GOD WANTS US TO FIND OUR REST IN HIM

READ PSALM 94

FOOLS FORGET THAT GOD IS WATCHING!

Psalm 94:8-11

Understand, O dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise?

He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who teaches man knowledge—

the LORD—knows the thoughts of man,

that they are but a breath.

           

Certainly the psalmist is exposing the foolishness of the wicked, who think they are getting away with their sin.

What a description of the world we live in! Man apart from God is arrogant and wicked. He boasts in his evildoing, while he thinks he is in total control of his life and destiny. Meanwhile, God is totally aware of every evildoing.

Sometimes we feel that we are victims of people who are getting away with their sins, but Paul reminds us that it is not true.

Romans 2:1-11

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.

           

Many times, as I have counseled people who have been hurt by others, these were the words I would point them to. Our desire for vengeance will not produce godliness. Although man seems to be able to live unpunished, God is aware and will make all things right. God’s wrath will be severe, just, timely, appropriate, and sure.

But for now, God is giving man time for repentance. As we reflect on this truth, does it not warm your heart that God did not repay us for our sin? Don’t we rejoice in the grace God has shown us? Immediate wrath would not have left us this merciful opportunity!

As the psalmist asks the question:

Psalm 94:20

Can wicked rulers be allied with you,

those who frame injustice by statute?

He knows that God is on his side and not on the side of the wicked, and that He uses even the wicked in our lives to mold us and change us.

There are no victims! Those who have received evil are being pushed into the arms of God. Those whom God is not immediately punishing are being given time to repent. And those who will be judged for their sin by the wrath of God will receive the righteous deserved punishment.

As we live our lives in a corrupt world, God wants us to find our rest in Him. The psalmist reminds us that God does not forsake His own. His justice will not abandon His children. Without God’s care, we would surely fall.

What beautiful words we find here:

Psalm 94:19

When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

If we are not finding consolation, it’s probably because we are looking for the wrong things, in the wrong places.

We know what the end result is: God will win! In the meanwhile, rejoice in the grace you have received and leave it in the hands of God to judge the evildoers. Rejoice in the fact that you know where to find peace and rest!

Psalm 94:22

But the LORD has become my stronghold,

and my God the rock of my refuge.

God is holding you in the palm of His hand. Let His word warm your soul, let His truth lighten your troubled time; let His perfect timing give peace, in your difficulties.

WHAT DID YOU SAY?

READ PSALM 93

THE WORDS ON MY LIPS REFLECT WHAT I THINK ABOUT GOD!

Psalm 93

The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;

the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.

Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

Your throne is established from of old;

you are from everlasting.

The floods have lifted up, O LORD,

the floods have lifted up their voice;

the floods lift up their roaring.

Mightier than the thunders of many waters,

mightier than the waves of the sea,

the LORD on high is mighty!

Your decrees are very trustworthy;

holiness befits your house,

O LORD, forevermore.

This is a psalm that can be read quickly, without really producing in us the amazement, gratitude, praise, and worship it should.

Jehovah reigns in regal majesty with total power and with no rivals!

When I am dealing with difficult situations, I find that if I reflect on who God is and the utter privilege of having a relationship with Him, I am given much confidence and serenity.

The fact that God reigns is a reality!

Colossians 1:15-20

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Every thing was created through Christ; we are not even capable of comprehending all that He created. God created all for His good pleasure, and today He sustains all, and thus has preeminence over all.

What a man believes about God does not change or diminish the fact that God is in total majestic control. Man’s unbelief offends God. Our unbelief is certainly treason towards God. When we look at people as if they are in control of our lives and destinies, we are diminishing the glory of God. When we question the wisdom in our circumstances, we are again diminishing the glory of God.

The cost of God’s reconciling us to Himself was the death on the cross of our Savior Jesus Christ. Do we realize the measure of offense that our sins and reactions to God has produced?

The psalmist reminds us that the world is established. It is firm and it’s been this way from the beginning, because God’s throne has been established from eternity past. Our security comes in the fact that God will never be dethroned.

God is powerful! There is no event that escapes His view, or that He is not powerful enough to control. There is not a person doing anything on earth that God could not stop. Jesus’ earthly miracles proved His power over nature, over people, over death. The amazing thing is that God is not reacting to events by controlling them after they occur, but He is the one Who has ordained them.

These truths need to affect our lives! They need to difference in us!

In the psalmist, they produced trust and a desire for holiness.

Stop and think of what a trusting person will not do. A trusting person will not fear for the future, will not be angry, will not complain, will not rebel, and will not live dejected like a victim.

Those who know Christ will recognize His holiness and be driven to living holy lives. Discontent feeds our sinful lust, and sinful uncontrolled desire will always produce further sin. Sin will always produce consequences in our lives.

Reread the psalm and pray through it!

Probably the first thing it will produce is repentance for our lack of trust in God. Just the fact that we can confess our sins and know that we will be forgiven should humble us. As we meditate, an amazing confidence should strengthen us, just by realizing Who controls our life. Finally, a desire for purity should drive us!

Our frowns should be transformed into smiles. Our fears should disappear. Our bitterness should turn into sweet dependence on God. Our anger should be changed into love. Our desire to have our perceived rights should yield to joyful submission.

Our song should be like that of this familiar doxology:

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

IS MY LIFE POINTING PEOPLE TO GOD?

ALL WILL SEE THAT YOU KNOW GOD!

READ PSALM 92

Psalm 92:1-4

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

and your faithfulness by night,

to the music of the lute and the harp,

to the melody of the lyre.

For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;

at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

The psalmist is certainly taken by his relationship with the Lord. Knowing God produces in him thankfulness, praise, declarations of who God is, and singing.

The Psalmist recognized the Holiness of God, the fact that God is the Most High, the reality of His everlasting love, the faithfulness of his God, and the fact that God is the One at work in his life.

The thoughts of a believer should be directed towards God. The attitudes of the child of God is driven by his relationship with God. The question we might ask is if God is showing steadfast love and faithfulness to all His children. Are there children of God to whom God has chosen not to be loving?

How can all God’s children be genuinely glad for God’s work in their lives?

We are so finite, thinking that we know what is good or bad for us. We are so earthly- minded that our evaluations are driven by earthly concerns. If the Word of God does not inform our minds, we will not be able to make biblical evaluations.

Romans 8:28-29

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

           

Is being conformed to the image of Christ what drives our goals and desires? We know that it drives God’s purpose for every event in our lives!

James 1:2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

           

Becoming mature in Christ is God’s kind work in our lives. Is this work of grace what we want? God’s trials in our lives are never more harsh or longer than what is perfect for us!

Hebrews 12:3-7

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

            “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

                        nor be weary when reproved by him.

            For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

                        and chastises every son whom he receives.”

            It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

Does the fact that God disciplines us because he has adopted us as sons stir gratitude in us? His discipline is never motivated by anger, but it is truly motivated by deep love and concern.

God knows what kind of trials we need to cause us to mature. As God controls every event and every person affecting our lives, He has one goal in mind: to make us more like His beloved Son, Whom He has loved from eternity past and will love forever and ever. God knows the severity and length needed for the discipline we need  to cause us to genuinely repent and return to Him.

All this providential and careful work should produce in us thankfulness, praise, and loud declarations of joyful submission. Our times of dissatisfaction, ungratefulness, complaints, anger, and unhappiness are times of questioning the motives, the intentions, and the actions of God.

According to the psalmist,

Psalm 92:6

The stupid man cannot know;

the fool cannot understand this:

Actually, no one would ever know unless God had revealed Himself to man. It is the Word of God that informs us and transforms us. Our meditation and trust in the Word of God drives our reactions.

Dear friend, are you inviting godly people into your life? People who will speak truth to you clearly?

Psalm 92:5

How great are your works, O LORD!

Your thoughts are very deep!

Our believing that all God’s works are great depends on what we think of God’s character, wisdom, power, and love. We are not capable of understanding or knowing God’s thoughts apart from a genuine conversion and a careful study of the     Word of God.

The end is clear in the life of the believer: sanctification, but for those who remain in their state of rebellion: destruction.

We need God to help us evaluate who is truly blessed by God. Way too often, we use worldly standards to evaluate our circumstances and who is truly blessed by God.

Psalm 92:13-14

They are planted in the house of the LORD;

they flourish in the courts of our God.

They still bear fruit in old age;

they are ever full of sap and green,

The life of the believer grows in sanctification; it finds satisfaction in abiding in Christ. The value of their work will be measured at the end.

Those who know God will declare His character, like the psalmist:

Psalm 92:15

to declare that the LORD is upright;

he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

God does not make mistakes, His motives are always pure, and he has our best interests in mind! Jehovah is our Rock!

DO YOU LOVE AND TRUST GOD?

READ PSALM 91  

A BELIEVER’S UNDESERVED PRIVILEGE!  

Psalm 91:14-16

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he knows my name.

When he calls to me, I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

God’s conditions are clear: one must trustingly love Him and know His name. The relationship is for those who know that the God of the Bible is the only true God, and that all other gods are false, created by the imagination of men! When one knows God, he will then love and trust Him.

How encouraging to see that His promise is not for those who deserve it or have earned it. It is for those who depend on God even for the strength and desire to love Him, those who hold fast to Him. In other words, it is for those who recognize how desperately they need God.

Dear friends, our trials cause us to cling to God. They cause us to be aware of our frailty, and thrust us into the arms of God. They are not a curse, but a blessing!

I am so quick to desire reprieve and comfort, but I should desire all that keeps me aware of my brokenness, my need for His shelter and help.

When I call upon my God, He answers me; when I am in trouble, He is close. It is then that God will rescue me. I will find satisfaction in God when all else is peeled away. During the trials, I will be more aware of God’s care and salvation.

Jesus was looking for Israel to love God with all their hearts, souls, minds and strength.

Mark 12:29-30

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

God wants us to do the same! What will it take? How will God get my attention? Is that what I truly desire?
Am I willing to walk in the desert to become thirstier for the Living Waters?
Am I willing to go through trials to become more aware of the only Shelter?
Am I willing to go through financial difficulties to become more dependent upon His provision?
Am I willing to go through difficult relationships to hold fast to my Heavenly Father for fellowship?
Am I willing to go through physical difficulties to trust the Great Physician?

We have the privilege to know God and to love Him; why would we ever trust anyone else!? Our prayer life exposes where we are looking for strength and comfort. Our dependence upon the Scriptures displays our desire to know our God.

We will be different today, if we remember the privilege we have as believers! May our lives be lived in light of what is eternal; may we be continually amazed and blessed by our undeserved relationship with the God of the universe!