David has a beautiful way of expressing himself through the Psalms. For a good part of the summer, I've been spending more time in his book. Even after reading a passage or a verse several times, there is always that one point where you re-read it over again; and it all finally makes sense.
"As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore." -Psalm 125:2
A friend once shared with me that God is our "fortress." The impact of this word had never really hit me until now. He surrounds us and protects us. He does both. He is the chief cornerstone that Paul writes about in Ephesians 2:19-20:
"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone."
-->Where have I allowed God to surround me, to be my fortress?
-->Where have I resisted this change? Why?
-->What things have been surrounding me and given me a false sense of protection? Why have I allowed these things to take control?
And, God makes a promise. He promises abundance in this protection, in this "fortress."
"Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seeds to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." -Psalm 126:5 + 6
So, David is saying that Jesus will cause everyone around the world to sing and have enough? My brothers and sisters around the world - even those who are suffering from injustice, will experience joy? Even the abused mother in Africa? Even the family next door who is losing their home to foreclosure? Yes. Our seeds that we sow will become songs. There is a transformation that happens. Our notes become composed into a beautiful piece of music. But, we could be "weeping" and "sowing" for all the wrong things or for all the wrong reasons. Behind every action is a motive. So, it is helpful to ask:
-->Am I weeping?
-->What am I weeping for?
-->Are the things that I weep for the same things that Jesus weeps for? If not, why?
-->What am I spending my time "sowing"? (For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:21)
-->Am I prepared for the "sheaves", the abundance that David talks about?
-->What kind of soil am I placing my seeds into? (Matthew 13:1-23)
Jesus promises us that he will meet our physical needs (ie: hunger, thirst); that we will emerge holding more than enough. We will have plenty. Just like a child going to bed with his belly full.
Yet, this change doesn't always happen at once. God calls us to wait, to be still and quiet.
"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption." -Psalm 130:5-7
-->What does it look like for my soul to wait "more than watchmen wait for the morning"?
-->What does "full redemption" mean for my life and for our world, today?
"But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me." -Psalm 131:2
(For a little background knowledge, to be "weaned" is when a child no longer relies on his mother's milk.)
-->Where am I being called to be like a "weaned child"?
-->How does this new perspective influence the way that I see life?
-->How has my current prespective taken precedence over a childlike one? (Luke 18:15-17)
[copyright alex puleo june 23, 2011]
