When we are hurt, or in trouble, we feel alone. When we face pressure or temptation, we struggle because for the most part we are trying to live for the Lord in our human strength and we function for the most part in disobedience leaning to our own understanding instead of seeking the mind of Christ which we have been given access to. All of these things God is well able to fix. One of the greatest hindrances is we tend to think of God as One who is far off, unmoved by what we are going through, or worse, unaware. How many times have we been going through some difficulty and wondered, Lord, where are You? How many times have we felt forsaken and wallowed in self pity? Where is our faith? Our faith was given to us when we were created. The Lord says He has dealt to every man THE measure of faith needed to believe Him. (Rom_12:3)
But we are to add to that faith. (2Pe_1:5) All these things we are to add come from the Lord. We can have nothing He doesn't give us. Pastor David Wilkerson said this about faith in his message "Without intimacy there can be no faith at all" in 2002:
"As we read Hebrews 11, we find a single common denominator to the lives of the people mentioned. Each had a particular characteristic that denotes the kind of faith God loves. What was this element? Their faith was born of deep intimacy with the Lord. The fact is, it's impossible to have a faith that pleases God without sharing intimacy with him. What do I mean by intimacy? I'm speaking of a closeness to the Lord that comes from yearning after him. This kind of intimacy is a close personal bond, a communion. It comes when we desire the Lord more than anything else in this life." http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/node/1169 (emphasis mine)
Oh, Lord help us get to that place where we want nothing more than to know You. Awareness and faith are vital. Are we really aware of how close the Lord is to us? How very well He knows us, yet He loves us in spite of ourselves? Do we really believe that? Can we lay hold of that truth? We must. Where does the Word of God reveal this to us?
In Psalms 139 David is sharing a revelation he has received of just how aware of himself the Lord actually is. Thank God for this truth, and I pray the Holy Spirit help us to understand, to comprehend and lay hold of in faith these truths. In the coming days this truth will be a vitally important necessity. We must have our own personal, close and intimate relationship with the Lord where we talk with Him and He talks with us. We must lay hold of by faith His promises to direct us and keep us on the course He'd have us to walk.
Psa 139:1 [To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.] O LORD, you have searched me, and known me.
Psa 139:2 You know my downsitting and my uprising, you understand my thought afar off.
He searches us, explores our inward selves, penetrating us, examining us intimately. Why would He do that? Why would He take the time or even want to know us? The only answer that makes sense is because He loves us. There is nothing we can hide from Him, but there are things in our hearts we ourselves may not be aware of. When we consider this verse, consider the time involved here in conducting this examination of our lives.
He is God, but this verse does not reveal a far off God who is too busy to take time to know anything about the lives and problems of His children. He knows everything. Not only has He examined us, He sees, He knows us inside out. He understands who we are and why we are the way we are better than we or anyone else does. He knows where we live, where we go, the path we take to get there. He knows when we're down and when we're up. He knows when we sleep, when we wake. Isn't that the most incredible thought? Do we ever stop to wonder what He's thinking as He watches us carefully all the time? He sees us always so busy, busy, yet He said in His Word that whomever came to Him He would not deny? (Joh_6:37) How many of us make spending quality time alone with the Lord a priority even though it is in truth a necessity?
Downsitting means where we live, where we spend our time, when we ease ourselves or endure, when we fail, where we are settled down or married and to what, or who, including our situation. This sounds like a lot of entanglements that can weigh us down. It's basically what we are occupied with most. Uprising means when we are rising up in strength or power, when we are standing up, accomplishing, coming, confirmed, enduring enemies, being established, fulfilled, strengthened and when we take a stand. This is when we are being tested, proven, or validated.
Psa_56:8 says He keeps a record of of our wanderings-that word means exile-the aimless wandering of a fugitive. Of course, this is David speaking again. He was a fugitive, hiding from Saul who meant to destroy him. He puts our tears in His bottle in heaven. He has a record of all them, and keeps them bottled up. I don't understand it. But that tells me if those tears are kept by the Lord, both bottled up and recorded, those tears we cry have an effect on His heart-such a strong effect He keeps them and has a record of them.
He understands, He discerns and carefully considers and thinks on what occupies our minds from a distance, and He knows what we will be thinking on for a great while to come. When Hagar ran away from Sarah's anger-which she herself had provoked, the Lord heard the cry of her affliction (Gen_16:11) and sent a heavenly messenger to show her where water was and give her instruction and encouragement in her despair. Pro_15:3 says the Lord sees everything, good and evil. He knows the thoughts of men, that they are empty and do not satisfy. Jesus knew their thoughts when He walked on earth among the people. He let them know He was aware of the evil of their hearts. When Israel cried out in the wilderness, He was there, leading them every step of the way, providing for them, protecting them, and never one time failing them, though He endured much grief of heart when He had to afflict them for their selfishness and idolatry. Even when He had to punish them, Scripture says in Isa_63:9 that in all their affliction He was afflicted. As parents we can sort of understand this. When our children misbehave and we have to punish them, we do not like doing this. When they are miserable, it affects us. When Israel was in a tight spot, facing an adversary or tribulation, or distress, when they got in trouble, He was right there with them, afflicted and in anguish as well. The angel of His presence, surely a forerunner of the Holy Spirit, saved them. In His love and His mercy and pity, He redeemed them, kept them for His own, took them from the hand of the enemy and made them His. He carried them, and watched carefully over them. Remember, this was over three million people. He never lost track of one.
Every day we rise and His love for us, His Word, His faithfulness, the truth and purity of His Word is on trial, both in our own minds, often disputed by our own human reasoning, and always by the lies of the devil and the unbelief and scoffing of the world around us, even those tied up in religion. We must understand this. We must be on guard against this. This is why over and over in the Word of God, He warns us to gird up the loins of our minds, hold up the shield of faith, guard what He's given us. It's under constant attack from without and within. That's a hard truth to accept. We expect the world and the enemy to attack the purity of God's Word and love but our own selves? But we do. He deals with us to pray for someone, we dispute within ourselves that we aren't capable, (as if the result depended on us). Do we understand we look at the command of God and try to excuse ourselves based on our inadequacy rather than HIS strength and ability? How great an insult to the Almighty God is that? He says we are not to let sin have dominion over us, but we face a temptation that is so appealing and instead of handing that struggle to the Lord, denying ourselves and calling on the One who lives in us, we make excuses to indulge ourselves and we let go of God's hand to indulge that sin . We can't indulge our sin and walk with Him. How can two walk together unless they agree? So we have to let go, ease away from Him, indulge ourselves and presume we will be able to repent and run back and that God's hand will still be stretched out to us. He'll understand, we tell ourselves. When I consider that, it sounds like we exploit His love and take advantage of His grace in a very negative way when we do this.
My heart trembles with unease as I think on these things for I'm guilty. We all are. I had not thought about it like this before, but in light of what He's showing to me now, my heart mourns and fears. We tell ourselves we're weak. He knows I'm weak. They didn't have the kind of temptation in the Bible days they do now with TV, computers, and so many other things. But we conveniently forget He said back then, knowing everything the future held that we could do all things through Christ who strengthens us. The Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ in us is our Strength, our Source of all live and all godliness, all holiness. We forget He said we have the Holy Spirit to help us and pray for us in our infirmities (weakness) because we don't know how to pray or what to pray for. Without the divine intervention and leadership of the Holy Spirit the only people we'd ever pray for would be ourselves and our family. All our prayers would be selfish.
Read entire notes HERE.
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