I could spend time today looking at “the woes” Jesus pronounces on the scribes and Pharisees.  There is good stuff there for me to consider about how not to live and how important it is to live out justice, mercy and faithfulness. (Matthew 23:23) These things are good.

The last few days have once again impacted me with the importance of prayer.  It can be a labor of love sometimes that keeps us awake through the watches of the night.  It may not have been such a “labor” if I had stopped fighting it and just gave myself over to prayer, which was clearly what God required of me.  This has happened to me on but a few occasions and I do not always see the outcome right away.  This was not one of those times.  My God is a God of healing and restoration.  He is the God who sees us.  The God who is full of compassion.  The God who is gracious and kind. The God of second and third and fourth and more chances.  He is the God who can soften the hardest of hearts.  And today I continue to rejoice as David did in Psalm 28.

Blessed be the Lord,
Because He has heard the sound of my pleading.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart triumphs,
And with my song I shall thank Him.
The Lord is their strength,
And He is a refuge of salvation to His anointed.
Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.

May grace, peace, and mercy abound, 

But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (Exodus 14:13-14 NLT)

Just stay calm.  The Egyptian army is bearing down on you, but just stay calm.  The NASB translation renders verse 14, “The Lord will fight for you, while you keep silent.”  I know myself well, I would be in a panic I am pretty sure.  Even when I don’t have an army bearing down on me I can get overwhelmed by a feeling of panic.  The LORD himself will fight for you.  These may be the words I need to write on the “doorposts” of my heart.  The words I need to see every morning when I wake and again as I lay down to sleep.  The God who parts the waters, the God who controls the winds and the waves, the God who has authority over death itself, the One who conquered the grave…this is the God who fights for me.  This is the One who keeps me calm when I fix my eyes on Him.  Remember Peter walking on the water?  God seems to keep reminding me lately that He is my place of rest and protection.  After all these years I still struggle to stay calm and let Him fight for me.

May grace, peace, and mercy abound, 

The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains,
    The world, and those who live in it.
 For He has founded it upon the seas
     And established it upon the rivers. (Psalm 24:1-2)

Most mornings I wake up with a song in my head.  This morning it was a song of praise to the Lord of all the earth.  Then I read Psalm 24 and it just seems right that my mind continue to sing praises to the King of glory who is the LORD strong and mighty, the LORD who cannot be defeated in battle, the God of angel armies who is always by my side.

May grace, peace, and mercy abound,