This is how I felt on Sunday at church looking at the verse on the front of my bulletin. I thought it very appropriate for this time of my life, so I looked it up. And, I stumbled onto a Psalm that is so timely for me and many other people on my prayer list.
"I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore
my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;my body also will rest secure,because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
Psalms 116:7-11
Here is the "unfolding" of these verses-
1) It's a choice to praise the Lord
2) He counsels me, seeking Him is not in vain
3) 1 and 2 leads to our heart instinctively knowing what to do in the dark times
Here come the big nuggets...
4) Our physical bodies respond to placing our trust and hope in the Lord
- my heart is glad (stress reliever)
- my tongue rejoice (positive attitude)
- my body rests (oh my! I get sleep!)
5) When I seek Him, he makes known to me the path of life!
It all begins with the choice to seek the Lord. To really seek him. Not in a self-serving, with strings-attached, "here is my wish list" kind of way. But, to praise Him for who he is.
I have had several conversations and read many blog posts lately about women who are carrying some very heavy burdens right now. Their situations make mine seem trivial. In a reality, each of us deals with our own realities, our own junk. Most ladies (including myself) have mentioned the incredible stress they're under, their very short patience (I am the worst with this right now!), inability to rest well, and at the end of the day just feel like a total failure.
Satan is at work. Let's call it what it is. Fortunately, we do not have to be shaken. The Lord fights for us! Excuse me while I stop and give a huge shout out to Him for not leaving me alone down here!
Anyhow, I'm going to give another plug for Forgotten God, by Francis Chan. Buy it today. Don't check it out or borrow it because you're going to want to read it many a times, with many a notes in the margin. It has changed my life in how I deal with my day-to-day, mainly by understanding the role of the Holy Spirit...who is called our Counselor. Well, I need counseling. And, He has the path of life ready to reveal to me!
All this to say that I've thought about these verses many times since Sunday morning. Hopefully they will be like a balm on your heart. And, please, pass them along to other women in need of hearing a fresh word from the Counselor! And, together, let's make the choice to praise the Lord in our current situation!
On a semi separate note...Eli learned his first Bible verse today. "Great is our Lord. His power is mighty." Psalm 147:5 Bless his heart. It is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. And, he specifically prefers to have my Bible open when he recites (or "reads" as he sees it) it. He loves to read the Bible! In fact, today he would've taken mine to nap time with him! Thankfully, we have several children's Bible story books. He is soaking it up! It has been a real picture about the analogies of seeking Jesus like a child. And, it's a very humbling time as a Mom. I feel like I'm treading on Holy Ground...introducing a child to the Word of God. Woah. Showing them what it's like to read the Word, breathe the Word, live the Word, and share the Word.
I could go on and on about parenting and the Lord, but it's not getting any earlier and I need to shower before bed. Please continue to be in prayer for our family. Chris has applied for several local jobs. We're at a point that we'd take anything! As mentioned, the Lord is our counselor and he makes known the path of life!
