Psalm 134 Praising the Lord

Father God, Thank you for this time in your Word.  I pray for my eyes to see, my ears to hear, heart to be open to receive and the grace to do what you reveal to me today.  May you be glorified in and through my life.  In Jesus Name I pray.  Amen. 

 

Psalm 134  New King James Version (NKJV)

Praising the Lord in His House at Night

A Song of Ascents.

134 Behold, bless the Lord,
All you servants of the Lord,
Who by night stand in the house of the Lord!
² Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
And bless the Lord.

³ The Lord who made heaven and earth
Bless you from Zion!

Wow, as I ask the Lord for my eyes, mind, ears and heart to be open to receive what He has for me today I am yet again overwhelmed what He has in what appears to be a short, simple psalm.  A Psalm or chapter that only has three verses recorded in The Word that is easily overlooked if you are just reading to read to check it off your list that its done.  Meditating on the Word is far more enlightening and fruitful then reading the Word. 

“Behold” what a word.  It has a Ta Da fanfare to it or a drum roll type presentation. It stirs my spirit and puts it on alert.  The word is defined as “see or observe a thing or person, especially a remarkable or impressive one.  Synonyms are view, look at, watch, survey, witness, gaze at/upon, regard, contemplate, inspect.

The word “Behold” calls me to accountability.  Am I truly observing the Lord? Am I gazing upon Him and seeing all that He does for me? Or am I too busy with the menial things in life, allowing them to fill up my day as I focus on them and let them shape and mold my emotions and mood towards myself, my family, my friends, the people I encounter while out and about.  I do know that when I’m “Beholding the Lord” and gazing upon Him, knowing Him, praising Him that the focus and effects of others on the earth do not impact my life as deeply nor have the roller coaster effect on my emotions.  I also know that I have my best results in getting the important things accomplished during my day and the lesser things either go away or often resolve themselves with little effort on my part.  Why then do I choose to put the “busyness” of the world before and above my “Behold” time of the LORD?  Talk about a face palm insight moment. 

I’ve read the Psalm through several times before I even started to journal my insights.  There is so much here however today I am lead to meditate on the “Behold”.

Behold, observe, as you bless the Lord.  Behold and observe day and night … good challenges and bad challenges.  Observe the Lord in all situations that you allow yourself into with your choices and things put in to motion with your spoken authority.  God loves us so much that He allows us to make our own choices.  He loves us so much that He allows us to choose whether to give Him honor or not … and He delights in the praise and honor we give Him.  He who can speak anything into being, who does not need us to do anything for Him, truly delights in our adoration and praise of Him.  Try to comprehend that!  Being a parent is such an eye opener to the heart of God.  As parents, we love our children from the moment they are being created inside of us.  It is such a pleasure to watch a loving couple who are expecting their first child.   How the husband/dad hovers over, anticipates the needs and is delighted to get to do whatever for the wife/mom to meet her needs and desires.  How like our Heavenly Father who watches over us, guides us (even when we are in the “2-year-old Do It Myself phase”; whether we are willing to receive or not and loves us whether we decide to listen and do or not!), anticipates our needs and provides even the smallest thing for us when we allow and are willing to receive. 

We GET to bless God as we stand watch by night, in the darkest hours, the darkest challenges.  It is a choice.  We can always find Him in every situation.  God did not create sin.  Adam and Eve’s love gift of free will, chose to listen to the deception of Satan and allow his words and implications to outweigh God’s words.  God who has always spoken truth to and over them, providing their everything.  Even then God’s love for us was so great that He had to honor His word and cast them out of the Garden of Eden for their disobedience.  BUT GOD cast them into a void that He created and gave them everything they needed to have life, to succeed, to fulfill their purpose of life.  He still hovered, watching, anticipating, giving what they would accept when they were willing to receive out of an unconditional love. 

God shows His unconditional love for us repeatedly throughout The Word.  Even when the Earth became so corrupt that only one man and his family believed, sought God, heard Him and worshiped Him, He saved that one man (Noah) by giving Him promptings and insight to build a boat to prepare for what had never existed before on this Earth.  Are we courageous as Noah? Are we willing to act and stand against the ridicule of doing something beyond the norm? Even before that … are we truly seeking and spending time with God?  Do we even stand still long enough to converse and be open to receive from God an idea to build/create/do something that has never been done before?

Oh, the proof of accountability and submission!  Because Noah sought after knowing God and knowing His heart thus knowing and being aligned with His will and willing to receive direction no matter how unknown the concept.  Because Noah covered his family, raised them according to the knowledge of God’s ways that were imparted to him through prayer and meditation with God as the Bible didn’t exist yet.  Because Noah sought after and “BEHOLDED” God, his family was saved when all the rest of the people of the earth that had become so corrupted that there was no goodness and were destroyed in the first rainfall and flood on earth.  You think that you are just one person and can’t make much of an impact?  Rebuke that lie right now because Noah is just one proof of what one man can do because of God’s love for us and willingness to give us the delights of our hearts in the blessing of obedience.  You do matter and impact the lives of those around you. How you walk out challenges brought on by your own choices and sometimes brought on by the choices of others … is a witness to others of our great, loving, Heavenly Father who guarantees us victory in ALL challenges. 

It is written in John 10:10 that satan, our enemy, comes to kill, steal and destroy.  It is also written that Jesus came to give us life and to not only give us life but to give us life ABUNDANTLY!  If it has to do with killing, stealing, destroying then give credit to the correct initiator – satan, and give PRAISE to Jesus who gives us victory in ALL things and will give us the strength to stand and endure to receive the morning joy (Psalm 30:5) and the restoration of what has been taken/stolen from us.  (Deuteronomy 30:3-13).  He gives us a life of abundance! Are we receiving it and walking in it?

I can honestly say, from walking through some dark challenges beyond the normal, that God really is there guiding and giving strength to endure, to receive the blessing of His morning joy.  It is possible to see and hold on to Him during the darkness, praising Him when satan is doing everything he can to have all flesh and world things keep you from praising your Creator and Unconditional Lover of your soul. 

Wow!  Thanks for such sweet reminders Lord.  With the weights of worldly demands and expectations dragging me down at times, I so needed this accountability check as to where my focus is and where my spoken praise is.  It’s a mindset or perspective choice with every thought and circumstance. 

My affirmation today:  I choose to seek Him.  I choose to follow His leading.  I choose to give praise to the Lord.  I choose to focus on His good report only.  I choose to rebuke and step on the head of satan who can only bruise my heel instead of running screaming in fear.  (Genesis 3:15)  I feel God’s leading.  I feel like praising the Lord. I feel like focusing on His good report. I feel like rebuking satan in my life.  I AM choosing Him.  I AM following His leading.  I AM giving praise to my Lord.  I AM focusing on His good report.  I AM rebuking the devourer. 

To you, Father God, I give the praise and glory of all good things in my life and my ability to overcome and praise in and through all things.  Thank you. Thank You.  Thank you.

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Thank you for the investment of your time. 

May you hear and receive what is yours to hear from the sharing of a portion of my insights. 

Be blessed in the Name of the Lord.

Created to Serve,

Michelle Wendt

His Beloved, blessed wife and mother

My Father’s Blessing Ministries and Be Healthy His Way Mentor

For our Be Healthy His Way Team – Emotion Study Group:

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How's your lamp shining?

John 1:6-8 HNV "There came a man, sent from God, whose name was Yochanan [John}. The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him.  He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light."

We are sent from God as a witness that we might testify about the light, that all might believe through us.  Wow!  What an impact that scripture has made on me.  I, like Yochanan [John] am a lamp that shines the Light [Christ].  So … I have to stop and ask, how am I doing?  How well is my lamp reflecting the light of Christ?  Are others believing because of how I am living my life? my choices? my actions? my love for self? my love for others? my ability to forgive myself? to forgive others? 

What type of lamp light was I created to be?  What type of lamp light am I actually being?  

Here are just a few that have come to mind:

A light controlled by a switch - either fully on or fully off.  

A dimmer light - Either fully off or when on, on at varying degrees of brightness from barely there to full on bright or somewhere in between.  

A hazard flashing light - Only used when there is a problem.

A blinker - on one moment and off the next.  Only used when making a deviation from the path and even then not always being turned on when deviating and making a direction change.

A headlight - If old style - only on when turned on at night (in today's times that's if one remembers to turn it on or someone warns and flashes that we are proceeding without light).  If modern style then we are on all of the time but still primary use is during the night or stormy times to light the way  immediately in front of us on our journey.  We can be low density (which many drive using all the time instead of using the high density bright lights and having to remember to "dim" our headlights when others are approaching.) or high density bright beam lights. 

Christmas lights - All pretty and colorful, either solid or twinkling with part of us on at all times for the season; however once the season is over we are packed away for all the other seasons until our one season comes around again.  

A lighthouse - Shining 24/7 for others to help navigate, giving direction and keeping their paths focused on God, aware of and avoiding snares/traps/dangers.   There for all to use and giving 100% even though you may never know those that were directed by the light that shined through you.  

A search light - Radiant light that pierces the sky to be seen for miles and miles to draw others to come and find out what is the big deal.  We aren't the big deal but our lives reflecting His goodness and greatness through us draw others near so that they can come and meet Him for themselves receiving His salvation,  focusing on Him, believing Him, knowing Him, loving Him, walking with Him, partaking in His fullness.  He is the BIG DEAL.   

I also must ask myself, am I tending my lamp properly and to my best ability?  Am I keeping it in good operational shape - trimming the wick, keeping the oil full, prepared to be lit as He beacons?  Or am I busy running after other things or world busyness that I am too tired or distracted to make sure I am fulfilling the reason I was sent. Am I living such that anyone would see Christ in and through me and choose to believe in Him?  Am I drawing others to Christ or am I part of the attack of the busyness to distract and keep them away from Him?  No matter what, when you stop and look at it, you are either living so others can believe because of you OR you are living so that others are in unbelief and lost.  You're either for or against, there's no fence riding.  What an amazing love and confidence Christ has in us to give us such an impact on all His precious children young and old.  

Honestly, my life in and love for Christ has grown so much during my years; however I can see myself in each of the different types of lights.  I have had to stop, repent and ask His forgiveness for not living up to my best at the different stages of my life.  In this new awareness I strive to live more fully reflecting Him through me so others are not delayed in their belief because of me and my action or lack of action.  I am exhilarated with the simple understanding that I am here to be a lamp testifying of His light so others may come to Him and know Him.  As easy and simplistic as that is, I find myself knowing that every time i achieve my best He will then give me more wisdom and knowledge that will always keep me reaching and obtaining new levels of best in Him.  He will always keep leading me on in great anticipation of new levels of awe all my days as His lamp on this Earth.   I must keep Christ perspective that obtaining our best is a great thing and opens us up to continual new levels of best.  And if I stumble, then I must get up, repent, learn and keep moving forward and upward.   I must make a point to not adopt the world's perspective that we're never good enough no matter how hard we try, that our best just means failure as more is always expected.  For me, it is an awesome promise that He always has more for me so that in my pursuit of knowing Him I will never tire nor reach an end.  I am only limited by what I myself limit myself.  Hmm, to totally understand that fully - that I am the only thing holding me back.    With Him the possibilities and expansion is unlimited!  Thank you God!!