Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Schooled by My Daughter

Psalm 27

A Psalm of David.
 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;
         Whom shall I fear?
         The LORD is the strength of my life;
         Of whom shall I be afraid?
 2 When the wicked came against me
         To eat up my flesh,
         My enemies and foes,
         They stumbled and fell.
 3 Though an army may encamp against me,
         My heart shall not fear;
         Though war may rise against me,
         In this I will be confident.       
 4 One thing I have desired of the LORD,
         That will I seek:
         That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
         All the days of my life,
         To behold the beauty of the LORD,
         And to inquire in His temple.
 5 For in the time of trouble
         He shall hide me in His pavilion;
         In the secret place of His tabernacle
         He shall hide me;
         He shall set me high upon a rock. 
 6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
         Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
         I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.
 7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
         Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
 8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
         My heart said to You, “Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
 9 Do not hide Your face from me;
         Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
         You have been my help;
         Do not leave me nor forsake me,
         O God of my salvation.
 10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
         Then the LORD will take care of me.
 11 Teach me Your way, O LORD,
         And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
 12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
         For false witnesses have risen against me,
         And such as breathe out violence.
 13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
         That I would see the goodness of the LORD
         In the land of the living.         
 14 Wait on the LORD;
         Be of good courage,
         And He shall strengthen your heart;
         Wait, I say, on the LORD!

My daughter loves to read and learn from the Bible.  This morning she read this Psalm to us, and if she only knew how appropriate it was for me today!  I love how God uses His innocent little ones to speak to us. 

I asked her, "Do you know what waiters do?" wanting to explain to her that "waiting on the Lord" is not passive but active.

"Take orders?" came her reply.

"Um...yes!" (Duh.  It takes a child, right?)...I had thought I was going to teach her, but she ended up schooling me without even knowing it (good morning, Holy Spirit!)  Taking orders is what waiters do. How very simple.  Yet how often do we want to give orders instead of take them?  What kind of waiter does this make?  What if said waiter takes an order and then gets sidetracked or just plain decides not to serve his customers?  Ridiculous, no? How much more then as Christ's servants are we to obey what God has revealed to us?  Isn't this what "waiting on the Lord" should look like in our lives?

Going to His table, listening and receiving His orders, and then walking them out in humble service to Him is the waiting David was speaking of.  When we do this, our hearts will be strengthened whether or not people or circumstances are against us, this Psalm assures us.  Even when we hurt or are being attacked, we don't have to experience fear and anxiety. We can have peace.   We can know that He will never leave us or forsake us.  As we truly "wait" on Him, He gives us protection and rest, strength and boldness.  As we seek to touch His face, we get to see and perceive His goodness.  We can know which way to go in our journeys as we draw close to and learn from Him.  We can trust in His timing and His justice.

Clark's Commentary on the Bible says this:
"I had fainted, unless I had believed" - The words in italics are supplied by our translators; but, far from being necessary, they injure the sense. Throw out the words I had fainted, and leave a break after the verse, and the elegant figure of the psalmist will be preserved: "Unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" - What! what, alas! should have become of me!

How very true.  Without faith in Him, what should have become of me!  Instead, today, my heart is happy dancing.  Today, I see His beauty and goodness because He is faithful and merciful.  Today, I can serve Him with joy in my heart and sing songs of praise because of who He is!  Today, I can see His beauty.  All from a Psalm and the faith of a child.




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