Psalm 116: 2
Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.
All you need is 1.
1 answered prayer to know He hears you. I can't remember my first answer prayer but I've known for a very long time that He does answer prayer. The beautiful thing about God is that if you seek Him you will find Him. He is listening. But you have to initiate. You have to go after Him. And that doesn't mean you're running a marathon either. It can mean one step and He'll take the other 999. I've found as my faith has increased, so has the number of steps I've taken. I quite literally heard "Say yes. This is what I have for you" about Howard as I walked out of my interview. I didn't get an acceptance letter until 87 days later. I was supposed to get on within 30 days. Then I was supposed to hear before Christmas. Y'all want to talk about a faith walk? And no I wasn't always as faithful or fervent in my belief but God is faithful to the words He speaks to us. I will continue to call on Him, for the big and the small, because I know He hears little ol' me and each and every desperate whisper of my quivering heart.
Psalm 116:7-8
Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For You have delivered my life from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling and falling.
God deals with me. And not in a I'm tolerating you for the moment kind of way. He deals with me gently, diligently, and with care. He continues to show up in my life even when I don't deserve it and truth be told I have never and will never deserve a glance. BUT......oh the but of Christianity is so power. But Jesus made a way for me to deserve not only a glance but grace the abounds and mercy that overflows. On so many occasions, I've be delivered. I'm a cryer. I cry when I worship, I cry when I'm happy, and I cry when I'm hurt. Recently, oh so recently I was in that place. And in that place I felt the nudging of the spirit say "Get on your knees." I was texting and being upset and all this and I made the decision to be obedient. I got on my knees and cried. Then I prayed as I was led to and in the process of crying out to my God I found my rest. I found exactly what I was looking for. The author and finisher of my faith gave me rest for my weary soul and made a way for me to remain faithful to the things I've endeavored to do.
Psalm 116:15
Precious (important and no light matter) in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints (His loving ones)
God loves us. Our lives, however brief, matter to Him. For me this brings up the death of those 3 Muslim students at UNC. No they weren't Christian, but they were still His creation. God doesn't take lightly this murder and act of terror and the perpetrator will be dealt with. Even when the justice system fails, Jesus sees to it that justice is served. I feel similarly about the deaths of all these Black and Brown people throughout out nation who are dying due to senseless violence.
Psalm 116:18
I will pay my vows to the Lord, yes, in the presence of all His people,
For me this verse means simply " I AIN'T SHAMED!" I'm not. I will talk about Jesus where ever and when ever. I am His child and He is my God. If that's an issue, you can go.
Psalm 118:8
It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
This is a truth I live by. I'm selective with my trust. I'm very trusting but those who I trust have earned it. I trust someone and love them, but they've hurt me deeply and I'll never forget that. That was a time when God gave me something I needed but I allowed them to mean so much to me that He had to break me out of that. And when I tell you it was painful? Try 6 months of tears. It was devastating. But I've never made that mistake again. I know Jesus is my only refuge. And you know...the Lord tested that recently....and though it was a low pass it was a pass. I'd almost done it again but I realized very quickly that that wasn't a place I needed to be again and I swerved at the last minute. I'm so grateful that I've known Him so deeply and found so much love in Him.
Psalm 118:15
The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents and private dwellings of the [uncompromisingly] righteous: the right hand of the Lord does valiantly and achieves strength!
If you ever get to be in the space I call hoe you'll find mountains of gospel! I love to rejoice and worship the Lord. My private dwelling is the place where I feel free to do as David did and dance before the Lord. I'm a mess but I'm His mess and He's making me perfect. The idea of being uncompromising comes up a lot in the amplified Bible that I read. I love it though. I'm so enamored with the idea of being upright at all costs because the costs are high. The cost of righteousness for me looks like going on 7 years of celibacy. It looks like seeking God's will and not my own. My own carnal stuff is trash but when I'm in the center of His will and I'm really trying to be in a place where I only want what He wants for me...its a sweet sweet communion.
Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the attitude I try to approach everyday with. Its why I start with something about how much I love the Lord that's upbeat in the morning. Right now I'm really feeling Tasha Cobbs' Happy. I'm so grateful that He's got each and every day in His hand and He's ordering my steps through them. Its just one day at a time sometimes, but His grace is sufficient and His love is unending.
Psalm 119:11
Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
Its so vital to do Bible study for me. I can't hide anything in my heart that I don't know about! I've got to know the word so that its always with me. I was really convicted of this before I went to China because you're only allowed to bring one Bible with you and though I've never traveled with more than one, I'd never been told I couldn't. I also think the more you know the Word, the deeper your relationship with the Father can be because you know the character and nature of God through His Word. One simple way to check if you're hearing the voice of God if you're not sure if its Him is "Does what you hear line up with the Word?" or "Does what I've read recently in the Word confirm anything for me or reassure me of something I've been praying about?" These two things were useful to me at the beginning of my walk and now I'm much more sensitive to the Spirit.
Psalm 119:27
Make me understand what you want; for then I shall see your miracles.
I just want to want what God wants for me. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I don't want what He wants and sometimes He tells me things I don't want to hear. I wanted to deliver babies but I didn't want to go to medical school because it would take too many years. I am doing what in July? Going to med school. Why? Cause that's what the Lord wants. I toyed with getting a midwifery degree for a while and I could completely rationalize it but in my spirit, it wasn't the truth and I knew it. God wasn't calling me to that. And when I tell you He has kept me through this whole process? Its been on my heart since I was 7 and there it remains. There have been times when I wanted something and God was like "This thing you merely want, I'm giving to you. Now walk that out." You talk about not ready! A young thug was NOT ready. And you know what? Now that I understand what you want, I'm waiting to see your miracle. I'm waiting to see because its only you God. Its your ball.
Psalm 119:32
If you will only help me to want your will, then I will follow your laws even more closely.
I had no idea that this was in the Word! I'm alway saying the beginning in my own terms. I call it "wanting to want God's will." I may not want it but I want to want it. I love it when God surprises me with stuff like this. There's nothing like actually wanting His will because you know its perfect for you. It's literally designed with me in mind. It's exactly what I need and not only will it fulfill me and give me joy but it will also give me a testimony that is indisputable. I know it was God because I didn't even want this BUT you caused my heart towards it to change or you spoke directly to me and now that I see how its everything I never could have even vocalized that I want, I'm even more inclined to follow your whispers in the Spirit. My heart towards going to med school took years to evolve. I simply wanted to deliver babies. There's more than one way to do that but there is the way God wants. Once I actually got to the place where actually wanted to be in His will, I have had so much closer of a walk with Him. The walk ain't perfect, but its mine.
Psalm 119:33-34
Just tell me what to do and I will do it, Lord. As long as I live I’ll wholeheartedly obey.
This is an interesting place to be. When He tells you do to things you've never conceived of it your life? Obedience. When He wants a sacrifice from you that you didn't want to give? Obedience. I've found so much freedom in obedience not because its easy but because its the right thing to do. Sometimes the painful thing is also the right thing. Lord knows, I've be told to do things that without God I never would have done. Sometimes the thing that causes you to really have to lean wholeheartedly on the Lord is exactly where He wants you.
Psalm 119:68
You are good and do only good; make me follow your lead.
God is good. That's a fact. Its also a fact that whatever He's doing in you, for you, and through you is good. Now this requires you to let Him. I know that sometimes I don't want to spirit to flow. Sometimes I'm deathly afraid of what He might ask me to do but I've found that following is the only way to ever be where I want to be. And I know what that feels like. I've asked for things that scared the snot out of me. I've let the Lord tell me what He'd have me to do even when I knew walking it out would be painful. That's a faith risk. And that's a place that requires you to know He'd never put more on you than you can bear and that ALL things work together for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Believing that ain't easy though. Surprisingly, even things I wanted in a carnal way that He's used in a spiritual way have been hard. It may not have initially been what I wanted, but following God has never led me astray. I think of it like you're on a tandem bike with God and you want to steer and tell God what you want and check in with Him over your shoulder. The beautiful thing that happens though is that at some point in your relationship with Him, you let Him steer and you're inquiring about His will for you. Lead me Lord. Lead me.
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