The thing about hope, trust, and praise

“While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:” Psalm 146:2-5

The thing about hope, trust, and praise…

Hope

If you’re a runner, you’re looking at that finish line and hoping to make it. And any runner can tell you, when it starts to get tough, you remember two things: put one foot in front of the other, and BREATHE. It may seem simple, but that is what gets you to the finish line, breathing in and out while you tell your legs to keep going. The thing about hope is it doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s simply looking at the goal and hoping that you will get you there.

Trust

You feel great during the first couple of miles, strong, invincible almost. But as your feet continue to pound the track, each step is heavier, each breath more labored. What do you do when you feel the muscles begin to tremble and your lungs are begging for more air? You keep going, and trust that even as your body blasts down on your heels with the impact of double your own weight, that your legs will still hold you. Your feet will not trip you. Your breathing will not fail you. That’s the thing about trust – hope thinks that your legs are strong enough, but trust takes a step.

Praise

Finally, you cross the finish line. You’ve done something you never thought you could do, and all you want to do is express joy! The thing about praise – it’s outpouring of an inward gratitude and admiration that can’t be held inside. Hope thinks you can do it, trust moves forward believing that you can, and praise recognizes victory and celebrates.

God helps us to understand our Christian lives by comparing it to running a race (1 Corinthians 9:24). He wants us to Hope in Him. Our finish line is Heaven and the rewards that He’s promised with it.

When obeying the Bible becomes hard and we feel like we can’t continue, God wants us to Trust that we can count on Him. Take the step (OBEY) – He’ll provide the strength to meet it. Try not to imagine God carrying you in a long race, but Him surrounding you as you run, filling your legs with strength, your lungs with air.

And finally, there is joy in obedience. It is better than the feeling you get from pleasure, because it is a satisfied happiness, and it comes with a better knowledge of GOD. He literally wants to hear you sing! Let that happiness and admiration out. That’s real praise.

His Greatest Work

"The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. "
Psalm 145:8

This is David's psalm of praise. I love the way he talks about the LORD. He refers to Him in so many ways in this psalm -as royalty, as eternal, as all-powerful, and magnificent. In so many ways I am reminded of all the great things that the Creator of the universe has done.

But truly the greatest act He has performed, the greatest task He has completed, the greatest miracle... is me. His mercy to a wretched, low-down, filthy, rotten, no-good sinner, or as I mentioned before, a me.

It was through Jesus's sacrifice on the cross that I was made the righteousness of God! (2 Cor 5:21)
What greater thing could He do, than to make a sinner holy?

His love and mercy to me are His most powerful displays.
His patience towards us deserves all of my praise.
So today I'm going to beg Him to help me live every day remembering what He has done for me, to be thankful, and to praise Him!

How about you?

A Tale of Two Refuges

“I looked on my right hand and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul. I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.” Psalm 142:4,5 (bold print added)

This is one of David’s psalms, and it’s one that he wrote while hiding in a cave. Unlike most of us who have only gone into a cave for exploring, or a field trip to figure out the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite (still can’t remember that one), David was fleeing for his life. A refuge was a pretty important place to him. It was life and death in fact.

In these two verses we see the word, “refuge” twice, but don’t be deceived. These are not the same refuge. They aren’t even the same word.

In verse 4, “refuge” comes from the Hebrew word, manowc, which means flight, refuge, place of escape. David was saying that in his moment of desperate need, people had failed him, and there was no way of escape from his troubles. How’s that for sounding familiar? We’ve all been there (maybe not in a literal cave, though).

In verse 5, “refuge” comes from Machaceh, which means refuge, shelter (from rain or storm, from danger). David, who had been running for his life (for YEARS, mind you), could count on the LORD, as a sure place of protection, of safety, of shelter, of rest. And that’s what we all need when we’re in trouble. Sure, we may not have a crazy king and his army after us, but we all have troubles – relationships, money, kids, job stress, studies, schedules, health issues…

Now, I’ve used my super cool android app (My Sword – available on the android market for FREE) to look up these words in the original language, but that wasn’t really necessary was it? Look at what it says in plain English: David had two refuges, just like we all do. Verse four’s refuge that failed him, and verse five’s (the LORD) he could count on, which leaves us with this last thought:

Now that you’ve heard the tale of the refuges –in which will you trust?