The Living Will

“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart.”  Psalm 9:1

Sometimes after a loved one has been laid to rest, the rest of the bunch get restless.  How will the assets be divided?  How will the heirlooms be dispersed?   Battles are waged, families split, and courts get crammed with cases of people fighting for their fair (or unfair) share of what’s left—despite what might be right.  But no matter individual wants or wishes, the will determines what each will get.   

A written will expresses the desires of the deceased, but David begins this psalm by writing a living will.  “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.  I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High”(vs 1-2).  David doesn’t wait until he’s gone to start giving. 

More than a plan for the future, David’s will states what’s going to happen now.  Right now.  He will praise.  He will tell.  He will rejoice.  He will sing.  He will give adoration and witness.  He will share his heart and lift his voice.  In spite of the difficult circumstances around him—“O Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!” (vs.13)— David chooses to bless the Lord and bless others with his generous spirit. 

As children of the King, we have access to infinite assets, and the legacy we leave behind is based on how we live before we’re gone.  Be intentional with your inheritance. Make out your will and state it clearly. Adore the Lord with all your heart.  Tell others the wonders of His love.  Be glad and rejoice in God.  And open your mouth and sing His praise.

The best wills aren’t about what we get but about what we give.  

Don’t wait until tomorrow; begin living your will today.  

Looking Up

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him?”  Psalm 8:3

Ever looked up?  And just kept on looking?  During the day, billowing clouds silhouette against a monochrome canvas which transforms before dusk into a diverse palette of brightness and beauty.  As the darkness of night envelopes the sky, layers of stars twinkle far into the deep.  Planets glow, and the moon glistens.

But what lies way beyond the blue?  What’s behind this vastness we call space?  The answer is more who than what—God and His glory.  “You have set your glory above the heavens,” the psalmist declares(vs 1), and yet this infinite God, whose majesty explodes from all corners of the universe, pleasures in the praise of even His smallest creatures.  “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise”(vs 2).  

Why?  Why with a cosmos so majestic and bold does God even bother with us?  “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”(vs 4)  Does God need us?  Is He deficient without us?  Not at all.  Our self-fulfilling, all-comprehensive God requires none to be complete.  It was not lack but love that drove Him to play in Eden’s dirt.  His desire for us and His delight in us compelled His creation of man.   

We may be small but we are special.  Swirling galaxies can never make God smile as much as our simple gratitude.  Exploding nebula can never lift Him higher than our joyous worship.  And the enormous cavern of expanding space can never hold more of God than our humble hearts. 

The next time you look up and wonder why God looks down, remember that you are the reason.

Trouble Tunes

“O righteous God bring an end to the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.”  Psalm 7:9

Most people who inspire songs are loved, admired, or at least respected, but not this guy.  He was angry, mean, and against David.  His name was Cush, and he was a Benjamite.  This kinship to King Saul made him consider the up-and-coming David a royal pain, and he set out in a rage to eliminate the competition—literally.

In terrible trouble, David composed a song “which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.”  The lyrics were neither sweet nor soothing but were desperate appeals of faith to the One who controlled David’s fate.  “O Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me”(vs 1-2).  As a shepherd, David had picked up mangled lambs after many lion attacks, but now he felt the horror of being hunted.

Cush wasn’t settling the score, for David was innocent of evil against him.  “If I’m guilty,” he cried to God, “then let my enemy overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust”(vs 4-5).  Since David knew he was not to blame, he begged for vindication.  “O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring an end to the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure”(vs 9). 

Haven’t we all sung that song before?  Aren’t we still singing it?  The innocent are often harmed.  The guilty evade justice.  Evil seems to triumph over good, and the ones who are right end up being wronged.  Yet, because of God’s ultimate authority and His incorruptible character, we can trust Him with the outcome and join with David on the final chorus. “I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High”(vs 17).

When something or someone bothers you or bullies you, sing to the Lord.  Seek His help, state your case, and stand strong in His sovereignty. 

The enemy may attack and roar, but he can never rip your soul to pieces.

Your tune in troubled times can always be, “It is well.”

Say It By Sighing

“Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing.”  Psalm 5:1

Sometimes I still sigh.

As a child, when I sighed in reaction to parental correction or instruction, my mom always responded with, “Stop it, Starla! Now!” (And I promptly obeyed lest the admonition turn to action!)  But I must admit that as an adult, my sighing has not ceased but increased, for sometimes a sigh says what I cannot.  The forceful breath erupting from deep within my soul expresses longing, frustration, sorrow, or regret.  I have sighed when overwhelmed by the enormity of life, the perplexity of pain, or when my heart ached so hard that neither tears nor talk would come.

God understands.  He’s heard many sighs before.  Job sighed in his grief and suffering.  “Sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water” (Job 3:24).  David sighed in his distress and danger.  “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing.  Listen to my cry for help”(Ps 5:1-2).  Since many enemies wanted to bring David down, his cries and his sighs often went up.   Up to the one the One who listens.  Up to the One who cares.  Up to the One who gives full attention to our exclamations and exhalations. 

God understands because He sighed too.  “Jesus put his fingers into the deaf man’s ears.  Then he spit and touched the man’s mute tongue.  He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Be opened!’” (Mk 7:33-34) Jesus healed, but as His heart felt this man’s hurt, He also sighed.  “Then the Pharisees came and began to question Jesus.  To test him, they asked for a sign from heaven.  He sighed deeply and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign?’” (Mk 8:11-12) How many times did He have to tell them?  How many ways did He have to show them?  Filled with sadness and exasperation when stubborn leaders wouldn’t hear His teaching or believe His miracles, Jesus sighed. Deeply.

When words fail and you find yourself sighing, know that it is enough.  Our King and our God who leads us, blesses us, and surrounds us can translate our respirations into requests(Psalm 5:2,8,12).  As we heave our sighs, He will help.

When you can’t say it, sigh it. 

God understands.

Out and Up

“But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.”  Psalm 3:3

The situation was scary and sad.  As a rebel army approached the capital city, David chose to flee instead of fight the enemy—his own son.  The fickle hearts of a nation had turned their allegiance to the suave and sly Absalom, so David ran.  With bare feet and a covered head, he wept as he climbed the Mount of Olives and headed to the desert.  An angry man from Saul’s family darted beside him hurling curses, dirt, and stones.  In his distress, David began to sing—a song of plea, peace, and promise.  “O Lord, how many are my foes!  How many rise up against me!  Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him’”(vs 1-2).

David began with the facts—the raw reality of his situation.  He had been betrayed by his subjects and his son, and though a few still stood by his side, most had turned from him and turned on him.  The general consensus was that this time even God wouldn’t help him out. 

But David knew better.  He knew his God better and he knew himself better.  “But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head”(vs 3).   The facts couldn’t drown David’s faith.  He wasn’t about to go under but was being lifted up by the One who protected him, who listened to him, who answered him.  “To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill”(vs 4).

In the middle of the treachery and terror, David could sleep.  He could rest in assurance that all would be well and that he would wake up.  “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.  I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side”(vs 5-6).

 “Arise, O Lord!” David cried.  “Deliver me, O my God!” he pleaded(vs 7).  And God did.  Absalom was defeated, and David’s kingdom was restored.  “From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people”(vs 8).  

No matter how deep or dark your current situation, know that no plans of man can overthrow God’s purpose or override God’s peace. Don’t let the facts drown your faith, and don’t let them scare you and steal your sleep. 

You’re not going under.  You’re being lifted up.
Rest in Him.

The Blessed Beginning

“Blessed is the man….”  Psalm 1:1

The psalmbook begins with a blessing (the positive) for what we don’t do (the negative).  “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers”(Ps. 1:1).  Since the progression is really a regression, let’s start with the best of the worst.

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.”  Note that the psalm-writer does not say, “Blessed is the man who does not walk with the wicked,” for each day we journey through life with both those who know Jesus and those who need to know Him.  Our circle of influence and affection should include the godly and the ungodly, for where else will they see the footprints of Jesus if not in our steps?  Love them freely and graciously for God loved us when we were far away (Ephesians 2:13).  No, the blessing does not come from lack of association but from lack of agreement.  Though bits of sound advice and surely some wisdom can be found among friends who lack faith, their counsel is never centered on God’s plan and purpose.  What they say may be common sense or even seem to make the most sense, but when we’re making a choice, which carries the most weight?  Their words or God’s Word?  The one who chooses God’s best over any else’s good will be blessed.

Blessing also comes when we don’t “stand in the way of sinners.”  If we’re standing, it means we’ve stopped walking.  We’ve halted forward progress to hang out with those who live in rebellion and without regard for God.  When we’re following God’s way, we don’t need to pause and check out a different path.  We’ve been down that road before, and the final destination isn’t so fine. 

Unless we’re careful not to walk in agreement with people who aren’t seeking God and not to stand around soaking in their habits and behavior, we will soon find ourselves sitting with those who scorn our precious Savior.  “Blessed is the man who does not…sit in the seat of mockers.”  We sit when we’re comfortable in our surroundings—when we feel like we belong and not just dropping by. We can’t be blessed by God if we’re busy bashing God, but before we hastily and haughtily denounce those who speak against Him, let’s be quick to remember that God can be mocked by more than a mouth.  Our actions and attitudes speak louder than our words.

The safeguard against this regression into unrighteousness is stated in the next verse. “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.”  We are blessed when we avoid what pulls us away from God and when we avidly pursue what draws us near—His Word.  God’s Word should delight our hearts and dominate our thoughts.  “The words I have spoken to you, they are spirit and they are life,” Jesus declared (John 6:63), and we should know them well.

If we do, we will flourish and be fruitful in all the seasons of life—“He is like a tree planted by rivers of water that bears fruit in season.”  We will not lack anything we need—“His leaves also will not wither,” and we will fulfill God’s purpose in all we do—“and whatever he does will prosper.”

God’s blessings begin but they never end.

Live blessed.

Summer Songs

“I will sing to the Lord all my life.”  Psalm 104:33

Something about summer makes us sing. 

From the rhythm of oldies hit “Sum Sum Summertime” through classic reminiscing in “Summer of ‘69” to recent exultations of “What Time Is It?  It’s Summertime!” the anticipation of relaxed schedules, lazy evenings, and fun vacations tempts even the least melodic among us to hum a happy tune.

“Is anyone happy?” James inquires. “Let him sing songs of praise,” he then advises(James 5:13). The joy in our hearts should flow through our mouths, and we should sing to the One who is worthy and wonderful and who has blessed us with abundance and delight. But music is not to be reserved for days of sunshine alone.  We should sing in the storms and in the rain, pouring out our struggles and sorrows to the One who is worthy and wonderful and who walks with us through the mud of this life and dries our tears in the next. As Elton John aptly crooned, “Sad songs they say so much.”

Never have happy or sad songs said so much as they do in Psalms—the hymnbook of the Bible. Through the verses and refrains in the 150 songs of Psalms, the cries and cheers of many musicians are recorded for us to read, hear, and take to heart.  Some stanzas were composed to celebrate a specific day or special circumstance.  Others were penned as learning aids of something new or as reminders of something old.  But most are the spontaneous offerings of honest hearts.  The words are raw with passion and pain, and the candid lyrics lace together the awe of God and the awfulness of life. This summer my prayer is that devotions about some of the Psalms will lead you to take a closer look at the entire album.  I pray that you will listen and learn.  And I hope that as their psalms become your songs, you will find yourself singing along.

During these days when the tilt of the earth invites longer and brighter rays from the sun, may the inclination of our hearts be the same.  May our delight and distress find harmony in the One who is holy. And no matter the season of our soul, may we sing.