I’ve been somewhat moody lately. I have great days and low days. Even though I know the root of it, and know I have nothing to do with it and can do nothing about it, I somehow still get trapped into a vicious thought-circle and sometimes have a hard time getting out.
Today was one of those low days. The low-day mood comes in waves and generally manifests itself in a sour-attitude more than sadness. I had made it through the whole day and was just about to lose it with my kids (my DH is out of town, which apparently in kid-language means “We have no bedtime!”), when one of them asked if we were still going to read the Bible (we go through a book on the shorter catechism at bedtime). I cannot not read them the Bible! It may have been a stall-tactic (no-question at this time of night), but I did it anyway. One of the children wanted to read Psalms 34:18 because of a song they have been learning, so we decided to read the whole chapter. To save time, here it is for your reading pleasure: (NIV) (For the sake of space I consolidated each verse to one line instead of two.)
1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
I took such refreshment from God’s words. I had to confess immediately to giving another day to this seemingly-irreconcilable matter. My childrens’ ploy to avert a bedtime turned out to be the best part of the day.
Going forward, I must choose joy over sadness. Just like loving someone is a choice, I have to choose to have joy in the LORD; not based on my circumstances, but on who I am in Christ.
Tomorrow will be a great day- I’ve already decided.
This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Sometimes it is easy to think that being caught up in something we have no control of is a bad place to be. After all, I’m an adult, I am of age to manage anything the Gov. allows me to (Drive, vote,etc…). Surely I can handle anything that comes my way. Then God stirs the waters of my life like a little whirl pool in a puddle and says, “Try to stop it!”. No matter how hard I try, another ripple appears and I am forced to see my small place in His oceanic plan. I’m realizing that is not a terrible place to be.
“Why the little whirl pool” I may ask? God simply replies, ” So you can realize just how much you need me.”
Those “Seeds” Worship songs are doing their work… as I’m reading through Psalm 34 there I see two of ‘em…
But then your thought about tomorrow being a “great day” reminded me of this line I read in a book today — The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges:
Sola gratia!
I love that book! Yet, it is still a struggle to not want to earn that free grace! From childhood we’re taught that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”, or “nothing’s free-you just pay for it somewhere else”, or “there’s always a string attached”. It’s a beautiful, humble pill to swallow-that God’s grace really is free.
Thanks for commenting.
I am pretty new to this world of blogging but I am loving it! Thanks for sharing your postings. I look forward to laughing my head off (I read the old noodle-in-the-nose post) and being encouraged (your most recent post) whenever I allow myself the luxury of sitting down and just browsing on the computer.
Now that I have a blog, I miss yours so much! Anything new going on at the Schultz Zoo?