Psalm 68
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.
4 Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds —
his name is the LORD—
and rejoice before him.
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.
Selah
20 Our God is a God who saves;
from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death.
32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
Selah
33 to him who rides the ancient skies above,
who thunders with mighty voice.
34 Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the skies.
35 You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!
I love verse 19…”who daily bears our burdens”. Why do I try to keep carrying the things that weigh me down? Why do I keep worrying about the things I have no control over? My Father in Heaven is carrying those burdens for me. I no longer have to worry with or about them. Praise God! I need to tatoo this on my forehead backwards so I can be reminded of it every day!
I Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
I like that God is a Father to the fatherless and a defender of widows. That leads me to believe He is all that I need. A friend when I’m lonely, a comfort when I’m afraid. He defends more than just widows, He made sure it was recorded so I could see. He defends sinners. He is supreme.
Who better to carry my burdens than the all powerful, Lord of lords and King of kings.
I’ve not had to go one day in the last 36 years without a place to sleep, a place of shelter, clothes, and food. These are luxuries to some, and yet I’ve never had to go without these things. Why is it that I doubt? Why is it that I worry?
Thank you for the reminder to praise the One who is always there, who is all that we will ever need … our Savior and Friend.
HE NEVER FAILS. HE HAS AMAZED ME SO OFTEN LATELY. YOU THINK I WOULD GET IT THROUGH MY THICK SKULL. GOD IS GOING TO TAKE CARE OF ME! HE WILL NOT BREAK HIS PROMISE. EVER. I AM HIS CHILD AND HE IS THE GOOD AND PERFECT FATHER. (NOT TO MENTION MY SAVIOR AND FRIEND!)
I think a lot of our failure to remember/understand God’s ability to care for us is that we perceive everything through human eyes. All we have is our experiences which are so far from the perfectness of God. I think the only way we can relate to anything is through our flawed existence/experience.
I am reminded over and over what Paige says about feelings having no bearing on truth. God is who he is and my human experience and feelings keep me from truly grasping the enormity of that. I can tell myself OVER and OVER that stuff, but because of my humanity I wonder if it is possible for me to really “get it”.
That certainly does not make my responsibility to the truth any less serious. I am still to strive for perfection. I must still tell myself the things that are true and rely on God’s strength to get me through my weaknesses.
Can’t we just go be with him already?
YOU ARE RIGHT OF COURSE. WE CAN’T LOVE LIKE HE LOVES OR SEE LIKE HE SEES. WE ARE IMPERFECT AND WEAK. I PROJECT MY BRUISES AND WOUNDS ONTO EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS AND I PROJECT MY LOW EXPECTATIONS ONTO GOD. BUT HE HAS SHOWN ME TIME AND TIME AGAIN THAT HE IS THERE…HE WILL NOT LEAVE ME ABANDONED…HE WILL BE THERE TO CATCH ME. I’M GLAD HE IS PATIENT AND UNDERSTANDING OF MY WEAKNESSES, ESPECIALLY IN THIS AREA.
Oh for the day that I will just praise Him and not worry…you would think it would be so easy to do after all He has done in my life, but no, I still hang on and then finally figure out that He can and He does and He WILL! I catch on quick huh?
Hope you are having a great holiday! Happy Thanksgiving to you and many blessings to you and your family! Love ya girl!
WHEN WE CRY OUT TO HIM HE SAVES US. THE NATURAL THING TO DO IS GIVE THANKS TO HIM. BUT THEN I START FORGETTING WHERE I WAS, AND WHAT ALL HE DID FOR ME. HE IS SO LOVING AND PATIENT WITH ME. WHAT A GREAT FATHER WE HAVE!!!
THANKS FOR THE BLESSINGS…MAY GOD POUR BLESSINGS ON YOU AND YOURS!! BE SAFE.
Sherry,
I’m guessing that at least part of the answer to why I keep carrying my burdens and worrying excessively about my cares is hinted at in I Peter 5:6 which you listed…”Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” It’s that little phrase…”in due time”…that I find so troublesome. “In due time” for Abraham and Sarah was at least twenty-five years…after they were as good as dead in terms of child-bearing…when the promised child came. For Joseph “in due time” was thirteen tough years, first as a slave, then as a prisoner, before God lifted him up in Egypt, thus fulfilling his God-inspired dreams as a teenager. For the children of Israel, “in due time” meant something like four hundred years of bitter bondage until God lifted them up nationally.
Since God is God (and I am not), He gets to determine the length of “in due time,” doesn’t He? And since I can’t see all the factors He sees…nor all the purposes He has in mind…I become impatient. It often seems that the biggest challenge to my faith is to “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” The great salvation has already been revealed…already been worked out in Jesus’ sufferings and in His victory over sin, death and the devil. Since He loves me that much, what else is there that I really need that He will not provide…”in due time.” His faithfulness in the past is the guarantee of His faithfulness in the future. I think Paige said something like that in her comment above.
Thank you for the good reminder from David, a man who was surely lifted by God in due time. May we also cast our cares on Him, believing He cares for us…and then hold still for God’s good due time to unfold.
IT IS HARD TO WAIT FOR THE “DUE TIME” MOST OF THE TIME..YOU ARE RIGHT. SO I TAKE THINGS BACK FROM HIM AND WORRY OVER THEM JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE, WONDERING IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT I CAN DO ABOUT IT. USUALLY THE THINGS I DO ABOUT IT JUST THROW A CURVE IN THE PERFECT PLAN OF GOD…BUT HE IS ABLE TO WORK WITH MY WEAKNESSES AND STILL ACCOMPLISH HIS PLAN IN SUCH A GLORIOUS WAY. I AM SO THANKFUL FOR THAT! THANKS FOR STOPPING BY DOUG~
I recall that David had a few issues…..Bathsheba…….let me get rid of her husband Uriah……Ok….he could easily be killed if he is on the front line….A guy after God’s own heart…..Does that mean that our heart isn’t always reflected by our actions? And I really like that we can turn stuff like that over to God….but David did and God wants us to…..that’s what He is there for. And I liked your tattoo comment…..Excellent…..
GOD WANTS TO CARRY OUR BURDENS…HE WANTS US TO TURN TO HIM. WHEN DAVID WAS CONFRONTED ABOUT HIS SIN, ONE OF FIRST REACTIONS WAS TO SAY “I HAVE SINNED AGAINST GOD”. HE HAD SINNED AGAINST OTHERS AS WELL HAD HE NOT? BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST HE RECOGNIZED THAT IT WAS GOD HE NEEDED TO ACKNOWLEDGE. GOOD POINT ABOUT OUR HEART MAY NOT BE REFLECTED IN OUR ACTIONS~~I KNOW I HAVE DONE SOME THINGS OUTWARDLY THAT WERE NOT A TRUE REFLECTION OF ME. THEY WERE POOR REACTIONS TO CIRCUMSTANCES. THANK YOU FATHER FOR MERCY AND FORGIVENESS.
Hi Sherry! Love this blog…why is it so hard to just not worry?! A friend of mine and I were going to lunch one day and were waiting in the drive through. We looked down and watched four little birds bathing in little puddles of water in the street. My friend said that she always thinks of the verse about how God cares for the birds and how much more would he care for us. We just kind of sat there in that moment and thanked God for taking care of us. It was a really sweet moment of realization that God really does take care of us no matter how much we worry, while all the time thinking, why is she worrying so much? She doesn’t believe I will actually take care of her. I don’t think we realize how much that must hurt Him. Thanks for the birthday wishes sweet Sherry! Hugs and love to you!
I HATE TO THINK OF ALL THE WAYS I GRIEVE THE LORD! WONDER IF HE HEAVES GREAT SIGHS AS HE WATCHES ME LIVE MY LIFE? HE’S MUCH MORE LOVING THAN THAT THOUGH. I CAN IMAGINE HIM ANTICIPATING THE GOOD THAT I MANAGE TO DO AND SMILING WHEN THINGS COME TOGETHER AND I REALIZE HOW GOOD HE IS! THANKS FOR THE REMINDER FROM THE BIRDS…THE FATHER TAKES CARE OF ALL HIS CREATURES DOES HE NOT?