Showing posts with label safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label safety. Show all posts

I Have Allies?

As usual, I was busy before I got up this morning! That's not really much of an exaggeration, either. I was up around one this morning with Chris - he was uncomfortable. Then at 4:30 my alarm was not a pleasant sound at all; but I got up and around eventually. I was barely moving but my head and heart were running a foot race to see how my morning was going to start.

I can't stress enough to never underestimate the power of a quiet spirit. I took some time to refocus and shift, worked a little bit and finally settled down into a be still moment. Boy, was it worth it!

I opened my Bible directly to Psalm 144 and read the first two verses as I had them underlined:

Bless the Lord Who is my rock.
He gives me strength for war and skill for battle.
He is my loving ally and my fortress,
My tower of safety, my deliverer.
He stands before me as a shield, and I take refuge in Him.
He subdues nations under me.


I spent a few minutes meditating on these verses and I love how David trusted in the power and strength of God. He knew God stood with Him. He believed God gave him both the skill and strength for the battle. He saw God as a safe place, a fortress and a shield. And David chose to take refuge in Him. A fortress can't protect you if you're not hidden inside. A shield offers no protection if you get out from behind it. God provides and protects - but we have to be behind Him and in Him - our position is important to the level of protection we receive.

David uses some strong words to describe the way the Lord protects him and fights with him. But nestled in the middle of all these powerful descriptions, David says God is my loving ally. That kind of caught me off guard this morning. And he didn't just say God is my ally - that would indicate an agreement between two parties to share resources against a common enemy with one's own best interest in mind. We might have an ally just for the sake of peace and protection - but David said God is his loving ally. That's more commitment than just saying I'll help you out if you need it - God is committed to the battle - committed to the journey.

Today my meditation will be on how I can remain calmly (that's a key) hidden behind Him and let Him shield me. I will focus on staying hidden IN Him and letting Him be the fortress surrounding me. I will purposefully place myself in Him for safe keeping and recognize Him as more than just being "on my side." I'll think about how He is my loving ally with my best interest at heart. And I will rest in Him and trust Him for one more day - will you join me?

There it is again!

There are many scriptures that talk about waiting on God. It seems to be a favorite theme that runs throughout the psalms. Psalm 62 is just one of the many times there is mention of waiting on Him. Actually, the first verse of this psalm begins with a declaration of My soul waits in silence for God only. Not only is the psalmist, David saying his soul is waiting for God, but he is doing so in silence. Now I don't know about you, but it can be a rare thing for my soul  to be silent. My mouth may not be making a sound but my head and heart are going a hundred miles an hour (on a slow day!).

As a caregiver it can feel like we are always in "waiting mode." Even getting up in the morning means waiting to see what the day will hold. How will our loved one respond to care today? Will the aide show up today? Will supplies arrive on time? Am I going to be able to go grab some groceries or will something preempt it? And that's all the thoughts that start running after hitting the snooze the first time. But no matter how hectic the day starts out we have to learn to wait on God alone. We have to learn to trust Him in every situation.

Psalm 62:5 says My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. Even though he started the psalm with this thought it's like he needs to remind himself to wait - in silence. Then it seems like he is reminding himself of who God is to him:

My rock
My salvation
My stronghold
My glory
My strength
My refuge

I will trust Him at all times.

I can truly pour out my heart before Him because He is a safe place. He knows what we are going through and understands each intricate detail of our crazy lives. But He never condemns or judges us. He even understands the thousands of thoughts that run through our heads in just a few seconds. And you know what? It doesn't scare Him off! 

Our task is to quiet our souls before Him. This can be a true act of worship as we learn to become quiet before God and wait on Him. 

Today I will work on quieting my soul before my God. I will meditate on trusting Him more fully. I will work on surrendering my mind, will and emotions to Him as an act of worship. Will you join me?


Shielded from What?

In Genesis 15, God told Abraham, "I am your shield." Why would Abraham need a shield  and why would God need to announce it? It was a little rough going for Abraham at the time, so you have to wonder what he thought about this Divine declaration. It certainly didn't mean that the father of our faith was going to be exempt from adversity. The preceding chapters indicate that Abraham had been going through a tough time.

In chapter 12 he faced a severe famine and had to relocate. After he relocated, he must have experienced fear thinking that the king was going to kill him off to take his wife. Moving (chapter 13) always brings change and that's never comfortable. Then also in chapter 13 his men fought with Lot's men so intensely that they had to part ways. Lot, his nephew was then kidnapped in chapter 14 and Abraham led a small scale war to go get him back! Times were not easy when God said, I am your shield.

Actually, the fact that he even needed to be shielded at all lets us know that life was turbulent. It certainly didn't exempt him from adversity. In the next couple of chapters Sarah and Hagar are going to have a huge fight and Abraham is going to witness the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Once again scriptures demonstrate that faith does not indicate the absence of adversity or in this case, adversities. But it does show us that even in the midst of trials and tribulations God protects us. While He doesn't protect us from the trouble itself - He does protect our souls. He shields the part of us that matters most - the living part. He keeps our souls from damage during life's deepest, darkest moments. And although we are not spared from the trials themselves, we can rest in  those times knowing that He has us in His hands no matter what life throws at us.

Our soul's salvation - our spiritual well being cannot be damaged by the things life hurls at us. In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us above all - take up the shield of faith.  Faith is trusting that God has our back even in the worst of times.

Today I will meditate on the truth that He has me in the palm of His hand and I'll choose to see myself in His heart where my soul is safe from harm. Will  you join me?

The Stare

  Do you ever just find yourself sitting and staring at the wall? It doesn't really happen too often because, quite frankly, who has tim...