draw near to God – Page 13 – Broken Believers

Psalm 23, Understood

Psalm 23, an annotated version:The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.– That’s relationship
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures.– That’s rest

 He leads me beside still waters.– That’s  refreshment

 3     He restores my soul.– That’s healing

 He leads me in paths of righteousness– That’s guidance

     for his name’s sake.– That’s purpose

⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,– That’s testing
I will fear no evil,– That’s protection
for you are with me;– That’s faithfulness
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.– That’s discipline

5 You prepare a table before me– That’s hope

     in the presence of my enemies;– That’s witness

 you anoint my head with oil;– That’s consecration

     my cup overflows.– That’s abundance

 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,– That’s blessing

 and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord– That’s security

     forever.– That’s eternity
Psalm 23, ESV
We really do live in a world of uncertainty. Anything can happen (and often does) and at times we will struggle. Psalm 23 is something stable that we can latch on. It is a psalm of unparalleled comfort for the turmoil.
It is especially good to those of us who struggle with a suffering or illness. It is a tether for us that holds us in place. For those who fear death it promises us life– forever.
If you’re a broken believer who has issues, I encourage you to memorize this psalm.  As you commit it to memory it will instinctively draw you to reality. It will be something the Holy Spirit will use over and over in your life. I have been crippled with fear many times, and this psalm has protected me. 
I love the Shepherd of Psalm 23. 

Roadside Assistance, [Word]

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

¹I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
²My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

³He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
⁴Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
⁶The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.

⁷The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
⁸The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.

Psalm 121, New Living Translation

“A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.”

Travelling in biblical times was not easy, everyone walked. Pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem (three times a year) would travel in large groups for safety and companionship. For many the journey would take five or six days, and it meant about 20 miles a day. This ‘song’ was sung corporately as the people walked; it contained truths that would encourage them. Perhaps these are lessons are still living for us today.

1 ^“I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
²My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!”

The hills or ‘high places’ are centers for pagan worship, so a singular question is asked. “Is this where help will come?” Verse 2 gives an affirming answer and declares a confidence in the Almighty God.

^{3 “}He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
⁴Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.”

God is very protective, He is hyper-vigilant over those who call on His name. There is never been a time when He is caught off guard. It is good for our souls to meditate on this constant security. He doesn’t sleep, ever.

^{5 “}The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
⁶The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.”

I once had the ‘joy’ of sacking bags of rock in the blistering sun in August. I caught myself scanning the sky, wishing for just one cloud to block out the baking heat. In the tropics, an umbrella is commonly used to shield oneself from the sun in the middle of the day. The reference to the moon is the idea that over exposure to it was as harmful as the sun could be.

^{7 “}The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
⁸The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.”

One of the most common images of God is that of a diligent shepherd watching over his sheep. The metaphor is used frequently and carries the connotation of continual care and attention. When I think on this it gives me great comfort.

********

These all are conditional promises that, although they are true, they won’t give you a pass through heartache and trial. But God promises to measure out each affliction with pain-staking carefulness. He is always, always, always present no matter what.

“What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.”

Psalm 84:5

All About Flawed Lives, [Hope]

perfection-is-a-myth

“Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives.“

— Michael Yaconelli

The principle is sound. We let go of our flaws, and make no effort to redeem them. Sounds easy. Although I feel no qualms in doing so, I still wonder. Can He forgive so much, and so many brazen sins?

We can so easily turn on ourselves (at least that’s the tendency) and find accusation. We become our worst enemy, we desperately carry our guilt like some overloaded and heavy pack all throughout our broken lives.

We must finally realize we can no longer seek perfection (or its facsimile) by our conduct. Things have gotten far beyond this. We are rascals and ragamuffins– and are likely to remain so. Unless God intervenes decisively.

But love has a way of loosening our rigorous thinking, like a rusted nut on some corroded metal bolt. He wrenches us, and wants to forgive us of everything. He has decided to love us. You must respond to find his forgiveness. Plain and simple.

Instead of seeking perfection, we should be really seeking God. I suppose this can be daunting. But God is comfortable in our difficulties. He rules over our personal confusion. We come with less then zero. He gives us everything.

We can do nothing but accept. His grace. Grace moves us beyond our personal tragedy. Finally accepting we can do nothing, he does everything.. And where does this leave us?

Our striving for a final acceptance comes down to this: He rules over all our ‘issues,’ and we’re constantly made aware of this excessively extravagant grace. We are rich, only because he has made it so.

There is no one else who can make us worthy. There is no one else who can connect with our sin and then at the same time make us holy in his eyes. There is only God.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

bry-signat (1)

Hope for the Hopeless [Joy]

^{12 “}Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

Romans 12:12

Three things are critical for the New Testament believer:

To rejoice out of a real hope,
a deliberate endurance,
and a prayer life that is unceasing.

These three are vital for us if we want to be authentic saints. These three aspects must become foremost in our discipleship.

Of the three, the first is to rejoice out of a real hope is the most important. It seems like I take the most “hits” over this one. There is a constant erosion over my joy and my hope. I encounter the false belief that I will be one of the damned. A variation is that I’m ‘cursed’ by God and my life from this point is always going to be hellish and miserable. Frozen like a mosquito in ancient amber.

For me, my mental illness is a sin– the sin of despair. I don’t insist on the right terminology or of definitions. Some believe these issues are demonic. Some wonder about the use of meds, or the value of seeing a psychiatrist or going into therapy. These are all valid, but it seems like polishing the brass rails as the Titanic is seeking.

I won’t try to give answers, because there isn’t a single one to be found. There’s a complexity about the human heart, and God’s sovereign plan that I can’t venture anything. I will only suggest we give room for our own misunderstandings. Perhaps it’s the presence of Jesus we can agree on.

^“Rejoice in hope,” goes a long ways to combat the enemy, our own fallenness and our own sin of despair. A ‘song to the Lord’ breaks our souls free and is the brokenbelievers true hope is the best antidepressant. But I vote we keep singing out of our cells (Acts 16:25).