- araratchurch
- Mar 19, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 20, 2022
Day 5: The Lord is never deceived. He will bring justice.
“Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him. Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah”
Psalms 4:1-4 NKJV
I guess you could say that I was a dramatic child. I felt deeply and responded deeply. Often, I found that my reaction to abusive behavior was dismissed as being the result of being “overly sensitive.” In retrospect, as a very “mature” adult, I can truthfully say that whereas some things hit me harder than they would to most people, to a great extent, my reaction was just a raw emotional response to very hurtful and deceitful behavior. It is frustrating to feel “unheard.”
As an adult, what came to frustrate me the most in dealing with people, is when things I knew not to be true were purveyed, and because I am not a person who defends myself, I was often left wondering at people’s willful ignorance of deceit. Although, by the Grace of God I am no longer frustrated by deceit, I still wonder at people’s love of a lie.
Now please understand me, I know that there has always been deceit in the world; deceit is nothing new. But I am stymied by the blatant disregard for truth that can clearly be seen by anyone, even casually, seeking for it.
Long ago, while we were not looking, while we were not watching, while we were distracted, our educational system was taken over by people with an evil agenda. Sadly, their agenda was not to produce people well-prepared for a good career and to be highly functioning participants in our society. Rather, the goal seems to have been to indoctrinate toward a particular way of thinking, to a great extent, hostile to Christianity and true freedom. Additionally, a great portion of the media has become another branch of a political party with what you hear being little more than talking points straight from the horse’s mouth of their masters. Please know, I am not naïve, nor do I believe this dynamic is limited to a particular political party, and definitely not to one country. Our world system has moved toward operating in such deceit that many now no longer even know where to look for the truth. Through deceit, I have seen people’s characters impugned, lives shattered, and their rights totally disregarded, for the achievement of an evil end.
Those who seek after righteousness, trying—by the help of God to live justly—can become overwhelmed with deceit and wickedness being performed with seeming impunity.
In our selection from the Psalms today we see David dealing with the very topic of deceitfulness. He begins by approaching the Lord with recognition of all the times the Lord has come to his aid. He is confident that the Lord will help him even as he expresses his frustration with those who are lying against him with impunity. He wonders —as we often do—at those who willfully, not only embrace deceit, but seek after it and love it. But notice, he ends with self-reflection and basically a “note to self” to not meet the deceit with sinful behavior wrought out of anger.
Let me save you from entering into a fool’s errand. Trying to fight against deceit with counter accusations and anger will not work. It’s really too late for that. People have loved a lie so long that the devil has blinded them; and, their judgment is at the door. Allow me to encourage you to just continue to live and speak the truth. And, whether we are talking about what’s going on on the world stage or in your personal life, do as David did; take your frustration over deceitful behavior to the Lord. Allow your trust in the Lord’s judgement and justice to keep you from stumbling over deceit.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
The Lord is never deceived. He will bring justice.
- araratchurch
- Mar 18, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 20, 2022
100 Days with David
Day 4: If the Lord is with you, you can rest in peace.
“I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.” Psalms 3:5 NKJV
“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalms 4:8 NKJV
I remember when I was a child, sometimes dreading for night to come. If I had been scared by something during the day, I could put it out of my mind; but it seemed with the stillness of the night, it would come back to me, manifesting in bad dreams and restless sleep. Sadly, for many people, troubled sleep doesn’t end with childhood. I remember my mother saying that when she went to bed at night, all of her fears would come back to her mind, and then she would worry. Why? Because during the day she was busy with her responsibilities and the clamor of life. But the stillness of the night, without all those distractions, allowed that nagging fear to manifest itself.
When inquiring about your worst fear(s) people will often ask, “What keeps you up at night?” Apparently, sleep disturbed by worry is ubiquitous.
Doing a cursory look into the cost of insomnia, I found that it adds nearly 100 billion dollars to the cost of the healthcare system in the United States, per year. Imagine the cost worldwide! But, the monetary drain pales in comparison to the drain on productivity, and on a personal level, to a sense of well-being. Now, whereas this is all true, it should not be true for the child of God.
In our opening passage for today we see David expressing the fact that he can rest in peace, rest with confidence, knowing that although he is asleep, the Lord is awake, watching over him. This confidence to be able to rest In peace is echoed in two of the songs of ascent; one is credited to David’s son, Solomon. [Psalms 120 - 134 are considered “songs of ascent,” apparently sung as worshipers climbed the hill towards Jerusalem, or on other pilgrimages.]
“Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.” Psalms 127:1-2 NKJV (Solomon)
“He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalms 121:3-4 NKJV
The Lord once spoke to me that there are two dangerous mind sets. One is that of “sufficiency outside of God,” the other, surprisingly, is “insufficiency in God.” Now, many do struggle with laying aside the troubles of the day as they lie down to sleep. But the Lord is our Shepherd and He leads us into the green pastures of His provision, care, and keeping. If He is not with us, we have every reason to worry; but, if He is with us, we have every reason to have confidence that He is taking care of us.
The sentiment to “rest in peace,” should not be reserved for the dead; they are beyond their need for rest. However, we who are living, desperately need to rest in peace by remembering that the Lord watching over us.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
If the Lord is with you, you can REST IN PEACE!
- araratchurch
- Mar 17, 2022
- 3 min read
“Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.”
Psalms 3:2-3 NKJV
I was sitting on the floor when one of my adult, and at the time, very successful older relatives, passing by me, said, “I heard you’re going to Agnes Scott College.” I answered that I was, prompting the relative to ask what would be my major. I told the person that I was going to have a double major, one of those majors being in Psychology. I remember how the person slapped their leg, laughing and repeating to another relative standing nearby, what I had just said. At this, they both laughed. The first person went on to say something meaning that I would never make it at that college in that major. As a very young person, that was a stinging insult coming from someone who’s approval held great clout with our family. But even then, I knew that they were wrong, and that I would make it, as I did, with the help of the Lord.
Unbelievably, that was nearly 50 years ago. Time after time since then I have seen the Lord do what naysayers lampooned, including the establishment of Ararat Church.
“But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?” So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.””
Nehemiah 2:19-20 NKJV
“Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together. Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.” For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”
Nehemiah 6:5-9 NKJV
Anytime I think of naysayers, my mind goes to the story of Nehemiah who had found himself—in exile—being the cupbearer to a Persian king. As the account goes, he went back to Jerusalem to rebuild its broken down and burned walls. Of course, as you see in the scriptures from Nehemiah above, there was a group who tried to stop his work through the use of false accusation (when ridicule failed to succeed). I remember my father preaching sermons about this in which he would stress the verse saying, “and Gashmu [Geshem] says….” The point he was making: there is always someone around to be a naysayer concerning you and what you are doing.
Today we opened with a portion of the third psalm where King David is referencing those who were saying that he had no chance of making it. But, reflecting on their words, he affirms his trust in the Lord saying, “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.” He knew that the Lord could make him able to hold his head up in confidence, rather than hanging it in shame and defeat. He knew that the Lord’s word carries the day.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
Ultimately, what the Lord says, is the only commentary that matters.