The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“In the LORD put I my trust: how say you to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain?” (Psalm 11:1).

King David lived most of his adult life surrounded by enemies. He knew what it was like to be in harm’s way. He had a wonderful sense to trust God in the most dangerous episodes of his life. The Lord was the security and stability of his life. King David trusted in the Lord and did not fly away as a bird to some distant mountain. Sharon and Sue were talking about the difficulties through which Sharon was traveling. “Honestly, Sue, there are times when I just wish I could be a bird and fly away from all my troubles,” Sharon said to her friend. “I feel like I would do anything I could to just be like a little sparrow that could fly away, far away from all the drama and commotion that is taking place in my life.” Sue quietly listened to her friend. Wisely she did not interrupt her, nor did she reply with glib clichés. After a few moments, Sue tenderly responded by saying, “Sharon, I certainly do not know exactly how you are feeling. I’ve never been through what you are going through right now. But last Sunday my pastor spoke from the 11^th Psalm where David talked about trusting in the Lord and asked why people should say to him, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain,’ in the hard times. If it’s good for the King, it’s good for you too, Sharon.” A moment later Sharon hugged her friend and burst out laughing as she said, “The way things are going for me, if I were a bird and tried to fly away to a mountain, I probably would crash into it!” Bless her heart. How about you? Perhaps you feel the same way Sharon does. If you know the Lord, you really can trust Him in this present situation. He will help you.

For today: Trusting in the Lord does not mean that we will have no problems. It does mean that we will have a great stability and security through Him.

“I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices” (Psalm 16:8-9).

Though this Psalm was written by King David, it actually is a Messianic Psalm pointing ahead to the time of the coming of Christ. Not only was this the heart’s desire of King David, it is perfectly fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only One who perfectly set the Lord His God always before Himself. What an awesome Savior He is! Though we will never fulfill this verse perfectly in our humanity, this should not stop us from rejoicing in the blessing and challenge of setting the Lord before ourselves. Have you taken a few moments today to read God’s Word? Do you ever memorize the Bible? How is your prayer life proceeding along? These are some of the ways that we set the Lord before ourselves. The end result is that your heart will be glad and your glory rejoices!

For today: May I be one of those who sets the Lord before myself. May the same be true with you!

“And Moses went and spoke these words unto all Israel. And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, thou shalt not go over this Jordan. The Lord thy God, He will go over before you” (Deuteronomy 31:1-3).

I can well remember the day soon after I began my ministry as the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Westfield, New York, that I had a hospital call to make at Hamot Medical Center in Erie, PA. Several of us were chatting after the morning service when somebody asked me, “Well Pastor, how are you doing? Are you learning your way around this area?” I actually had been doing quite well in view of the fact that there were no tools like MapQuest or GPS. I told the group, “The real test comes tomorrow as I have a hospital call at Hamot. I’ve never been to Erie, Pennsylvania, before, so this will be a good test for me.” One of the ladies told me, “Pastor, why don’t you just follow me? Every day I travel to Erie and work just a few blocks from Hamot. Just follow me.” What a great blessing that turned out to be. I didn’t have to be concerned about directions, I simply had to follow. It would be the exact same way with the children of Israel. The Lord promised to go before them. All they had to do was follow. It’s the same with us today. God’s Word gives us direction, and we must follow Him.

For today: Remember the chorus, “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow.” Let that little chorus go around and around through your mind today!

“Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God” (Deuteronomy 7:9).

Moses was speaking to the second generation of the children of Israel. For forty years they wandered in the wilderness waiting to go into the Promised Land. Throughout the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses reminded that second generation of Who God is, what He wants to do, and what they must remember about Him. What an awesome statement about our great God! He is God. He is the faithful God. This reminds us that there is no one other than Him. He can be fully trusted. He is totally reliable. He may not always do what we think He is going to do. He may not answer our prayers the way we have them all figured out. His timing may not be our timing. He may say no to the most sincere prayer that we could ever lift up to Him. He may never explain to us why the answer is no. But on this you can fully depend: He is God. He is the faithful God.

For today: Trust Him fully. You may be disappointed when He answers no to your prayers, but you will never be disappointed in Him.

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Charlotte got out of her car and walked around to the back of it. Looking at her flat tire she folded her arms and sighed. Looking around the neighborhood it appeared that not a single neighbor was home. “It’s been forty years since I’ve changed the tire,” she said to herself. “Lord, it is obvious that I am going to be late for my appointment. Please help my doctor’s office to be understanding, and help AAA to get here quickly,” she prayed. Walking away from the car and up to her front porch, Charlotte stopped and continued talking with the Lord as she said, “And Lord, while I do not understand exactly why you allowed this to happen to me today, I remember from my devotions a couple of days ago where I read in your Word that in everything I am to give you thanks. So Lord, thank you for whatever you have purposed to do in this interruption today.” How about you? In your frustrating situations, don’t forget to give God thanks for Who He is and what He is doing.

For today: I need to be much more thankful in every situation. How about you?