obedience is where transgression begins. If you haven't been blessed lately, ask yourself if you have been obedient. Ask yourself “Have I stopped looking for God?”

“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”  ~Isaiah 55:6,7