Psalm 34 ~ The Lord is Near

 

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Crêpe Myrtle Time !

Psalm 34

1 I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;

let the humble hear and be glad.

3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt His Name together!

4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to Him are radiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps

around those who fear Him, and delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His Saints,

for those who fear Him have no lack!

10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 Come, O children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12 What man is there who desires life

and loves many days, that He may see good?

13 Keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking deceit.

14 Turn away from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

and his ears toward their cry.

16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

20 He keeps all his bones;

not one of them is broken.

21 Affliction will slay the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants;

none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

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Footnotes - Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech (Achish, the king of Gath, 1 Samuel 21:13), so that he drove him out, and he went away.

We have a good friend, one we do not see a lot of, who is a Christian minister & his mother is a Psychologist. Other than being good fun, he is a calming presence, a voice of the Holy Spirit when the wild winds of life howl. He has given us good advice, isn't it easier to listen to good advice when life is calm? We can adapt and change our behavior. He gave this pearl of wisdom twice, and, finally, it found a comfortable, enduring resting place in my memory.

And here it is:

When we are in a good place in our lives:

We shake off irritating conversation. 

When we are in a storm, irritants are amplified. 

We can never change the way other people behave, just our reaction to them.

We aren't so affected by the comment or the sarcastic judgement.

Today, at Home Depot, a young man and his wife were buying electric yard care for their home. He carefully counted out the cash needed, and the clerk had a sarcastic look as she held the cash up to the light. The young people looked like this was an important, probably first purchase for them. And she studied the cash for more than 3 or 4 minutes, making the young man look calmly sad.  And finally, she handed him his change without examining it for counterfeit. He calmly put the money in his wallet, smiled at the cashier and said, "God Bless you." With only a quiet sincerity. And gathered his wife with affection. The clerk in the sequin hat was taken aback and warmly replied, "God Bless you, too!"

Abba, Father,

I believe the Pandemic Recovery Years 

will conclude as mankind learns kindness

and up building the Body of Christ.

I believe this will occur.

We pray for PEACE.

Father, I believe You help us.

Hold us in Faith, Father.

Hold families in Love and faith.

Help us to have expectation of healing.

Help us to be the Light of God

Shining. 

You never Leave or Forsake us

in all the Power of Yahweh.

Dwell in us to enrich us

as we cannot.

Dwell in those we Love

that they have Your Blessing

and know Your Love.

Help us to seek You first

and see the mercies each day,

looking to see healing around us,

not reported in the News,

but surrounding us. 

Help us to seek You

and see our Blessings.

And we will finish well

in Jesus Christ.

Thank You, Father God.

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yay Jesus