February 3, 2008
I know that there is something new I can learn from the Bible everyday. But sometimes, and I can't quite explain it, but I feel like there is something specific God has for me. Tonight, I went to bed without doing my devotion. As I was laying there, I just had that feeling that there was something God wanted to tell me. I prayed that God would reveal it to me. Literally in seconds, Psalm 34 flashed in my mind. I got up, went to my Bible, and opened to Psalm 34. I have read this passage many times in the last two and a half years, but I know that I was meant to read it again tonight.
Psalm 34
I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
I had included this same passage in my September 9 entry. I have used these scriptures many times since then. They have new meaning now. It says the Lord is close to the broken hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. I have always been very honest in saying how hard it is to have lost Jeff. Anyone who has lost someone close to them would understand. Jeff had cancer, so it has been especially hard for me, as I am sure it has been hard for my family. Every time I look in the mirror I am reminded of what Jeff went through. Satan wants to remind me, I am sure, and try to discourage me. That is why I cannot count what happened to Jeff as defeat. Jeff has had the ultimate victory. I know that angels have encamped around my family, at home and in travel. And the Lord has protected my bones that not one has been broken!!! Now, I pray that the afflicted will hear my praise and rejoice that there is hope. The Lord hears us!
18 I
will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of
water,
and the parched ground into springs.
19 I
will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and
the olive.
I will set pines in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
20 so
that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the LORD has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created
it.
This passage from Isaiah talks about how the Lord can make the impossible POSSIBLE. And all so that people will see it and understand that it came from the hand of the Lord.
I will daily ask, and encourage you to ask, what it is that He would want you to hear from Him. You may just be encouraged by what He says.
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