Thursday, June 27, 2013

Talk Tuesday-A Lesson From Psalm 95: Thank Him In The Day of Your Trial

Last night I learned a very valuable lesson from Psalm 95. This was a Word GOD had given in the midst of a very dark and long trial. It begins with praise:

“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hands are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.” Psalm 95:1-7

For those of you who don't know, I am a worship leader and a soloist at church. My heart's passion is to sing God's praises and to encourage others to join in unbridled praise to the LORD. I am happiest when I am worshiping with my brothers and sisters in Christ, with my family or by myself with my guitar in a room. I love meditating on His Word. I love to remember His great deeds, the many times He parted the 'Red Sea' in my own life, and to give Him the praise of thanksgiving.

Yet I will be the first to confess that it is much easier to praise and thank God when life is going well. It is hard to 'sing joyfully' when everything seems bleak and hopeless. When your situation seems to be getting worse instead of getting better, and when you cannot see the proverbial 'light at the end of the tunnel', the temptation to shut down spiritually is very great. The temptation to find alternate means of coping becomes even greater. I recently began to experience discouragement that was so great, I started slipping towards spiritual apathy- watching t.v. and reading fiction books so that I could block reality out. I started spending less time with God, and more time in pursuit of earthly pleasures. This lasted about two weeks. A few days ago, a very close friend of mine came to visit. Unbeknownst to her, God used her to snap me back into the reality of who He is. Then last night, as I sat down to meditate on Psalm 95, I realized that it is precisely at this time we MUST remember that GOD alone is our Refuge! Like the Israelites, who passed down through oral tradition, the many miraculous works that the LORD had done on their behalf, we MUST remind ourselves of who God is by thanking Him for the many answered prayers in our own lives. A posture of praise will keep us grounded in Christ.

“Today if you will hear His voice: 'Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw my work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know my ways. So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest.'” Psalm 95:8-11

LORD, we pray for the grace, strength, courage and fortitude to remember who You are in the midst of the storm. Holy Spirit, bring to the forefront of our minds, the memories of the many things God has done on our behalf in the past. Help us to recall His wondrous works. Lord Jesus, You sit at the right hand of God the Father making constant intercession for us. Help us to be a people of praise and great faith, so that we would not harden our hearts in the days of our own trials, but declare through faith in You, that we are more than conquerors! We ask these things, in the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

1 comment:

Anna Maria Pouchet said...

Psalm 33
Sing to The Lord a new song and play a ten stringed harp.
For the word of The Lord is right and true.
He is faithful in all He does.

The Lord looks down from heaven and sees all mankind
From where He sits he watches all who dwell on earth- He who fashions every heart watches all their deeds.

But the Lords eyes are upon all those who fear Him and trust in His loving kindness to deliver them....

IN HOPE WE WAIT FOR THE LORD FOR HE IS OUR HELP AND OUR SHIELD.
OUR HEARTS REJOICE IN HIM, FOR WE TRUST IN HIS HOLY NAME.
O LORD, LET YOUR LOVE REST UPON US, EVEN AS OUR HOPE REST IN YOU.