Psalm 46 - Opinions

What’s your opinion of yourself? Seriously.

Like when our mom or dad used to say when we got a little out of line, “Who do you think you are?”, maybe we should take a moment to think that through. We all think something of ourselves. Maybe we view ourselves too lowly. Maybe it’s pretty squared with who we really are (probably not). Or maybe we think too much of ourselves, especially in comparison to other people.

The reality is, how we think about our selves impacts how we respond to and feel about others. It may determine whom we listen to, what opinions we’ll adopt, what our priorities are, how secure or defensive we are, and how much we may need their validation. While who we think we are may determine how we respond to others, who others think we are will determine how they respond to us. And we’re not always starting from the same point.

So let's make the jump, what does our lives (how we respond) tell us about our opinion of God? Seriously. How do we feel and what do we believe about Him?

“God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

Though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging. (Selah)”

-Psalm 46:1-3

"Therefore" is a really big word.

God is our refuge and strength… Therefore… we will not fear. Therefore we can trust that His ways are higher than our ways. Therefore we can lean on His ways and His understanding. Since, what we think about and how we feel about God directly impacts how we respond to God, is God our refuge and strength? Do we really see Him as that?

Honestly, many times we tolerate God. While we may fool ourselves into thinking He’s okay with that, or even fool ourselves into thinking we’re not doing that, “that” is not good. We “allow” Him to exist on the margins of our lives, and as long as He doesn’t get too involved, we’re okay. But then something goes wrong, a trial of life hits, or things spin out of our control. Then what do we do?

While God will not simply be “tolerated” (that's another study), He is still full of amazing Grace. Baffles me really. Why does He put up with us? I’m not going to answer that. Instead, today, I’m going to rest in Him. He is my refuge and my strength. Selah.

Father, it’s simply unreal how we treat you at times. Forgive us for our lack of perspective, faith, perseverance, discipline, effort, and love. Because of Christ, I don’t get what I really deserve. Thank you for your grace. Amen.

Esther 6 – Deceit to Conceit

This chapter reads like a familiar novel. The irony is so thick it’s humorous. The bad guy gets what he deserves. And the good guy wins.

"Go at once," the king commanded Haman. "Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended."

So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, "This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!" – Esther 6:10-11

Lesson learned. Or was it? I feel like I’m warned. Yet if we don’t take note, truly take note, any one of us could find ourselves in a similar position as Haman. Each of us has enough blinding pride to set ourselves up for some major disappointment.

Matthew Henry wrote: “See how men's pride deceives them. The deceitfulness of our own hearts appears in nothing more than in the conceit we have of ourselves and our own performances: against which we should constantly watch and pray. Haman thought the king loved and valued no one but himself, but he was deceived. We should suspect that the esteem which others profess for us, is not so great as it seems to be, that we may not think too well of ourselves, nor trust too much in others. How Haman is struck, when the king bids him do honour to Mordecai the Jew, the very man whom he hated above all men, whose ruin he was now designing!”

Father, don’t let us think more highly of ourselves than we should. Protect us from ourselves. It’s always a scary prayer to ask for you to keep our pride in check, but that’s what we need. Not only do we take credit for things others have done, we mostly take credit for things you have done. Forgive us. Amen.

Nehemiah 3 – Team

The story of Nehemiah is a story of team. It’s a story of individuals who believed in a common task. They believed it was worthy of the sacrifices. They believed it was worthy of their time and money. It was literally worthy of their blood, sweat, and tears.

It was a worthy task because it was God’s task.

In chapter three we see that most of their work was that of “repair”. The word is used 35 times in this chapter alone. However, this was not the kind of repair we might normally think of. The word for “repairs” is the Hebrew word chazaq. It has the idea of strengthening, encouraging, of making something strong. These are principles that have application to far more than material gates and walls.

These are the benefits of team. When the sum is greater than the whole. Strengthening, encouraging, and accomplishing something together we never could have done as individuals.

“The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place. Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section. Next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the son of Meshezabel, made repairs, and next to him Zadok son of Baana also made repairs. The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.” – Nehemiah 3:3-5

But not everyone pitched in. It’s interesting to me that it was the “nobles” who failed to be a part of the team. Shows you what pride and position can do to us. Maybe they thought they had a better plan, maybe they didn’t like how Nehemiah was doing it. Whatever their reason, I bet they regretted it later. They stand in infamy as the only people mentioned in this chapter who did not join in the work.

I wonder how their leadership suffered as a result. Also makes me wonder what part of the big picture I’m not “putting my shoulder to” that I should be.

Psalm 12 - Success

I had a great conversation with two contemporaries (and friends) today; one is a church planter here in Austin, the other the founder of a non-profit focusing on the fight to help end local poverty. Our conversation somehow made it to a discussion about how as believers we should measure success, and how when measured properly, is often accompanied with a peace that might not typically make sense.

While obviously, we should measure success by the standards in which we think God measures success, our nature is to measure it by the things that typically bring us honor in the minds of our contemporaries. Wanting to be honored among men is an amazingly powerful temptation and thus shape a majority of our lives. Made me think how important it is that we choose wisely those we allow to influence our pursuits. It also made this final thought from Psalm 12 come alive for me today:

“The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.” – Psalm 12:8