The Lord is MY...

Psalms 18:1-3 NIV For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love you, O LORD, my strength. (2) The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (3) I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

Ok, time for grammar lessons (that I picked up from the web).  What is the word “My”?  It is called a possessive pronoun.  They are the pronouns that help us show possession or ownership in a sentence.

Have you noticed how this is what David proclaims in vs. 1-2 of Psalm 18?

“O, Lord, MY strength”.

“The Lord is MY rock, MY fortress, MY deliverer”

“MY God is MY rock”

“He is MY shield…MY salvation, MY stronghold”.

These were not just general understandings about God being passed on to us.  David did not write “O, Lord, OUR strength”, or “OUR rock” or “OUR fortress”.  God was his strength, his rock, his fortress.  It was personal.  He had personal possession of his knowledge of who God was, as this was revealed to Him by God Himself.

This psalm of David, and all the other psalms and prayers in the Bible, were personal songs, prayers, expressions of worship and trust, that the writers wrote.  They were expressing their personal faith, belief and knowledge of who God is.  

This is why David knew that he could call to the Lord, and be saved from his enemies.  Because he knew who his God was to him.  Not just “who his God was”, theologically, but who his God was to him.

This is why we cannot just read the psalms, or prayers, of David, memorize them, recite them or claim them, without a personal conviction and belief in who God is.

It is true that Christians, generally, share the same faith and belief concerning our God and Jesus Christ our Savior, but how important is it for us to be able to personally believe and proclaim who our God is.

This is not something for us to recite or memorize.  It is something for us to believe.

We need to ask ourselves if we can claim the same belief that David did.  Has God graciously revealed Himself to us, that we take personal possession or ownership of who God is in our heart?  Is this belief in who God is an honest to goodness personal belief in our hearts…or is He just one of the many beliefs we have?

 Take a look again at David’s psalm, and check if we can claim the same by asking ourselves:

• Is God MY strength?  We find strength in so many people and things.  When we say God is MY strength, He isn’t just one of the sources of strength, but THE source of strength.
• Is God MY rock?  Is he the firm, stable and strong One that we hold on to, and that brings stability to our life?  Many times I have heard statements, read posts, of people proudly proclaim that their loved one was their rock, who kept them strong.
• Is God MY fortress?  A place we feel safe, secure, that protects us.  Proverbs 18:11 says “The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.”.  It could be wealth, or anything else.
• Is God MY deliverer, MY shield?  For David God was literally a deliverer and protector from his enemies.  David trusted God to deliver him during times of warfare.  For us today, it may be deliverance from trouble or evil.  Do we believe this for ourselves?

How important is it for our hearts to be able to proclaim that God is “MY” strength, rock, fortress, deliverer…and everything else in our life.

When we say “my”, we express our personal belief in who He is, and hold on to it.  And no one can change it.  This is what we believe, from the very bottom of our hearts.  And that’s why we call upon Him.

 This is what differentiates someone who just memorizes, repeats or recites a statement about God and His attributes, from someone who truly believes, in his/her heart, about who God is.

 And this can only come when God Himself reveals who He is to our hearts.

John 9:35-38 NIV Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" (36) Who is he, sir? the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." (37) Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." (38) Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

 John 20:28 NIV Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

 May God graciously reveal who He is to our hearts, through His Word, so that we can proclaim, just like the blind man, and like Thomas, that "I believe" and know that He is “My Lord and My God”.

THE TEST OF TRUE WORSHIP

The book of Job is one of those books in the Bible that one is not necessarily excited to read (except maybe the last chapter when God restores his family and possessions to Job).  But we know it is there, and we are aware of the lesson it teaches.  Yet, it is a lesson that all of us have a difficult time swallowing.

There will always be a time when we will question God’s “wisdom” in allowing unfortunate events to come upon us, our family, and even ourselves.  Even if we know that God is sovereign, when things like these happen to us we still find ourselves questioning God, even for just a little while, until we rest in his sovereignty over our lives.  Questions like – “Why, Lord…why did this happen to me?”.  Or “Why me, Lord?”. 

Let’s take a quick look at the events that happened to Job.

 Job 1:6-12 NIV One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. (7) The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." (8) Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." (9) Does Job fear God for nothing? Satan replied. (10) Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. (11) But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." (12) The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

 First, we see God sovereign over Satan.  That’s an important truth to see here.  Satan is not free to just do what he wants on earth, or to anyone.  He still answers to our Great God.

Second, we see God asking Satan to consider Job!  God knew His servant Job.  Look at how God describes Job – “there is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil”.  I don’t think there is any of us reading this who would not want God to say the same thing about us.  And yet, God was saying this when He was asking Satan to consider Job.

Then comes the accusation of Satan. 

(9) Does Job fear God for nothing? Satan replied. (10) Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. (11) But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

Satan’s claim was that Job feared God and shunned evil because God was blessing him.  But take away the blessing, and Job will stop worshiping you.  A very simple accusation.

So God answers:

(12) The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

In just a few moments apart from each other, look what happened to Job:

    The Sabeans stole all his oxen and donkeys.

    The fire of God burned all his sheep and servants.

    The Chaldeans stole all his camels and put to death the servants tending them.

    A mighty wind swept from the desert, all four walls of their house fell, and killed all his children.

 This wasn’t just one problem or trial.  These were multiple trials, happening in one moment in Job’s life.

With all this happening, how did Job respond?

Job 1:20-22 NIV At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship (21) and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." (22) In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

 He fell to the ground and worshiped.

Job did not charge God with wrongdoing.

 But it doesn’t stop there.  On another day, we don’t know exactly when, but Satan brings the same accusation.

Job 2:1-10 NIV On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. (2) And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." (3) Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason." (4) Skin for skin! Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. (5) But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." (6) The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

 At first, Satan accused Job for worshiping God because of what God had blessed him with.  Now that all of that was taken away, and Job still worshiped God, there was one more target – Job’s body.

(4) Skin for skin! Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. (5) But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face."

 And so, God allows Satan to bring torment to Job’s body.  But Satan is not allowed to take his life – that is solely in God’s hand.

Again, how did Job respond?

 (7) So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. (8) Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. (9) His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" (10) He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

 Even with his wife prompting him to curse God for what He was doing, Job did not sin against God with His words.

Again, Job worshiped, recognizing the sovereignty of God over his life – “shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”.

 

Why does a sovereign God over our life allow trouble or hardship to come upon our life, even our own bodies?  Even for someone like Job – blameless, upright, feared God and shunned evil, he was not exempted from this.

In Job’s case there seems to be only one reason - to show that what God saw in Job's heart was true - he feared God, worshiped Him, recognized His sovereignty over his life.

 The Christian life is not about enjoying the material things and the healthy, long life, that God blesses us with.  It’s about WORSHIP.  This is what it all boils down to – our hearts fearing God and worshiping Him.

In all that God does.  In all that He doesn’t do.  In all He gives, and withholds.  In everything that He sovereignly allows to happen in our life.  These are all meant to test, and reveal, if we truly worship Him, recognize Him as who He is, revere Him and trust Him.

 

I am writing this with my heart bowed down to God, praying that I even have just an iota of Job’s faith and trust in His sovereign God.  By faith I trust that just as God caused me to be born again, opening my eyes to see Him and know Him, He will work in my heart and give me the same faith and trust that Job had.  That I may just worship Him.

 1 Peter 1:6-7 NIV In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (7) These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.