Tag Archives: hang in there

Always Before Me!

I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Psalm 16:8

Reading:

Psalm 22:1,14-24; 16:8-11

The title — borrowed for this post — of Christian Light’s lesson for Easter Sunday is good for me.

I’ve been struggling of late with a sense of abandonment. Oh, I know intellectually that I have not been abandoned. But that knowledge has had quite a wild battle at times with feelings of abandonment.

But this title gives me some perspective and sense of proportion which I’d forgotten.

The Son suffered.

Wow.

So where is my sense of proportion and perspective when I suffer?

And where is my faith when I feel abandoned?

Might my feeling of abandonment be indicative of my having forgotten God too much?

Where is God’s praise from me?

Do I keep the Lord before me? How? When? Why?

What makes my heart glad?

Will I rest in hope?

Where am I in relationship to the path of life?

In His presence is fullness of joy!

“But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me” (Psalm 22:19).

[The Scriptures say in Psalm 22:24 -- Neither hath he hid his face]
from Psalm 22:24

Find Favor

So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:4

Reading:

Proverbs 3:1-10

It was a new day. And it didn’t take long for my thoughts to turn to business matters.

Especially The Matter.

Do I sell Anabaptist Bookstore or do I try to find investors or do I just shut down — which, if any, does God want me to do?

I don’t know.

So then I come to this in my morning reading:

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

All. No exceptions. Don’t hold back.

Trust in the Lord, eh? But I thought I had been doing that!

God's Word says: Be not wise in thine own eyes (Proverbs 3:7)

Be not wise in thine own eyes (Proverbs 3:7)

Well, I’ll take that verse as encouragement to keep doing it. And I’ll take it as a challenge to be alert to those areas where I’m not doing it.

So I keep reading:

“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6).

Keeping God-aware all the time. Now that I most very definitely can do very much better at.

That must be why I don’t yet know what I’m supposed to do (other than keep providing dependable good service to our customers).

So I read a little further (I was aiming to stop with verse 10, if you’re wondering). It didn’t take long to arrive here:

“Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9,10).

Hope!

But could that be for me?

Are those God’s instructions for me regarding my business and The Matter?

Is that promise applicable to me in this particular situation?

Besides, there’s The Unthinkable, Unutterable Thought that I did think but have not yet divulged.

Except God already knows, of course.

But, but, but…. That’s what I have been doing. For years. Decades. And where’s my plenty and my new wine? Come to think of it, where are my barns and my presses?!

Hence the title of this piece: Is It Still True?

So the devil mocks and tempts: “Yeah, hath God said?”

My answer: “Yes, He did say that. So He still says that. And with His help, I’ll continue to believe it…contrary ‘evidence’ notwithstanding.”

(That. Sounds. So. Easy.)

[The Scriptures say in Proverbs 3:7 -- Be not wise in thine own eyes]
from Proverbs 3:7
Originally published on: Mar 3, 2010 @ 09:02 am
Republished on Mar 3, 2019 at 09:02 am
then returned to its original date and time on Mar 16, 2021 at 7:48 pm