Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord; They are studied by all who delight in them.
Splendid and majestic is His work, And His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonders to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and compassionate.
He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever.
He has made known to His people the power of His works, In giving them the heritage of the nations.
The works of His hands are truth and justice;
All His precepts are sure. They are upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever."
~Psalm 111
The past few mornings, I have awakened in the wee hours of the morning. I get really sleepy about 9 or 10pm and can't hold my eyes open, but sometime during the 3 o'clock hour, I awaken and have difficulty going back to sleep. I have learned not to panic about lack of sleep over the years, having had three asthmatics and lots of other non-sleeping issues in our home. Usually I just look at this time as a time to pray or write or read my Bible and other spiritual books.
Myriads of details are on my plate right now--children's educational and job situations; ministry conferences and all this year's upcoming changes; book proposals; people visiting; supporting Clay in his work and multitudinous responsibilities and pressures; Christmas, Bible studies and celebrations and book parties in my home; sad circumstances of friends; the future; etc. etc.
And yet, God is above and over all of these things.
His work is done in faithfulness.
God is good and He is good to me. And He will always be good. As I turned my heart to praise Him in the dark hours of the early morning, my heart was deeply touched and so deeply grateful for His sustaining and loving presence.
Verse after verse flooded my heart.
He deserves all of our worship and thanksgiving.
He is working in and through all of us in this moment in history. He is bringing us closer to the time when He will cast satan away and rule as our righteous judge forever. He is preparing a place for us. He has promised never to leave us. He works all things together for His good to those who are called to Him. He loves us with an everlasting love. He hears our prayers and He even prays for us. He is with us, always, everywhere.
There are no details of my life that He is not above and in which He cannot help. Mine isn't to figure out all of the answers to my families' needs. Mine is to rest in Him; to adore Him as a child who cuddles against its mother. To sing to Him the songs and peace of my heart because I am in worthy hands.
As I ponder so many of these truths, I see His wonderful faithfulness through all the other busy years, so that I can say with David,
"I have been young and I have been old and I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their seed begging for bread."
Even when I didn't know how things would turn out, He was at work, in faithfulness and love.
May we all bring a smile to God's face today, because of the appreciation in our hearts and on our lips and in our deeds for His faithfulness, righteousness, generosity and love. May God be praised in our land today and in our homes.