Psalms 72-90

Those who put their hope, joy and confidence in their wealth are living in dreamland. “How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.”(Psalm 73:19) Dreams are real only in the mind of the dreamer. It would be a shame to awaken to the reality of God’s truth because you’ve spent too much time basing your life’s goals on unreal expectations or living in fantasy land.

David had spent his early days as a Shepherd; providing guidance, provision and protection for his flocks, which was a job with high responsibility in those times. God used this as a training ground for future responsibilities that God had in store for the greatest King of Israel that he would become. When David was trained and ready, in God’s time, God brought him from caring for sheep to caring for Israel. Do you sometimes feel your position is meaningless or not up to standards set by a superficial and materialistic society? Don’t treat your present circumstances lightly or irresponsibly; it very well could be God’s training ground for the future He wants you in.

There is a fine line between persistence and stubbornness. God encourages our persistence and warns us against stubbornness because of its self-serving motives. Have you ever insisted on doing something and stopped at practically nothing to achieve your goal? “But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices…How quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!”(Psalm81:11-14) God allowed the Israelites to carry on blindly, stubbornly and selfishly. They could have been obeying and pursing God enjoying his favor. God sometimes will allow us to continue in our own stubbornness to bring us to our senses. Have you ever felt like finally the light bulb went off and you accepted something you once fought? Yielded your stubborn strength to a power that is worthy of being in control? God does not stop us from rebelling, because he wants us to learn the consequences of sin so that we are encouraged to come to Him first before we waste our time and our lives. He uses these experiences to turn people away from greater sin to having real faith.

When we pray to God and ask that He answers, we must keep in mind that all we think is good for us may not be in line with what God knows to be the best for us. God doesn’t promise to give us everything we think we need, but he will not withhold what he has set aside for us and what he deems as permanently good. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.”(Psalm 84:11) God gives us the means to walk along his path and he also gives us the choice whether or not to walk it. When we obey him, he will not hold anything back that will help us serve Him; all that He gives us that fulfill His plan will inevitably create joy in our hearts; it is when we fail to walk according to His will that we feel disconnected and confused to our life’s purpose.

“Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven…Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.”(Psalm 85:10) The relationships between God and us and marriage relationships are living symbols of the union between love and faithfulness; you cannot have one without the other. Saying that you love God and demonstrating unfaithfulness directly negates your claim. If you say you love your significant other but hold secrets, lie and act unfaithfully by dishonoring them; you do not love that person. Our relationship is founded in faith because that is what we give to Him in order to experience his unconditional love. To be completely righteous is impossible for us, for the only person who was without sin was Jesus Christ himself. We are to model after the Lord’s righteousness from heaven by being faithful to Him and to each other on earth. The greatest intangible “feeling” that we experience and seek in our lifetimes is love. Isn’t it interesting that God is love. Isn’t it also interesting that we experience love with one another and require the same statutes to sustain our relationships that God requires of our relationship with Him? This is because God shows us the relationship He wants to have with us and uses our own relationships with parents, friends, family and significant others to demonstrate what relationship means. Ask yourself; what is required of you to maintain fruitful relationships with those you say you truly love? Do you show your love for God in similar ways?