Count my blessings…

Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you. For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant. (Psalm 143:1–12)

The psalmist is in trouble and calling for help. It seems a regular occurring situation, particularly after a meaningful act of serving the Lord. However, He gave me the solution before this reminder of the problem.

Each morning I warm up by walking and singing worship songs using lyrics printed on pages in a binder. This morning the last one in my list was “Count Your Blessings.” As I personalized it to ‘count my blessings’ the Spirit filled my mind with recent bright spots and any thoughts of “poor me” vanished.

This does not mean the challenges of the day went with them. I still have too much to do and wonder if the hours available will be long enough. My studio looks like a bomb hit it. Upstairs, the dust is thick. The blessings of Mother’s Day have not faded, yet neither has the fatigue that showed up after the fun and after three days at a very full quilt retreat. 

I’m blessed that I could sleep all day if my conscience would let me. Yet I’m blessed with this promise: 

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:29–31)

I may cry out to God like the psalmist, but God has already said what I need to hear.  

Jesus, my memorizing skills are not great, but Your are able to remind me of verses that have been read and relied on — and even though they are known, each come as a lovely surprise. You do the same with songs, putting them in my mind and giving me joy and a sense of renewal with their melody. Truly You lead me on level ground and often to higher ground, preserving my life and granting me all that is needed when that level ground becomes a seemingly insurmountable steep place. Thank You. 

Reminders from a prophet

 

READ Hosea 6–9

Prophets speak for God to the people, telling us the mind of God on matters that concern Him and our relationship with Him. These are discerning people who are not perfect, but they have been given the ability to listen and to speak. One of them said:

The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. (Isaiah 50:4–5)

Reading the prophets can be stressful. They condemned sin far more than other biblical writers and were relentless about it. At the same time, this emphasis shows that sin is never to be taken lightly. I know that in Christ I am no longer facing judgment for my sin, yet that does not give me license to do it. Hosea outlines many sins that are to be guarded against, yet he begins with an invitation and a promise:

“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:1–3)

Some of the sin is stated or hinted at in today’s reading. Most of them are written as God said them to the prophet . . .

“For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.” (6:6–7) Jesus’ sacrifice covered my sin, but that does not mean I can choose it because I’ve the freedom to choose. He also gave me the freedom to not sin!

“Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me. They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me. Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me.” (7:13–15) Making up my own version of God, wanting ‘the good life’ no matter what, sinning even though God gives me the power not to sin — watch that I don’t fall into the same rebellious ways.

“They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but I knew it not. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction.” (8:4) Guard what rules my heart, what I choose that counters what God clearly wants for me. Idols are not necessarily metal and wood, but can appear innocent and harmless. What do I rely on if it is not the Lord?

“Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing.” (8:12) Keep reading the Word of God. May spiritual truth never become ‘weird’ to me because I’ve decided to do what everyone else does. Draw me always to Your principles, Oh Lord!

“For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; so I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour her strongholds.” (8:14) It is easy to get so involved in life that I forget to listen to the Lord. God could easily destroy those things that clamor for my attention, things that draw me away from devotion to Him. Pay attention!

“They shall not remain in the land of the Lord, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.” (9:3) There is symbolism here; Egypt is living in the world and eating unclean food is about doing what God forbids. Worldliness is rampant. It is defined in the NT as loving physical perks, what looks good, what makes me proud. It is a life revolving around my ‘I wants’ rather than around Christ. I don’t want this to ever be true, but it is easy to fall into.

Ephraim is stricken; their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Even though they give birth, I will put their beloved children to death. My God will reject them because they have not listened to him; they shall be wanderers among the nations. (9:16–17)

Here the only thing worse than a fruitless, meaningless life in a homeless state is a loss of what a person does have, in this case children. I’m aware that “the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away” and His actions are always wise and for my good. Being ill this week with Covid has highlighted how important to not only obey God but count my blessings. Complaining tells God I don’t agree with what He is doing. Thankfulness is an expression of trust and humble dependence. Lord, thank You for these strong reminders from the prophet!