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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
“I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” Psalm 16:7-10 (NIV)
“I will praise the LORD” David chose to thank the LORD for being able to take refuge in Him. God has made his lot secure. The shepherd king has a delightful inheritance.
“who counsels me” We learn to seek God’s counsel in times of doubt, distress, and fear. When we face difficult times, He waits for us. What we sometimes neglect to do is go to Him first Times I needed to go to him have been simple, as when I can’t find my keys, to the more complex as when I need to respond to a question a friend of mine asks.
“even at night my heart instructs me.” God speaks to our hearts 24/7. He reigns in the believer’s heart from the time we ask Him to come in. Even when we find ourselves not living for Him, He is there convicting us. As I initially wrote this, I received a phone call from our church. A retired pastor and his wife request prayer for their family; a great-grandson has passed away due to a car accident. They also request prayer for another person involved in the accident. That second person is in critical condition.
“I have set the LORD always before me.” David shares with us some intimate thoughts about his relationship with God. He tells his readers he always has God in view and can look to Him at all times.
“Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” When we have the Lord and we live for Him, He strengthens us and allows us to stand in the face of adversity. I have two close friends who each have several family members who are dealing with severe illness and disorders. I sent a text message to one of them and cited this verse.
“my heart is glad” When we have lightened hearts, we are relieved from our worry. When we took our newborn son to the children’s hospital, to see one of his doctors, I tensed with fear. The doctor did one action and then said one sentence and my fear seemed to melt away in an instant. I had never experienced anything like that.
“my tongue rejoices” A few years ago, I kept a list of praiseworthy gifts God gave me. I received such a blessing by doing this; I did it a second year. I was not able to finish last year’s list. In addition, I did not start one this past January. The writer of one of the blogs I follow Julie Sunne lists her gifts of blessings at the end of each blog entry and has done this for at least five years- she has nearly 5,000 recorded gifts.
“my body will rest secure,” When I cannot fall asleep, I find myself praying for those who have serious illnesses and their caregivers. I seek God’s wisdom on things that bother me. I lift up those who face tragedy-personal and national.
“you will not abandon me to the grave” God will not throw away those that belong to Him. He will not ‘kick to the curb’ anyone who lives for Him. He does not ‘turn His back on’ anyone who seeks His comfort.
Several years ago, I had a sticky circumstance come into our lives. This event embarrassed me; it made my husband uneasy and very vocal about his feelings on the issue. I had done nothing wrong. I did not want to share the particulars with my friends; however, when I did they all treated me with kindness and respect. I praise God for those dear friends. God did not abandon me; He comforted me even when certain people made me out to be the ‘bad guy.’
“nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” God protected His Son, as He became sin for us. He will protect us, even as we enter the phase of life that takes us into His presence for all eternity.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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