At His Mercy

"To you I lift up my eyes,

O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

Behold, as the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

 as the eyes of a maidservant

to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the LORD our God,

till he has mercy upon us."

Psalm 123:1-2 ESV

Life is fragile, brief and oh-so delicate.  One minute I'm here, the next my life is a distant memory.  As the prophet Isaiah reminds me, "All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.  The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass."  (Isaiah 40:6b-7)  No matter how secure I may feel, how much effort I put into preserving my life, I am completely at the mercy of God; only He knows my fate.

Whether I recognize it or not, my life is in God's hands, a good place to be once I accept it.  When I submit to His sovereign power, the way I live my life will change.

Servant.  A slave has no life of his own for he is bought by a master.  Therefore, he must do his master's bidding while being completely dependent upon him for his provision. Every moment of his life is spent focused on the will of his master.  The moment he became a slave, his own rights and liberties went out the window for now his attentions must be trained on fulfilling the wishes of the one who owns him. 

Likewise, once I realize I am a servant of God's and submit myself to His loving, gentle Spirit, I will no longer cater to my own needs but look to His plan for my life. It will no longer be about me and my desires, my rights, my freedoms but rather about my Master's preferences.  What is it that He wants from me in this moment?  What is His will for my life?  How can I best represent Him in the way I respond to this hardship?

As one who is at God's mercy, I consider myself His servant, bought with a price so I can honor Him in the way I live my life (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Maidservant.  She exists to assist her mistress, tending to her every whim and desire.  A maidservant must also be ready at any moment to spring into action.  When her mistress calls, whether it be first thing in the morning or in the middle of the night, she is expected to be prepared to perform any task necessary to please her mistress.

In a similar way, I can think of myself as a maidservant, taking on the qualities that make a helpful attendant.  It's easy for me to put certain parameters around what I'm willing to do, or the times I'm available for service, but if I'm to be truly submitted to God and His will, it will mean I must take on the mindset of a maidservant.  It is for Him and His glory that I exist, but I can rest easy in the knowledge that He will never take advantage of my subservience.

As one who is at God's mercy, I consider myself His maidservant, ready and willing to accomplish whatever He calls me to do whenever He calls me to do it.

God-focus.  Servants are entirely master-focused.  In order to do their job successfully, and thus preserve their life, they must learn to set aside their own wants and desires and keep their eyes trained on the one for whom they work.  It takes humility to submit to such selfless service.

While God does not force me to submit to His will, doing so promises much blessing and building up of a storehouse full of treasures in heaven.  It may not seem a very prestigious position to hold, but in God's upside-down, backwards system of values, the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5) and anyone who wants to be considered great must be a servant (Matthew 20:26-28).

As one who is at God's mercy, my focus must be trained on God and His will.

It can be scary to put myself at the mercy of another, especially if I'm not sure if they can be trusted with my life.  When it comes to God, however, I can place my life in His hands, knowing without a doubt that He will not take advantage of me nor fail to provide for every need.  Therefore, I can operate as His servant who has been bought at a price, a maidservant who is always ready to do His bidding, and maintain a God-focus instead of putting myself and my rights first.  In these ways, being at God's mercy is a very good place to be!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God with every part of my life.

When do I promote myself, thinking I'll never amount to anything unless I defend my rights and stimulate my own success?

How do I fail to make God's will my top priority?

      

His Face Shines

"Restore us, O God;

make your face shine on us,

that we may be saved."

Psalm 80:3

My life lies in a precarious balance, so dependent upon the mercy of God am I.  Do I realize how fragile is this day I often take for granted?  How I assume the sun will rise up over the horizon in glorious splendor!  I step out of bed each morning at the beckoning of my alarm, not thinking twice that I've been given such a gift as another day to live.  My routine comforts me as I prepare my tea and tidy the house, but Who is it that hold my life in His hands?

It is my desire that I adopt the attitude of Asaph who realized how desperately he needed the restoring presence of the Lord.  I want to really grasp how much one fraction of a beam of His Light can return my life back to what He meant for me to be.  All I need is Him, and I will be saved.

Leadership.  Jesus was moved to compassion whenever He saw the crowds that desperately reached out to Him for help.  They wanted to hear the truth of the Good News, they longed for connection and craved healing of all sorts.  He saw them as sheep without a shepherd, eager for a leader they could trust to give them guidance and direction (Matthew 9:35-38, Mark 6:31-34).

I, too, am like those people who flocked toward Jesus as He walked the earth.  I need guidance and direction, and like in times of old, I have that leadership in Jesus Christ.  He is my Good Shepherd who came to lead me down paths of righteousness for His namesake (John 10:11-16, Psalm 23).  He shows me the path of life and helps me negotiate it's narrow, rocky way (Matthew 7:13-14).

I desperately need the leadership that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

Belonging.  I go to great lengths to try to belong, to fit in somewhere.  It is human nature to desire a family of some kind.  Some find this place in a gang who claims to care but is rooted in blood and power.  Others look for belonging at work, attempting to connect with co-workers who may be only looking out for their own best interest.  A few marry quickly, in need of making a family with the first one who shows interest, only to find there is nothing to bind them together and strife becomes their hallmark.  

All of mankind needs some kind of relationship, a connection with another living being in order to survive.  Even Grizzly Adams, the based-on-real-life television character who lived out in the wilderness alone, had his menagerie of creatures to give him a sense of companionship.  

No matter where I live or the direction in which my life goes, through faith in Christ I have this belonging.  I am His and He is mine, adopted into His family as His well-loved child (1 John 3:1, Psalm 100:3).  As such, I am part of a group of other believers from all walks of life who share my love for our Father.  Despite how things may look as we go through life together, we are a royal family who is well-cared for by the King of kings and Lord of lords.

I desperately need the sense of belonging that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

Provision.  I like to think I'm fine on my own, able to take care of myself, thank you very much.  I appreciate Someone caring enough to look out for me, but I often think there are some things I'd rather handle on my own.  I've fooled myself into believing I'm good at providing the things I need for life.

In reality, He gives me all I have (Psalm 8).  I used to think this thought was ludicrous.  When I reviewed my life, it occurred to me that I drove myself to work every day where I earned money to buy the things I needed and came back to the house I rented and kept clean and filled with the necessities of life.  I just didn't see where God fit into the picture.  Over the years, He opened my eyes to the reality of my dependence upon Him, whether I know it or not.  I realized that without Him, I couldn't even take the next breath let alone get out of bed and start my day.  This is my Father's world, and without Him, there is nothing for me to stand upon, no life to live, no heart to beat (Psalm 19).

I desperately need God's favor that comes through faith in Jesus Christ and gives me each moment of life and all that is necessary to continue living.

Like the psalmist, I desire God's face to shine on me because I know He is my only hope for restoration in this broken world.  I need His leadership, the belonging, and the provision of His sovereign hand that all come through faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:6).  My life is in His hands, but there is no other place I'd rather rest!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God with every detail, knowing that He is more than able to take care of me.

When do I hold back, attempting to do things on my own instead of letting God provide in the way He desires to care for me as His child?

How am I bent on self-sufficiency instead of dependence?       

Dependent and Interdependent

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
   therefore I will wait for him.”

 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
   to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
   for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:24-26

I'm as American as they come.  My husband served 24 years in the US Army, and I was proud of his service to our country and gladly endured long deployments to hostile areas for the sake of freedom.  When I hear the National Anthem played, I always get choked up when I hear, ". . . our flag was still there, " thinking of the resilience, determination and thirst for freedom of my forerunners.  I love this country.

But growing up American, I have many times worshipped at the altar of independence.  I celebrate those who are able to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, who dig themselves out of homelessness or bankruptcy, or who climb out of the slums and rise to great success.  One of this countries most popular finance motivational speakers, Suze Orman, said, "A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life."

The problem with this spirit of independence the American way has bred, is that I forsake my calling as a child of God to be fully dependent on Him to supply all my needs.  As a follower of Christ, it is dangerous to be American, for her values run counter to those of God's Kingdom.

Dependence on God 

When I think of my relationship with God, I like to imagine I am a rich young girl who is confident that her every need will be met by her wealthy daddy.  She does not wont for anything, and she never worries because she knows she need only mention it to her father, and he will gladly give her what she has asked for.  He shows his love for her in this way, and she is secure in that love.

Many times, though, I am like the typical American, and I think of a back up plan in case God doesn't come through.  I am not intentionally turning away from God, or thinking that He won't provide, but it is in my nature to analyze a situation and come up with solutions.  If God does not immediately provide, I assume I need to step in and act, using my resources to supply my own need.

Jesus taught about the generous nature of God.  “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:9-11)

Because of His great love for me, He will not fail to give me the good things that I ask for.  The thing is, God is in control of the timing of the gift, and the nature of the gift.  If I don't want to wait and give God a chance to provide, I will never find out how to be dependent on my Father in heaven.

Interdependence of the Body of Christ

It is not in my nature as an American to depend on anyone else for anything.  I take pride in the fact that I can do for myself and many times don't want to put anyone out, bothering them with my problems.

But God wants us to rely on each other as believers.  Just as the whole of creation is interdependent with each other, so His body is designed to work together.  Take, for example, bees and flowers.  They need each other to survive!  The bees need the flowers as a source of food, and the flowers need the bees to facilitate pollination necessary for reproduction by carrying pollen to other flowers as they feed.  God designed all of nature to work together in such a way.

It's no surprise, then, as part of God's creation, that He expects us to rely on each other.  "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. . .there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." (I Corinthians 12:12, 25-26)

When I take care of matters myself instead of relying on my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am denying their position and function in the Body, instead trying to fulfill the purpose of each part myself.  This is the most challenging thing for me as an American.  I have been raised to rely on myself and to not bother others with my problems.  But the Bible teaches that we are stronger together.

If I never give the other parts of the Body of Christ a chance to help me, I will never find out how to be interdependent along with my family.

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will learn to think of myself as a follower of Christ first, and an American second.

 

When do I rely on my own resources instead of turning to Him who owns the cattle on a thousand hills?

 

How can I better rely on my church family to help me in times of need?