I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. (Psalms 9:1, 2 ESV)
While things have been really busy lately, I know that God has been helping me through it or I definitely would not be as far as I am. He has also been helping me see again how blessed I am to have this opportunity and be where I am today. So I feel like this Psalm started with much deserved praise and thankfulness. I have seen how easy it is to get caught up in always looking forward to the next thing, the next step, or the next stage of life rather than delighting in the here and now and the opportunities and blessings of today. I hope that we don't allow ourselves to fall victim to the trap but rather remember that each new day of life is a blessing and not a guarantee, and we should delight in one more day of being a part of God's great plan here on earth. This life is temporary, but our souls are eternal.
The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
ReplyDeletea stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
(Psalm 9:9-10 ESV)
God is good! I know that in my own life God has taken care of me time and time again. He has provided me with what I needed when I needed it whether I knew the need or not. I needed a co-op a few years ago. God provided me with a co-op that allowed me to stay here at Tech which turned out to be crucial because my grandmother proved that she could not live by herself and we had to take care of her here in Atlanta. I did not know what to do last summer, so I applied to a random internship in Germany as a backup plan. I applied to the minimal number of research positions (1) and got the job. This turned out to be a huge blessing because it enable me to start a relationship with the woman I am now going to marry based solely on personality and without the physical complications that being in the same country would have led to. Now God is using this woman to help heal me of the brokenness that I held on to while I was single at Tech. God is good! He has taken care of me when I needed it! I have nothing but what he has provided me. I live by his grace alone with funding for graduate school coming. He continually blesses me with new gifts and provisions! I started tithing more attentively this year, and true to his word about testing him in this, the funding for my research came through. God is good! He has carried me through tough and confusing times, like when I found out my sister was pregnant outside of wedlock or when my grandfather passed away 4 days before my birthday. God not only takes care of the oppressed but also the broken. He is good!
"But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
ReplyDeletehe has established his throne for justice,
and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness." Psalm 9:7-8
I love this image of how powerful God is. This is a God who never fails to be just. He never lets the bad guy get away. This is the perfect God, of whom we fall so short. Whenever I am reminded of this truth, I am always encouraged that we serve a God who is above all. None of our circumstances are out of God's control. Whatever seems too far gone, improbable, or just out of control, is right in God's hand. I need these reminders often, because it is so easy to worry about everything that is going on in the world. Satan always spreads chaos, and wants us to feel like there is no hope to make things better. Thanks be to God that this is not true! This was a great reminder that God's authority never fails.