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Psalms 103:1-5
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.
Do you think that through the day in and day out of everyday life, we forget how blessed we are? I think so, and from time to time, we need a check on our attitude. To be reminded of how good we have it is important. It has nothing to do with our finances, our station in life, or whether we had a good day, week, or month, though obviously, those things help. God’s approach to us, His love for us, and His willingness to be a part of every day are not dependent upon our circumstances. His Grace to us is outside of everyday circumstances.
We need to learn how to live from Heaven to earth, how He views people and us in general, and then become His representatives; everything changes. It may sound like pie in the sky type stuff, but it’s not. A grateful attitude based on God’s goodness and His promises carries one through life regardless of our position and or circumstances. Granted, this takes some maturing, but it definitely is not “pie in the sky theology,.” It’s a real everyday truth that we can grow into.
Circumstances can be incredibly challenging, but they need not steal our joy or the blessing that is unique to believers. Remember this saying, a Big God equals small problems, but a small God equals big problems. So based on that, how big is your God? How we live life and respond to our challenges and problems answers this question. The problems and challenges are the same; whether God is big or small is what changes.
Take Paul, for instance; he had it super tough, some would say impossible. How could God let him go through so much hardship, yet he doesn’t complain. Paul represents some serious boots on the ground (as in military) tougher than anybody I know; has anyone been shipwrecked (3x’s), whipped (five sessions of forty lashes less one) (forty times was considered a death sentence), stoned once, and beaten with rods three times (2 Corinthians 11:16-33). I don’t think so, yet he still found reason to rejoice.
Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
How important it is to learn this lesson. It is so against our nature. We don’t want to suffer need, or pain, or lack. Yet without these trials, how would we learn that in “every circumstance to be content?” To learn the secret of being content in plenty or lack and be able to do all things does not come without hardship. Imagine the freedom we would have and the strength of character if we could mature to this point. That we truly lived from Heaven to Earth. Paul’s life was one trial after another, but the presence of the Spirit made it more than worth it. Many of us are willing to travel on the road of victory, yet the road of trial and testing prepares us. Without that, our pride and ego would destroy us. Ultimately, the question is how close do we want to be with Jesus, “to know Him as we are known,” is that our goal? It’s a fair question, and it measures how much of our comfort we value versus how close we want to be to Jesus.
If anyone had a “right” to be discouraged or complain, it would have been Paul. Sometimes life has to get really scary or threatening for us to really dive deep into our faith. In so doing, God creates a whole new platform of depth and strength in us. As our relationship goes deeper, we find Him and the strength we need. The severity of the circumstances causes us to see how really needy we are of Him and how inexhaustible is His strength and peace. During intense periods as these, what happens? If we are meditating on the Word and in prayer, we find the peace that passes understanding. I noticed that though my stomach is tense, my heart is calm. It’s like two people living instead of me. The flesh is the flesh; it won’t change; I’ve learned to ignore it. In these times of severe testing, it was like He was digging a deeper well in me. It was the struggle that He used to take me deeper. After I gave each crew their assignments and dismissed them, I would spend about forty-five minutes to an hour in prayer until I felt His peace.
The reality of His presence and peace grew in me, and as that grew, my confidence grew, and the crushing trial became bearable and then defeat-able. I matured; after several long and hard years, instead of being the victim, I became the victor as I saw my prayers answered. The Lord daily prayed through me and interceded on my behalf. None of this would I have known if it were not for the pain. He met me with His peace, comfort, and strength. And if it were not for the severity of the trial, I would have never pressed into Him so hard. He is every bit who He says He is and more, and hence one becomes “baptized” into the Lord’s presence. Much like the lamb that wanders into unknown danger, the Shepherd has to break its legs and then carries the lamb around his neck till the legs heals. Once healed, the lamb never again wanders, now becoming accustomed to the presence of the Shepherd. In His presence, we gain understanding, peace, joy, and confidence. Then when life gets hard, it’s not a question do I go to the Lord for help or not; it is instinctual having our faculties attuned to Him. Nothing but good comes from the humbling process. Even in the midst of chaos, there is a steady calm. There’s a cool verse in Psalm 103
Psalms 103:7
He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
The word “ways” means to walk or a path. Through the trials that Moses experienced, he found God walking with Him; as a friend. Therefore Moses did not fear. Israel only saw God’s acts, but they never knew His ways, so they doubted, feared, and complained. Oftentimes we are like that. If we do not run from the hardship but rather to Him in the hardship, we will know His ways. Experiencing the Lord’s goodness makes a person confident, able to face trial and or hardship. His goodness also changes you, making you enjoyable and pleasant to be around. People think I’m a nice guy etc., that it’s to my credit, but it’s not. It’s Him in me and me learning that with Him, I am more than a conqueror.
Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us, for I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Throughout history, every conqueror eventually gets conquered, not so with the believer. If we make Christ our prize, there is no might in Hell that can separate us from Him. Also, His definition of a conqueror is different than ours. For us, it could be many different things we seek to conquer, but ultimately they are things that benefit us here. In Christ’s world, the value system is different. He did not pay a supreme price to benefit our life here, though walking with Him is a huge benefit. His focus was and is to destroy the bondage of sin so we could conquer it and forever be His Bride. I repeat this truth many times through different examples and stories to help us change our mindset. To live life from Heaven’s perspective to earth, not from earth’s perspective to Heaven. So much of our frustration with our faith is because we have the latter mindset. Nothing is more important to Him than to redeem us (buy us back) from this life. So if it’s painful, so be it; it’s worth the pain. It reorients our thinking back to Christ’s thinking. Easy doesn’t grow faith, just like sitting on the couch doesn’t grow muscles. We need weights, resistance, repetition to grow muscles, and frustration, difficulty, and setbacks to grow faith.
Matthew 6:25-27
Do Not Be Anxious
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Jeremiah 29:11-13
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (a Great King is worthy of no less)
I think there are times we take God for granted. We need to repent of that attitude and give Him the respect He deserves. He’s only saved our soul for Eternity).
What is the composition of a positive attitude then? Is it just personality or things going my way? Is it based on temporal things, or is it deeper? The man who built his house on the sand was feeling pretty good when he finished, especially looking over at his neighbor, who was working so hard to get his posts anchored into the rock. He probably thought it was a lot of needless work for nothing, and since he had beachfront property, he probably took the rest of the summer off to enjoy life. Or just like the farmer who got a bumper crop and told his soul to “eat, drink and be merry.” However, when the storms in life come, and they do, these people are the first to fall apart.
What provides the greatest foundation for an enduring positive attitude? Is it not understanding our value before God? “Are you not of more value than they?” Jesus said to the disciples when he talked about how the Father provided for the common bird, and if He took so much care to provide for a commonest of His creatures, will He not provide for those who are made in His image? So why does faith fail? It fails because we do not understand our value before Him; and why do we not understand our value before Him, because we do not spend enough time in His presence.
There is no substitute for time in His presence. Let your day be structured around your time with God. As I’ve mentioned, my Bible study time during the workweek is my lunch, even if lunch is at 5 pm. During the weekend, it’s exercise, breakfast, and then my time with the Lord. Exercising is my prayer time and ensures that I give the Lord my best “alertness.” Again, a Great King deserves our very best.
He has given us many promises about our worth and value to Him. If you do not know them, that is why you struggle as a believer. You need to know them. Rehearse and memorize them until they settle deep inside of you. Write them on sticky notes and put them on your mirror as you are shaving or putting makeup on, or on the dashboard of your car or on your desk at work, and make a point of reading them multiple times throughout the day. And if you’re in a pinch and can’t remember them, then just picture Jesus hanging on the Cross hearing His words, “Father forgive them for they no not know what they do.” If that’s not value, I do not know what is. Do we really think that after giving His life for us that He will abandon us or do us wrong?
Our faith, that which anchors our soul, like the post in the rock, is where our strength comes from. Our smile and hope come from truly understanding His sacrifice. His obedience to the Father to go to the Cross and take our penalty and suffer our shame. Now pray that God makes it real and personal for you, and let’s go out and live in that confidence knowing that no force formed against us can defeat us.
Isaiah 54:10
For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
We understand God’s promises from our perspective, from a worldly understanding. However, God made these promises from His perspective. The biggest problem God has had was when man sinned, and He became separated from His prize creation. I’ve experienced that sense of separation. My oldest daughter left home at 18 under very unfavorable circumstances, and I knew she was not ready. I knew the world’s values would overtake her, and within less than a year, she was a mess. I cried for three years during this time, praying daily for her. Victory eventually came, but it was hard-fought.
When Christ atoned for man’s sin, God put an end to this separation forever for them that would so choose, “though the mountains may depart and the hills be removed (which would be horrendous), yet my steadfast love shall not depart,” not now, not never…” in that single, but most powerful act lies our hope and confidence.
I’m sad for the believer who is so busy being lukewarm that he or she doesn’t know how rich of an inheritance they have. Trading their Godly inheritance and birthright for a “bowl of soup,” like Esau did ( Genesis 29). It’s like going through life blind. You will run into a lot of things that you don’t need to. In this same relational context, God has made this promise.
Isaiah 54:17
no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from me, declares the LORD ( memorize these two most powerful verses).”
God is the Eternal Judge, His judgment echos through all of Eternity past, present, and future, and there is no judgment, weapon, or tongue that overrides His Eternal power or decrees (Amen).
King David, Israel’s most Godly King, had many serious struggles, but he was able to overcome them by strengthening himself in the Lord. Let’s read what happened (pretty serious) and see what action he took, knowing that we could and should do the same (at the time, he was only 22-23).
1 Samuel 30:3-6
And when David and his men came to the city (Ziklag), they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters were taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
It is so important that daily we make our relationship with the Lord our top priority. We never know when we will be facing a crisis. We want to have that depth and confidence in The Lord so we too “can strengthen ourselves.”
1 Samuel 30:7-8
And David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. And David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue after this band? Shall I overtake them?” He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue.”
What David did was reserved for the priest, taking the ephod. It was the priest’s duty to inquire of the Lord and wear the ephod, a breastplate vest with 12 stones, each stone representing a tribe of Israel. David took this upon himself. He wanted to hear from God, and because of the closeness he had developed over the years as a shepherd boy, he had the confidence to come before the Lord. And the Lord honored him by answering him, proving that relationship was more important than rules, even if the rules were God’s.
When times are tough, we need to go back to the very character of God. His faithfulness and love and encourage us from there. As David continued as King, he wrote many Psalms. Psalm 103, the one listed above, is about the Lord’s goodness, something that does us well to be reminded of.
Psalms 103:1-5
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
How important it is to take inventory of the benefits we receive because of God’s faithfulness. We forget, especially when going through difficulties. Recently my mom passed (9/22/2021), and we had her memorial on 9/14. Everything is still pretty fresh, and it doesn’t take long before a lump develops in my throat, but I call to mind that she is with the Lord, and the lump goes away. As I think about her, it’s as if I can hear her talk to me about Heaven.
“Oh stop that nonsense of being sad for me, I’m home and free from that crippled body. Wait mijo (son) till you see the Throne and how God’s Glory fills and warms all of Heaven and beyond. He is beyond human words to describe and His presence radiates a love that units us all in perfect harmony. Heaven’s life is the life He intended for humanity until humanity sinned and life deformed into something He never intended it to be. The Sin was great, therefore the cure had to be greater. The Cross, A Strong Remedy for the defilement of disobedience. In Heaven, one sees what life was intended to be. I am so anxious to have you and all that love Jesus come and see what I now see but could have only imagined in my earthly temple. Love you mijo, stay strong.”
Boy, I’m choking back the tears. To hear my mom’s voice in my head is pretty special. I will leave her words as I heard them, and you can make your own opinion. So a very strong reminder of David’s Word,
We were never designed to allow fear, anxiety, insecurity to rule in us. That in itself can bring on sickness. It does not mean we are not saved; it only means we do not comprehend how great a salvation we have. We were designed to have Christ govern us, and the closer we get to that, the healthier we will be, physically, emotionally, and mentally. So when Jesus said to us, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added to you,” this is much more than just a religious statement. That statement brings health and wholeness to all aspects of our humanity, Spirit, soul, and body. And let’s not make “all these things being added” the motive for seeking Him. That would be wrong, making the gift more important than the Giver of that gift. It is in relationship with Him that we best enjoy, thrive and steward His gifts.
However, things do happen, and we can get discouraged and sidetracked. We can allow the disappointments of life to sidetrack us from Him, and then worry, fear, anxiety replaces the peace and joy that is ours by inheritance. As such, life then becomes more difficult. We feel we have to fight for every victory, whereas if we were walking with Christ, we would understand we already have the victory; we just need to stand in it. We fight from a position of victory, not for the victory. That is such a huge shift in our paradigm/thinking; how could that not affect everything we do? It would bring us such strength and confidence at every level.
“Who heals all your diseases.” Healing is a gift of the Spirit, and it is best received in corporate prayer (James 5:14). And there are pastors that have this gift. Sometimes healing doesn’t occur, but it is never because He doesn’t love or care for us. That question was completely and thoroughly answered at the Cross. The greatest healing was done at the Cross; every healing thereafter is to be received with thanksgiving and joy. If healing does not occur, we are to remain joyful, for the relationship we’ve been privileged to receive far outlast any other thing that we would seek from Him. The enemy always wants to slander God, making us think that He does not love or care. If that’s you, you are allowing a temporal thing to interfere with your eternal reward. If God never answered another prayer but granted you forgiveness and Eternal Life and His Holy Spirit, would that be enough, or would you need more? Maybe the healing we really need is our attitude, and the pain is bringing to the surface the shallowness of our faith. Our “me focus” attitude is hurting us. Check yourself and repent if that is you, and be more appreciative of the blessings we have. Also, be mindful of worrying and fretting; those are the concerns of orphans. You are far from that if you are truly in Christ. That in itself could bring healing.
** Also, since God is a relational God, maybe He refrains from healing because He knows that we would stop seeking Him? We would lose our earnestness in seeking Him and get busy with life, especially if now in our painful state, we struggle with reading the Bible. Pain, as much as we don’t like it, makes us more conscious of our need for Him. We need pain, lack, fear to some extent, challenges, etc., to keep us humble and to build faith muscle. Pride destroys our walk with God, and we all have it; humility, the antithesis to pride, is helped through the challenges of life. Like what Paul said,
Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
If when pain arises, we would pray in earnestness until we sense His peace over the matter and not fill any less loved or cared for. That is how I have received most of my healings. TO BE UNSTOPPABLE. I don’t expect anything, He’s already done everything. If He chooses to answer and heal, that’s wonderful. (Bethel Church in Redding, Ca. is one such church that operates in the gift of physical healing. Bill Johnson is the senior pastor and gives great messages on all topics, but very strong in healing).
Two supreme lessons are represented in the next sets of verses. To learn these two is to be more than a conqueror.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited (he learned that as he sought the Lord about his pain). Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Psalms 103:1-5
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the
The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Jesus said that Satan has nothing in me, that there was nothing in Christ that had or made any agreement with satan, or the ways of the flesh. I want us to be able to say the same (John 14:30). God’s Word is God’s Word, I may not always understand it, but that does not make it any less true. It is always true, and as I grow in its fullness, I come to understand.
I don’t define it, it defines me. Amen
Father God,
May this study be our Thanksgiving unto You, for as your truth frees us, we are more freer individuals, and to know the Truth it truly does set us free from the shackles and fears of this life.
Thank you so much,
Your sons and daughters