Watching The Master's Hand

Psalms 123:1-2 (NIV)

1I lift up my eyes to you,

to you whose throne is in heaven.

2As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the LORD our God,

till he shows us his mercy.

What did the psalmist mean when he said "I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven"?  The general undertanding is that it refers to prayer, or to a gesture of trust upon God.  But to really understand what he was saying to the Lord we need to take it in the context of the next verse, for this describes what his heart was saying.

2As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the LORD our God,

till he shows us his mercy.

We need to understand this in the context of ancient Master-servant relationships, something that we don't really practice today.  Servants and maids during those days were not employees or volunteers...they were pracitcally commodities.  Many were bought, others volunteered their servanthood to their masters.  But generally as servants they did not act on their own.  Everything they did was according to what their masters wanted.  Whatever the master commanded them, they were to do.

And what the servants usually looked at were the hand gestures of their masters.  With a wave of a hand, or with a specific signal, the servant knew if he was being called, or asked to do something.  All their movements were based on these hand signals.  And so a slave, or a maid, would be looking to the hand of their master or mistress, for them to know what they were to do.

This was what the psalmist was praying for.  As the eyes of a slave were continually focused on the hand of his master, waiting for the command, so was this psalmist waiting for the Lord to tell him what to do.

The next verses reveal to us what the psalmist was going through:

Psalms 123:3-4 (NIV)

3Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us,

for we have endured much contempt.

4We have endured much ridicule from the proud,

much contempt from the arrogant.

The psalmist was enduring much contempt and ridicule from proud people.  The Hebrew word for "contempt" means "to be despised...a laughingstock".  The word "ridicule" means to be mocked, made fun of.

In a situation like this it would have been natural for the psalmist to fight back, to retaliate or answer back at those who were treating him with contempt. But he didn't.  His eyes looked to his Master, and he was waiting for what his Master would command him to do.

Are we in a similar situation like this?  There are times when people will treat us with contempt, ridicule us or make fun of us.  Maybe it's in your office, or in your dealing with other people.  The natural tendency for us is to respond according to our emotion, or to simply retaliate.  When people are proud and arrogant, the natural response is for us to be proud and arrogant also.

Lift up your eyes to your King, your Master, and look to His hand.  Ask and wait for Him to tell you what to do.  Don’t follow your emotion, and don’t feed your pride.  You are a servant, a maidservant, and it is your Lord now who tells you how to live, what to do.

Generally, this should be the posture of the heart of a servant, or a maidservant…looking to the hand of their Master, and waiting for Him to tell us what to do.  In the New Testament this is called “walking by the Spirit”, always praying, discerning, what the Holy Spirit is prompting us to do, to act, in certain situations.

Of course it all depends on the foundation of our relationship with God - is He our Master?  Are we His servants?  Do we do things on our own volition or our own ways, or are we looking up to Him who sits on the throne?

Whether we are being ridiculed or mocked like the psalmist, or whatever situation we are facing, make sure that our eyes are on the hand of our Master, waiting upon Him before we act, or react.

Not Afraid to be Afraid

Psalms 56:3-4 (NIV)

³When I am afraid,

I will trust in you.

⁴In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can mortal man do to me?

This passage begins with being afraid.  But it ends with not being afraid.
Why wouldn't David be afraid?  He was being pursued by men who were attacking him, who wanted him dead.  All day long they were pursuing him.  And they weren't going to stop - why?  Because of their pride.
Psalms 56:1-2 (NIV)
¹

Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me;

all day long they press their attack.

²My slanderers pursue me all day long;

many are attacking me in their pride.

So David cries out..."when I am afraid...".
There are some Christians who are ashamed to admit that they are afraid.  When going through trials, feeling anxious, when someone asks them how they are their usual answer is "I'm ok", or "God is good".
But did you notice David...he wasn't afraid to say that he was afraid!
I don't think there is any human being who does not encounter a situation where he becomes afraid...even for just a few seconds.  It may be temporary, but we do experience some sort of fear.
But where should that fear lead us?

David said "When I am afraid I WILL TRUST IN YOU"
The fear of David concerning those who were pursuing him quickly turned out to be a situation where he could express his trust in God!
It's normal and human to be afraid.  But we are not supposed to stay afraid.  When we are afraid we are to trust in God.
What about God should we trust?  In God WHOSE WORD I PRAISE.
God has given us his Word, His promises.  This is what David trusted in - the word of the Lord, His promises to him as King of Israel, and as God's child.

This now is what lead David to finally say "IN GOD I TRUST, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID"
That's when the fear was overcome - when David recalled, and believed, the promise of the Lord, His word for David.

We may begin by being afraid, but when we recall, embrace and believe the word God has for us, that fear is erased.  This is why it is so important for a Christian to be filled with the word of God, His promises for us. It is a never ending filling in our hearts, that we may overcome all fear in our hearts.

Do not be afraid to be afraid when it leads you to trust in God whose Word your praise!

The Word of God...our Mirror

James 1:23-25 (NIV)
²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

I always notice people walking in the streets taking advantage of every opportunity to check how they look.  They will pass by restaurants, offices, even cars parked, look at their reflection in the glass windows.  Some do it as if they're pros - just one simple, quick glance, almost not noticeable.  Others will take their time, stop for a while, check themselves from the top of their heads to the sole of their feet, not realizing that the people eating in the restaurant, or the driver inside the parked car, are looking straight at them!
Some women have their pocket mirrors to check how they look once in a while.  Even cellphones have a button called "mirror", that you can press and see yourself.  I think it's just the camera that evolved into a mirror, which it actually does - it mirrors how we look.

We all need mirrors to check how we look.  We do it before we leave the house, and throughout the day we need to keep checking if we still look alright.

What is the spiritual mirror of a Christian?  James writes to remind believers that the Word of God is our mirror.  The Word of God shows us how we should live.  The Word of God shows us how we should look, how we are supposed to "dress up" as Christians.  And it reveals it to us for every aspect of our life - from the top of our head to the sole of our feet.  Every area - our thoughts, what we look at, what we say, what we listen to, where our heads turn, our heart, what our hands hold, where our feet take us.  The Word of God should be our mirror, showing us how we should live.

And yet, there are so many Christians who leave their homes without looking at their spiritual mirror. We go through the day without looking at our spiritual mirror.  And even worse, there are some who go through weeks, months even years without looking at their spiritual mirror.  Not surprisingly they live lives that are not pleasing to God, that do not reflect His character, that do not glorify His name.

This is why we read God's Word everyday, meditate upon His teachings every moment, and make sure we go back to our spiritual mirror again and again, to make sure that we see how we are, how we are living.  It is a natural concern for a Chrsitian, just as it is with every human being, to want to make sure he looks ok.

And in this hi-tech day we live in - this mirror is even in our cellphone!  So don't just press the "mirror" button in your phone to check how you physically look.  Press that bible app as often as you can, daily, just to check if you look as good as how God wants you to look.

Enjoying God's Dwelling Place

Psalms 84:1-4 (NIV)
¹

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O LORD Almighty!

²My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

³Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may have her young—

a place near your altar,

O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

⁴Blessed are those who dwell in your house;

they are ever praising you.

I smiled when I read the first verse of this psalm.  I could just imagine what a feeling the writer of this psalm had when he saw the temple of God, how much his soul yearned to be in His presence, to stay and serve in His temple.
This is the reason why every year Israelites would go on a pilgrimage, no matter how far they were, to be in the Lord's temple.  The joy of being in His presence, a privilege that even sparrows had as they laid their nests there.  It was a joy to travel, and the joy in their hearts turned deserts into streams of water!
There is nothing better than enjoying the presence of God in His dwelling place.

Believers in Christ today can enjoy the same thing.  But how many of us realize that God's presence is not just in a church building, nor just in the fellowship of fellow believers?  I use the word "just" because yes, when believers gather to worship in a church building God is there, and when believers gather to fellowship and talk about God He is there.
1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV)
¹⁶Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

But sometimes there's another place that believers miss out on with regards to God's presence - our own hearts, our own bodies!
1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV)
¹⁹Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Our body, we individually, are a temple of the Holy Spirit.  We are His temple!  Why?  Because He resides in us!
Colossians 1:27 (NIV)
²⁷To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Christ in us!  The indwelling presence of our God in us makes us His temple, His dwelling place.
Our pilgrimage to worship and see how lovely our God is not in a trek or travel to a place, or a building.  He is right in our hearts.  When we spend time in worship, prayer, meditation and listening to Him speak to us through His Word and through the Spirit teaching us - that's our pilgrimage.  And what a joy it is to just sit and enjoy the presence of God.  There is no greater joy than this.  Truly how lovely is Your dwelling place Almighty God!
Sadly, many of us miss out on this everyday!

Oh, may all our hearts sing just like the psalmist - How lovely is your dwelling place! may we sing this every day, every moment of our life!

Trusting in God's lovingkindness

Psalms 52:1 (NASB)

¹Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?

The lovingkindness of God endures all day long.

6-7

⁶The righteous will see and fear,

And will laugh at him, saying,

⁷“Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,

But trusted in the abundance of his riches

And was strong in his evil desire.”

That's the way of the world - people will do evil, and they will boast in it.  If you look at the context of this psalm, as seen in verses 6-7, it refers to man not making God his refuge but trusting in the abundance of his riches and in his evil desires.
In the world people boast of their evil ways - how they cheat the government in taxes, how they cheat their customers, cut corners, compromise on the quality of their service or goods, just to earn more money.  And they boast about it!
If you work with someone like that notice how they will pass on their "secrets", and their practices.  And if you don't follow what they do you are branded as a non-conformist.

If you're a believer you trust in what the psalmist said in the first verse - the lovingkindness of God endures all day long.  We do not need to resort to evil ways to earn money, because we trust that God's lovingkindness will take care of us...the whole day, every day, for the rest of our life.

May this be the battlecry, the testimony, of all of Christians - we will not boast in evil ways, but will trust in the lovingkindness of God always.

Wisdom or Folly?

Proverbs 9:1-6 (NIV)

1Wisdom has built her house;

she has hewn out its seven pillars.

2She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;

she has also set her table.

3She has sent out her maids, and she calls

from the highest point of the city.

4“Let all who are simple come in here!”

she says to those who lack judgment.

5“Come, eat my food

and drink the wine I have mixed.

6Leave your simple ways and you will live;

walk in the way of understanding.

I like how Proverbs 9 shows us the contrast between how the wisdom of God (here personified as a woman) and Folly present themselves to people.  In the passage above wisdom builds her house and shows how well it is built, and how strong a foundation it has.  With it she  prepares a sumptuous meal, showing us how enjoyable and filling it will be.  Then, she sends out her maids to call out to all from the highest point of the city, so that all may see what she has prepared.

God’s wisdom for His people is not offered blindly to us.  He shows us how it is built, how strong the foundation of His wisdom is.  He also shows us how enjoyable and filling it is to walk according to His Word, His wisdom.

Of course this does not come magically into the mind of a believer.  We need to seek Him and His word, that we may know and understand what He is offering us.

But His wisdom is there…always available, and clearly explained to each of us.

This is in contrast to Folly.

 Proverbs 9:13-15 (NIV)

13The woman Folly is loud;

she is undisciplined and without knowledge.

14She sits at the door of her house,

on a seat at the highest point of the city,

15calling out to those who pass by,

who go straight on their way.

Folly is loud, undisciplined and without knowledge.  No explanation how her house was built or how strong it is, there is no preparation of any meal or of sending out her maids to call.

She just tempts.  All folly does is tell us what we can enjoy.

Proverbs 9:16-18 (NIV)

16“Let all who are simple come in here!”

she says to those who lack judgment.

17“Stolen water is sweet;

food eaten in secret is delicious!”

18But little do they know that the dead are there,

that her guests are in the depths of the grave.

 Notice that there is no presentation of how it will benefit us, or what good it will bring us.  It just says that what it offers is sweet and delicious.

Folly does not call out to those who have judgment, but to those who lack it.  She does not want anyone thinking or judging whether their actions will be good for them or not.

Then she offers the effect - the sweetness and deliciousness of what folly does, not focusing on the fact it is stolen and done in secret.

And, there is no explanation of the eternal effect of what they are going to do - for all sin leads to death.

Wisdom and Folly will always battle for victory over our minds, fighting for someone to follow them.

Will we stop and look at what God’s wisdom offers us, or will we simply  follow the temptation of folly, look to what we can enjoy for a few moments, without understanding its eternal effect?

Ordering our Prayer

Psalms 5:3 (NASB)

³In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice;

In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

It takes discipline to pray.  Prayer, for sure, is a spiritual act.  It is a working of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, moving us to express our desire for fellowship with God, with whom we have access through Jesus Christ, and also an expression of dependence upon our Lord when we have needs, problems, etc.  And, of course, it is an expression of thanksgiving and worship.  All of this happening in our hearts, our inner being.
But it takes discipline.  Our flesh would rather do something else.  Our flesh does not see the importance and essence of the spiritual realm, our fellowship and dependence on God.  And so our flesh usualy leads us to what it believes to be more important than prayer - household chores, taking care of family members, work or business, studies, and other things.
But we need to discipline ourselves to pray.

This is what the psalmist said in the verse above...In the morning I will ORDER my prayer to You, and eagerly watch.  To "order" in Hebrew means "to arrange, or set in order".  One of the things this word has in mind is the formation of soldiers when they are going to war.  They are formed, or set in order, in a way to gain victory.
It's the same with prayer.  We need to arrange our schedules so that we put prayer as a priority.  Notice the psalmist saying that he ordered his prayer IN THE MORNING.  The Hebrew word is actually "DAWN".  First thing in the morning.
First things first.  Some of us may not be able to wake up at dawn to pray, and others may even have to do some important chores at the beginning of the day.  But in our hearts prayer is arranged that it is in the top priority.

If we put a premium on our relationship with God, if we know that our priority in life must be our heart, our spiritual state, then we will arrange prayer in the most important part of the day.  Again, It may not necessarily be the first thing that we do...but we arrange our day understanding that we won't last a day without our fellowship and expression of worship and dependence upon God.

Acquire Wisdom!

Proverbs 4:5-7 (NASB)

⁵Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!

Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

⁶“Do not forsake her, and she will guard you;

Love her, and she will watch over you.

⁷“The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom;

And with all your acquiring, get understanding.

I like how the NASB translates this passage, using an exclamation point to emphasize it's importance.  The word "acquire" in Hebrew literally means "to get", or "to buy".  When you "get" something it is something that you want.  Generally speaking, when you spend for something it means you really want it, to the point that you're willing to spend money for it.  This was the wise words that Solomon was leaving his son.  He wasn't just giving advice...He was commanding him to acquire wisdom as if it was the most important thing in his life.

The default attitude of our hearts is to take spiritual wisdom from God and His Word as of secondary importance (sometimes even less).  We depend on our own wisdom, the wisdom of others, the wisdom of "gurus" who have learned so much from their experience, the wisdom of the world.  We spend our money on books, spend our time reading social media posts or articles about success and financial gain, attending seminars and talks of successful people, so that maybe some of their success and wealth may pass on to us.  Sadly, the wisdom of God always seems to be the last resort.

This is why there are many Christians who have no idea concerning God's wisdom...we wait until the last minute to seek it, and by that time our hearts are so far from Him we cannot discern it anymore.  We make His wisdom the last option after trying all other human and worldly options.

How do we acquire wisdom? Simple...GET IT.  It's right in front of us, in the Bible on our desk, or in the app in our cellphone.  We just have to make that effort to get it, to read it, meditate upon it, and then practice it
BUY IT!  How much of your time and effort are you willing to spend to get the wisdom that God has for us to use in our everyday life?  The wisdom of God does not come miraculously, nor from a once a week listening to a sermon.  You have to spend time, strength, and sometimes even money to acquire the wisdom God has for us.
Sadly, we don't, not realizing the consequence it brings upon our life.

Proverbs 4:20-23 (NASB)

²⁰My son, give attention to my words;

Incline your ear to my sayings.

²¹Do not let them depart from your sight;

Keep them in the midst of your heart.

²²For they are life to those who find them

And health to all their body.

²³Watch over your heart with all diligence,

For from it flow the springs of life.

 The springs of life do not come from the world, or from worldly wisdom...it comes from our heart.  The question is...what is filling our hearts?  Are you acquiring the right wisdom for your life?  Are you willing to spend, for God's wisdom?