July 27, 2006 - Psalms 43-45 and Acts 27:27-44
It is easy to get discouraged, if we don't keep our focus on the Lord and His promises. God does not want us to become discouraged, but Satan makes sure that he uses our flesh and the influences of this world to tempt us to be discouraged, because we are less effective as Christians when we allow discouragement to rule in our lives. Think about how to overcome discouragement as we read these passages.
In Psalm 43 the psalmist cries out to God for help. He asks for God to send His light and His truth to lead him. (v.3) If we have God's light, we can see our lives as God sees them, instead of giving in to Satan's lies. Even when our souls are disquieted, we can hope in the Lord and praise Him, because He is our salvation. (v.5) We must remember that all of the time to defeat discouragement.
Psalm 44 is written to ask God why His people are not winning their battles. In the past God had blessed His people with victory over their enemies. Now, they are defeated, but it does not seem to the psalmist that they people are being disobedient, so he wants to know why God is not empowering them. (v.24) As we learned from the book of Job, our problems are not always caused by sin. Sometimes, God is teaching us or allowing us to suffer for some other reason. We must not allow problems to depress us, sine we know God is with us all of the time.
Psalm 45 is a prophetic and Messianic psalm. It is about the king and his bride. I believe it is about Christ and the church. Jesus loves the bride so much. One day there will be a great and joyous feast in heaven to celebrate their marriage. At that moment all of the cares of life on this earth will seem very insignificant in the face of being with Christ for eternity. I hope we all will take joy and hope from that promise each day as we live for Him here in this evil world, and we battle the flesh in the power of His Spirit.
Acts 27 is a wonderful story of victory. When the pagans see that Paul really did hear from God, they begin to follow his leadership. They all stay on the boat. They eat. They decide not to kill the prisoners. How often would that happen? Not very often. However, when God's people walk in God's light and truth, the world can see the difference. When they listen to the Lord, they can have courage in the midst of the worst situations, instead of being discouraged. They can rise to the top, instead of being cast down by the world. However, even if that does not happen, we have a home in heaven with Jesus. It is going to be fantastic to be in perfect relationship with Him in heaven for eternity. Therefore, our hope is in Him and not in this world, anyway.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 46-48 and Acts 28.
In Psalm 43 the psalmist cries out to God for help. He asks for God to send His light and His truth to lead him. (v.3) If we have God's light, we can see our lives as God sees them, instead of giving in to Satan's lies. Even when our souls are disquieted, we can hope in the Lord and praise Him, because He is our salvation. (v.5) We must remember that all of the time to defeat discouragement.
Psalm 44 is written to ask God why His people are not winning their battles. In the past God had blessed His people with victory over their enemies. Now, they are defeated, but it does not seem to the psalmist that they people are being disobedient, so he wants to know why God is not empowering them. (v.24) As we learned from the book of Job, our problems are not always caused by sin. Sometimes, God is teaching us or allowing us to suffer for some other reason. We must not allow problems to depress us, sine we know God is with us all of the time.
Psalm 45 is a prophetic and Messianic psalm. It is about the king and his bride. I believe it is about Christ and the church. Jesus loves the bride so much. One day there will be a great and joyous feast in heaven to celebrate their marriage. At that moment all of the cares of life on this earth will seem very insignificant in the face of being with Christ for eternity. I hope we all will take joy and hope from that promise each day as we live for Him here in this evil world, and we battle the flesh in the power of His Spirit.
Acts 27 is a wonderful story of victory. When the pagans see that Paul really did hear from God, they begin to follow his leadership. They all stay on the boat. They eat. They decide not to kill the prisoners. How often would that happen? Not very often. However, when God's people walk in God's light and truth, the world can see the difference. When they listen to the Lord, they can have courage in the midst of the worst situations, instead of being discouraged. They can rise to the top, instead of being cast down by the world. However, even if that does not happen, we have a home in heaven with Jesus. It is going to be fantastic to be in perfect relationship with Him in heaven for eternity. Therefore, our hope is in Him and not in this world, anyway.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 46-48 and Acts 28.