Psalm 4
Believer, do you ever feel alone? Do you ever wonder if you have anyone that cares and listens? You do! Although it can sometimes feel as if god isn’t listening, He is. It might seem as if He doesn’t care. He does. You can always count on The Lord to be there with you, He hears your words, and He knows your heart. You are special to Him. You are His child, His priest, His chosen, and His own. Verses 1-3 read,
“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.”
God does so much more than hear you. He helps and delivers. Whatever it is that is causing you anguish or grief, He relieves your distress. Sometimes by taking care of the problem, often by carrying you through the problem, or helping you see it in a new light. By letting you lean on Him and trust Him to be I Am.
The world sees we are different, they see we are set apart and they come up with lies to make us into the bad guys. We didn’t exalt ourselves. We are not on some false pedestal. God exalted us. God distinguished us. He made s holy. The world can try and sling mud but they cannot sully us. Jesus made us holy. They call us out on every sin we are caught in, ignoring their own wrongs. They try to turn our honor to shame. But they can’t. They cannot take our righteousness away from us. Jesus gave it to us. It is His, we are His. The world can say and do what they like to us, but in the end, there will be justice. Sin must be paid for. People choose whether to accept Jesus’ payment for sin or they will pay themselves. The Kingdom of God is our eternal hope, now and forever.
The world suffers difficulties as well but they haven’t turned to Abba our Almighty Holy God. They make up lies, deceiving even themselves. They believe the enemy. They play the victim or the avenger. We are not victims. We are overcomers. We are victors. We do not have to avenge, retaliate, or punish those who hurt us. Our Father the King holds us. Jesus will sit on The Judgement Seat and He will dole out justice to those who choose it. He sits on The Mercy Seat and gives mercy to those who choose Him. Verses 4-5 read,
“Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.”
We may want to put the haters in their place now, but that isn’t what God wants. He wants us to love them as He loves them. He wants us to trust Him to do what is best for us and for them. We didn’t deserve His mercy. We need to be merciful to the people who hate us. Remember they are prisoners of war and most do not know it. They believed the lies the enemy told them. They won’t see the Truth unless we demonstrate it to them with God’s perfect love. Don’t retaliate. Instead continue trusting in God. The lost are hopeless or have put their hope in worthless and false idols. We have the power and ability to shine a light into their darkness. To show them kindness even though they don’t deserve it. To be compassionate even if they are not. Verses 6-7 read,
“There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.”
We have joy no matter what. The world may persecute us, the world will persecute us if we walk in Christ filled with His Awesome Holy Spirit. And we still have joy, we have everything we need and more in The Lord. He gives us joy even in the darkest hour. The world may think they have joy, and they party it up. They get rich and they celebrate it. They celebrate the things of this world which will be burned up in an instant. They applaud their wealth and food. They praise themselves for their accomplishments. They revel in their work. All those idols will be gone and they will finally see that none of it mattered.
Our joy is forever. God is our peace and we are secure in Him. We have peace with God. He is our Joy, our Comfort, our Strong Tower, and our Refuge. In the midst of the hate from the world, the attacks by the enemy, and the chaos they try to inflict, we have our Abba our Daddy The Lord All-powerful God of the Universe. Their turmoil can’t touch us. God is our Shield. Verse 8 reads,
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Believer, remember God is not far off. He is with you. He is not uncaring, He loves you deeply.
Believer, do you ever feel alone? Do you ever wonder if you have anyone that cares and listens? You do! Although it can sometimes feel as if god isn’t listening, He is. It might seem as if He doesn’t care. He does. You can always count on The Lord to be there with you, He hears your words, and He knows your heart. You are special to Him. You are His child, His priest, His chosen, and His own. Verses 1-3 read,
“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.”
God does so much more than hear you. He helps and delivers. Whatever it is that is causing you anguish or grief, He relieves your distress. Sometimes by taking care of the problem, often by carrying you through the problem, or helping you see it in a new light. By letting you lean on Him and trust Him to be I Am.
The world sees we are different, they see we are set apart and they come up with lies to make us into the bad guys. We didn’t exalt ourselves. We are not on some false pedestal. God exalted us. God distinguished us. He made s holy. The world can try and sling mud but they cannot sully us. Jesus made us holy. They call us out on every sin we are caught in, ignoring their own wrongs. They try to turn our honor to shame. But they can’t. They cannot take our righteousness away from us. Jesus gave it to us. It is His, we are His. The world can say and do what they like to us, but in the end, there will be justice. Sin must be paid for. People choose whether to accept Jesus’ payment for sin or they will pay themselves. The Kingdom of God is our eternal hope, now and forever.
The world suffers difficulties as well but they haven’t turned to Abba our Almighty Holy God. They make up lies, deceiving even themselves. They believe the enemy. They play the victim or the avenger. We are not victims. We are overcomers. We are victors. We do not have to avenge, retaliate, or punish those who hurt us. Our Father the King holds us. Jesus will sit on The Judgement Seat and He will dole out justice to those who choose it. He sits on The Mercy Seat and gives mercy to those who choose Him. Verses 4-5 read,
“Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.”
We may want to put the haters in their place now, but that isn’t what God wants. He wants us to love them as He loves them. He wants us to trust Him to do what is best for us and for them. We didn’t deserve His mercy. We need to be merciful to the people who hate us. Remember they are prisoners of war and most do not know it. They believed the lies the enemy told them. They won’t see the Truth unless we demonstrate it to them with God’s perfect love. Don’t retaliate. Instead continue trusting in God. The lost are hopeless or have put their hope in worthless and false idols. We have the power and ability to shine a light into their darkness. To show them kindness even though they don’t deserve it. To be compassionate even if they are not. Verses 6-7 read,
“There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.”
We have joy no matter what. The world may persecute us, the world will persecute us if we walk in Christ filled with His Awesome Holy Spirit. And we still have joy, we have everything we need and more in The Lord. He gives us joy even in the darkest hour. The world may think they have joy, and they party it up. They get rich and they celebrate it. They celebrate the things of this world which will be burned up in an instant. They applaud their wealth and food. They praise themselves for their accomplishments. They revel in their work. All those idols will be gone and they will finally see that none of it mattered.
Our joy is forever. God is our peace and we are secure in Him. We have peace with God. He is our Joy, our Comfort, our Strong Tower, and our Refuge. In the midst of the hate from the world, the attacks by the enemy, and the chaos they try to inflict, we have our Abba our Daddy The Lord All-powerful God of the Universe. Their turmoil can’t touch us. God is our Shield. Verse 8 reads,
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Believer, remember God is not far off. He is with you. He is not uncaring, He loves you deeply.
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