Psalm 16:8/I Shall Not Be Moved

                                             Joshua's eleventh birthday & friend of family


Dear readers,

King David writes this:

I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

We have talked about keeping our eyes upon the Lord, and here it is. Now let's look at I shall not be moved.

Just because we are in deep heart wrenching sorrow, does not mean we are not close to God. At first when I was in mourning, I thought I had no faith and God had left me. I couldn't have been farther from the truth. You see, we think our negative feelings have pushed God out, but they do not. Being gut-wrenched by death, doesn't mean we've left God out.

What it means is that we are made in the image of God and God too sorrows. How we sorrow and what we allow God to do in shaping us through our sorrow is what counts. Not the negative, ugly feelings we have when we suffer loss. We're in a pit of despair, and God reaches out to us and even uses us to further His Kingdom when we're there.

I sought opportunities to help others even in my sorrowing. It  helped them. It helped me to feel more normal. And I didn't want to stop being about the work Father God gave me to do, so small a thing that it might have been. One act of kindness. One thoughtful smile. That's all I could muster at best, but muster I did.

My prayer for us today:

Holy Father, thank you for seeing our simplest needs. In Jesus' holy name. Amen.

Until next time . . . See Christ. 

Psalm 16:7/In the Night Season

                                       A classmate in high school with Joshua


Dear readers,

King David writes this:

I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night season.

Did you know we can bless the Lord? I believe this bless is like giving reverence. The part of this that had me researching was the word reins.

In the English Standard Version the word reins means mind. So our mind also instructs us in the night season.

The night season here may well mean simply night time. Let's take the words night season, though, and  apply them to those of us who are in a night season because of loss. No matter where we are in our grieving season, night season, our mind needs to take in God's counsel. We do need to ask God to counsel us as we grieve.

What do I mean by this? That we should consult Lord God on a daily basis on how we feel, think, words that we want to speak. We are so fragile in our night season, but down the path of loss, we will see dawn approaching.

My night season went on too long, I thought, staying in the house where my son died by suicide. Now that I look back, it was my stubborn do-it-by-myself heart and my pride that didn't allow God to be my full strength.

It was my own lack of trust in God that He saw fit to keep me there for almost four years. He had to break me, until I gave in and said, "I am Yours, do as You will with my life."

Now, He was thinking, I can use this child of mine for My glory.

That was the toughest lesson I have or ever will have, I believe, to experience. I almost didn't pass the test. I wanted to give up, but God is bigger than giving up.

How are you today, dear readers? I'm going to boldly say, let's listen to God's counsel and be blessed beyond our wildest imaginations.

My prayer for us today:

Father, holy One, we are still sorrowing, but You have not left us. Open our ears to Your counsel. In Jesus' holy name, I pray. Amen.   

Until tomorrow . . . Seek.

Psalm 14:2/Down From Heaven

Our family's Christian rock band during the early 1990's. Joshua is playing the tambourine, and worked up to bass guitar. Our children are dressed in blue.


Dear readers,

King David says this:

The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

Oh, my, I absolutely love what David wrote here. Picture it, God our Lord, peers from heaven. His eyes sweep across the lowly earth. His Spirit searches and searches among us humans to see who of us understand and seek Him.

Even in my sorrow and longing for my son, I want to always seek God. Sometimes my groaning and muddled mind is in such grief, I feel I am leaving my relationship with God behind. But, am I? If my doubled over with sorrow doesn't leave God out, how can it be that I am neglecting my Lord? And how, you may ask, do I do that?

When the tears flow and I am sad, not only do I think of Joshua, but I ponder upon the deep things of God. He watched His Son die. He knew intense sorrow. Mary watched her Son die, she suffered as I.

I stumble through my hours of sadness between praising God and my heart wrenching in my chest.

Then, a new day brings new hope. I am cleansed and fully ready for whatever comes next. A new beginning to put aside my sorrowing and to live the life God  has given to me. One moment at a time.

I challenge us to memorize this verse. This is what God is doing, dear readers, as He watches us from on High, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

Here is my prayer for us today:

Help us Lord to understand and seek You each day of our lives. Thank You for loving us, so that You allowed a baby born and a Son to die for our sins. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.