“Many, Lord, are asking, ‘Who will bring us prosperity?’ Let the light of your face shine on us.”
A friend of mine tweeted today, “There is a difference between knowing of God and knowing God.” I’ve said this many times myself, but when I really stop to think about it, do I really know him? Really? If I knew him as well as I should, I wouldn’t wonder about how I will provide for myself or how I will be able to conquer a new task. I would just know he is providing in every area in my life.
In this Psalm, David seems to almost be mocking those around him who wonder how they will provide for themselves, asking God to fill his heart with joy when they are blessed with grain and wine. David knows that he alone cannot make it; he can’t fully survive apart from God and his provision. If God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, shouldn’t we be trusting thay he can do the same for us? Jesus goes even further in the Gospel of Matthew and say don’t worry! Who of you by worrying can add even a day to your life?
David closes with saying he finds rest in God alone. Augustine echoed that sentiment saying that he is restless until he finds rest in God. So let’s stop worrying about tomorrow. God already has that covered. Stare today in the face and bless those around you with the love that comes from our Provider.
“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.” Psalm 3:5-6 NIV
What do you fear? As a child I was quite afraid of the dark. With all the horror movies and scary tv shows I watched, it was easy for me to assume that someone could be waiting for me, that some monster could be lurking around the next corner, somewhere in that deep blackness. Looking back I know there was nothing there, and even then I think I was smart enough to realize the boogieman isn’t real, but the unknown always outweighed my rational thoughts.
I’m finding that this same fear of the unknown is still present in my (young) adult life, but now it has nothing to do with turning off the lights. Many questions arise: where will I go? What will I do? What SHOULD I be doing? Have I been wrong this whole time? The amount of unknown circling around my head is quite frankly overwhelming and distracts me from what I do know. David, on the other hand, was not distracted.
David was not concerned about a vocation or location, he was concerned about his life! His son was trying to kill him and take the kingdom for himself. By all rights, David should have been plenty scared, but that was not his reaction. As he writes in this psalm, though his enemies outnumbered him and closed in on all sides, God was still there for him, protecting and eventually coming to his rescue.
We serve a God that is more powerful than armies, more powerful than circumstance, and more powerful than the unknown. Just as he provided for David and kept him safe, God will keep and protect his followers.
It’s time to stop losing sleep over the unknown and start resting in God’s great love.
“You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” (vs 7-8)
I ask for a lot of things. Most of them I want selfishly. Some of them stem from more noble desires. But on the whole, I ask too much for what I don’t need and not enough for what I do need.
Humility. Patience. An open mind. A willing heart.
This psalm speaks of God’s wrath being brought to other nations at the hand of one of his servants (David or Nathan, which one specifically is unclear), but I feel that it can be applied to my life today. I’m not bringing God’s wrath on a nation, or on anyone for that matter, but it is clear to me that God will bless those after his own heart in order to further his kingdom.
I have a lot running through my head, a lot that I am looking to do, but are these things blessed by God or of my own creation? If I am willing, patient, humble — if I seek first the Father — all that I need will be given to me in order to further the kingdom. If God has just promised David (or Nathan) the nations, the ends of the earth, what can he give to me in order to fulfill his will? And more importantly, have I placed myself in a position to receive these things and bring Him glory?
He will give us what we need, that much is clear throughout Scripture (Matt 11). But am I trusting? Waiting? Listening? Am I asking for the tools to bring him glory, or am I asking for the nations…just to ask? Right now I will ask just to remember — to be still and know — so that I may be faithful with little and bring Him glory.
What does a scanner see? I mean, really see? Into the head? Down into the heart? Does a passive infrared scanner like they used to use or a cube-type holo-scanner like they use these days, the latest thing, see into me — into us — clearly or darkly? I hope it does see clearly, because I can’t any longer these days see into myself. I see only murk. Murk outside; murk inside. I hope, for everyone’s sake, the scanners do better. Because if the scanner sees only darkly, the way I myself do, then we are cursed, cursed again and like we have been continually, and we’ll wind up dead this way, knowing very little and getting that little fragment wrong too.
-A Scanner Darkly
I havent posted in a hot minute. I had some things I wanted to post, but never thought about it when I was at my computer. I thought about posting from my phone, but I figured that would take too long. So here is a short post. While I’m thinking about it. From my phone.
January had been a good month: I moved into a new apartment, started dating a killer gal, and finally started playing music again. I’m excited about all 3, but I want to highlight the music. Since Recession broke up (or slowly disappeared from view) I haven’t really written any new material or played out. At all. I play at church and don’t get me wrong, I love it, but I miss playing at some random dive bar for people who only want to half listen. Strange, I know, but playing out is a passion of mine and I want it back. I’ve played a couple little gigs with my buddy Daniel Snoke and I’m actually starting to write again. The plan is to put together a new album.
I want to be involved in as many music projects as I can handle and I want to record a real, honest to goodness album, unlike the little recordings I put on CDs before. Schultzie has offered to help and I’m looking to get kevin in on the fun as well. I want a band, a solo project, a two piece, another band, and like four more projects. I’m addicted. I just find myself lacking the necessary equipment/skill/know-how to do all of that on my own. Unfortunately I can’t beg on the street like a crack addict because no one will drop a digi 003 in my cup, but I’ll find a way to make it happen.
I lack patience. I have much more than I did a few years ago, but I still subscribe to my generation’s “Instant Gratification” mentality. I want my girlfriend to move here. I want recording equipment. I want a new album. I want to make money playing music. I want a lot of things. These things all take time, though, and that is what I must remind myself.
So. If you were one of the lucky few who read this, you now know my feelings for the month of January in the year 2011. If you also happen to be blessed with oodles of cash and you feel like giving it away, first give to charity and the church, then to me. Kthxbai.