Monday Morning Cover to Cover

I have lost this post and had to do it over from scratch twice. Oh me...

Three words linger in my mind from our chronological reading this week: pride, quiet, and trust from the tiny Psalm 131. So, I gathered those thoughts that jumped off the pages as we read through David's dilemmas and here they are under those three verses in Psalm 131. Scripture does interpret Scripture and reading through the Bible chronologically allows you to interpret the events that are happening. I love it! Thanks so much for joining us and leave a comment about what lingers in your heart this week as you have read the Word of God this past week. It can be any place you are.

PRIDE

Psalm 131:1 - My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. The word "heart" is defined as courage, conscience, understanding. You can read my post from yesterday that I did get a job but it is more stressful than I thought it would be. Not what I had hoped for. I'm grateful to my beautiful God for rising up His courage in me this week to walk into difficult situations.

“Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your Truth. Give me an undivided heart. Psalm 86:11.

Give me a sign of your goodness. Psalm 86:17.

The humble words of David inspire and convict in I Samuel 30:24. Some of the men said that the 200 who had been too exhausted to go into the Ziklag battle could have their wives and children back, but not the plunder. In verse 24, David said “No, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. The share of the men who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” That's humility and not being concerned with what I have built and what I have won.

One other story---the man who tried to kill David on more occasion than one was finally dead. Yet, David laments for both Saul and Jonathan…”in life they were loved and gracious...” II Samuel 1:23. When something like this happened to me in my life, I was greatly relieved the person would not bother me again, no more hunting and haunting. But, look at David’s response: “the mighty have fallen.” He really left this relationship in God’s hands not concerning himself with understanding all that had happened. David was free of Saul whether Saul was alive or dead. Are we free from the people we entangle with?

QUIET

Psalm 131:2 - But, I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

For when, I am quiet, YOU will turn to me and have mercy on me and give Your Strength to me, your servant. Psalm 86:16.

The story of getting a quiet heart is I Samuel 26:18 - I just can’t get the thought out of my head…God put Saul into a deep sleep so David could get his spear and make a godly choice not to kill Saul. God doesn’t always answer us like this or it would be a “fixed” world. He is far more interested in making us holy than making our lives on this planet comfortable and safe. Not our agenda but HIS. Makes me think of C. S. Lewis’s quote: In my childhood I chose safety but as an adult I chose suffering. In this world we will have suffering and sometimes the deep sleep won’t come. We have a choice to make. Will I quiet my soul no matter what?

God knows the anguish of our souls Psalm 31:7.

Whatever it is that we face tonight. Suffering on a large scale or suffering that makes us quip “Oh, No!” He hears our hearts. Psalm 56:8

Record my sorrow; list my tears in your record book. God so did this for me this week as more familiar tears fell, yet I have such unexplainable joy in the midst of a rough time. I posted yesterday that I did get a job but it is more stressful than I thought it would be.

One more story about being quiet touched me deeply... I Samuel 30:3-6. David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep because their wives and children were taken captive in Ziklag. David stressed out because his friends spoke of stoning him; they were bitter cause they had lost their children. But David strengthened himself in the LORD His God. I Sam. 30:6. Even in the midst of the loss of family and friends. Oh, that I could be like this and not give weight to the judgment of others on my life. Be still and know that He is God and we are not.

TRUST

Psalm 131:3 Put your hope in the LORD.

Don’t be like Saul who inquired of God but when Saul didn’t get the answer he wanted (I Sam 28:7,8), he looked for answers elsewhere. Do I hope that people will come through for me or am I waiting and hoping in my LORD no matter what is happening to me.

One story of trust that moved me was Abigail standing before David and his 400 men. She "lost no time" getting to David. David fought the Lord's battles and Abigail stopped him from fighting this one and said: "the Lord has kept you." Even though your life is in danger with Saul, your life will be bundled in the living by the Lord your God. How beautiful of a vision Abigail gave David. May we all find that kind of courage that rose up in Abigail as we face those who oppose us, those who are disinterested parties in our lives. May we hold hope for the “Nabal’s” in all our lives.

Because as David would soon write in Psalm 18:16, it is our LORD Who has reached down to take hold of us.

He rescues us because He delights in us Psalm 18:19.

“My God turns my darkness in to light” and I am so excited about HIM and what He is doing in my life today in the midst of a very difficult time in our lives. Psalm 18:28.

I'll end here before I lose this post for the third time. My last thought is a quote from C.S. Lewis: "When you are not sure you can trace His Hand, you can trust His Heart."