Monday, April 30, 2012

Psalm 148

"He has made his people strong,
honoring his faithful ones-
The people of Israel who are close to Him.
Praise the Lord!"
~Psalm 148:14, NLT 

Simple, but infinite in my book.


Strength. Who doesn't want strength? We can all use some spiritual strength. Physical strength too. What about honor? The dictionary defines honor as 'High respect', 'good reputation', 'recognition'.

I was blessed by the mention of Strength and Honor and the intimacy in verse 14. I thought of these three as attributes that could potentially take me to a higher, and more rich, level of security, lets just say, a relationship with Christ. Ultimately I have learned that my strategic thought process attaches security into the realm of a relationship. That is what makes it valid in my mind. I feel secure, therefore I feel the relationship is not only real but deeply rooted. It is what I crave. And although I am not in the least worried or even preoccupied at the thought of not being accepted in society, even amongst friends. I have become this needy little girl, craving to be continually accepted by her father, in my case, God. I have come to understand that He is the Only One I need to please. And crave for, for that matter. But I know that there really is nothing I can DO to win His love. His love is grace. He gives it no matter what.

But I rest knowing that...

All I need is You.

But I should also mention that I also crave the deep relationships with my friends, and family. But ultimately, I know that He is above all else. I realize that He knows me better than I, he knows whom he's placed in my life and at what particular time.
{{Friends, you know who you are! Wink, wink. I. Love. You.}}

And then, He continues with mentioning that this relationship brings with it His honor. Oh, how I long to be honored by Him. To be able to hear those beautiful words of affirmation come forth from his mouth.

"Well done, good and faithful servant!"

And I ask myself: Lord, have I done what you've expected of me so far? This life has been tough, you know. A deadly disease is nothing to take lightly.
.
..Oh, but YOU went through so much WORSE, (I am reminded).

Yes, I know. {{sigh}}



--Silence.



-I can hear the wind outside my bedroom window. Wonder what the air sounded like when you took your last breath on that cross. Wonder how you felt when you saw my face and blinked for the last time.

As I am reading on, this verse speaks of those "who are close to him"?

Sometimes our circumstances inhibit an attitude of praise. We don't want to praise when things are going bad. When we're faced with difficult circumstances like sickness or death, or bad news like a job loss or even when we receive a simple dirty look from someone.

Reminds me of Romans 8...

Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (v.35)


It's hard to praise God in those moments. But He calls us to praise Him anyhow. He calls even the sun and moon to praise. What makes us better than the sun and moon? And his promise to us is strength, honor and to be close to Him -a relationship. This relationship is like no other. Nothing will ever compare.

I am close to Him. I am 'those' that verse fourteen spoke of.
 I am honored. I am strengthened. I. Am. His.

So praise on! Praise Him from anywhere and everywhere. Praising Him during rough circumstances changes everything. Especially- even more so, during those tough times.

And even though life has gotten a bit hard for me. It really is so much more rich because I am stronger.

~Life As Lizzy

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