Embrace the Within no. 26

I know that you, God, are never pleased with lawlessness,

and evil ones will never be invited into your house.

Boasters collapse, unable to survive your scrutiny,

for your hatred of evildoers is clear.

You will make an end of all those who lie.

How you hate their hypocrisy and despise all who love violence!

Psalms 5:4-6 TPT

Song of the Steadfast

For the Pure and Shining One by King David

The Advice to Flee

1My faith shelters my soul continually in Yahweh.

Why would you say to me:

“Run away while you can!

Fly away like a bird to hide in the mountains for safety.

2For your enemies have prepared a trap for you!

Can’t you see them hiding

in their place of darkness and shadows?

They’re set against all those who live upright lives.

3What can the righteous accomplish

when truth’s pillars are destroyed and law and order collapse?”

The Answer of Faith

4Yet Yahweh is never shaken —

he is still found in his temple of holiness,

reigning as King Yahweh over all.

He closely watches and examines everything man does.

With a glance, his eyes examine every heart,

for his heavenly rule will prevail over all.

5Yahweh tests both the righteous and the wicked.

God’s very soul detests lovers of violence.

6He will rain down upon them judgment for their sins.

A scorching wind will be their lot in life.

7But remember this: Yahweh is the Righteous One who loves

justice, and every godly one

will gaze upon his face

Psalms 11 TPT

Fearless Faith

David’s poetic praise to God before he was anointed king

1Yahweh is my revelation-light

and the source of my salvation.

I fear no one!

I’ll never turn back and run, for you, Yahweh,

surround and protect me.

2When evil ones come to destroy me,

they will be the ones who turn back.

3My heart will not fear even if an army rises to attack.

I will not be shaken, even if war is imminent.

4Here’s the one thing I crave from Yahweh,

the one thing I seek above all else:

I want to live with him every moment in his house,

beholding the marvelous beauty of Yahweh,

filled with awe, delighting in his glory and grace.

I want to contemplate in his temple.

5-6In the day of trouble, he will treasure me in his shelter,

under the cover of his tent.

He will lift me high upon a rock,

out of reach from all my enemies who surround me.

Triumphant now, I’ll bring him my offerings of praise,

singing and shouting with ecstatic joy!

Yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh!

7Hear my cry. Show me mercy, and send the help I need!

8I heard your voice in my heart say, “Come, seek my face;”

my inner being responded,

“Yahweh, I’m seeking your face with all my heart.”

9So don’t turn your face away from me.

You’re the God of my salvation;

how can you reject your servant in anger?

You’ve been my only hope,

so don’t forsake me now when I need you!

10My father and mother abandoned me.

But you, Yahweh, took me in and made me yours.

11Now teach me, Yahweh, all about your ways and tell me what to do.

Make it clear for me to understand,

for I am surrounded by waiting enemies.

12Don’t let them defeat me, Lord.

You can’t let me fall into their clutches!

They keep accusing me of things I’ve never done,

breathing out violence against me.

13Yet I believe with all my heart

that I will see again your goodness, Yahweh, in the land of life eternal!

14Here’s what I’ve learned through it all:

Don’t give up; don’t be impatient;

be entwined as one with the Lord.

Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope.

Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you

Psalms 27 TPT

There are so many scriptures that have meant so much to me the past twelve hours that I just can’t condense them too well. I really love the book of Psalms because it runs the whole gamut of human emotions toward God. And over the past day, I have run through a lot of those. The great thing is that no matter what my feelings, no matter what my mood, no matter what my circumstance, God is the same. And that is my reassurance at all times.

I didn’t want to have a knee problem. It made life very humbling. I have folks treating me like the old man I resemble in the mirror. Folks carrying things to my car. Folks opening and holding doors for me. Folks waiting for me to arrive. Folks asking me questions. I can look at these things as inconveniences to others or I can focus on the unselfish acts of others and find faith that God is working through them even if they are unaware.

That’s one of the many great things about God. I don’t have to even believe in God or follow God or trust in God to be working for God’s end goals. I mean all those years I was doing my own thing and finding my own truth were all part of God steering me back to Christ. I don’t know how or why and I never have to know. That is way above my paygrade. What I do need to know is that I am back where I belong and I am going to fight like the third monkey trying to get on the Ark to keep this relationship and grow more in that relationship.

I am not going to let my circumstances decide my relationship status. And I think we see that a lot with all the divorces, separations, alienations, partisanship, and splitting in the world today. Folks let their situations determine their love. I was a victim of that many times in my past. I let myself get in the way of what God wants. I need to love God and my neighbor. There are no conditions on that statement.

You can go look it up. God doesn’t say love God and your neighbor when you feel like it. It doesn’t say when days are good, when you are happy, when you are sad, when you are looking at the sky, when you are getting paid, when you are doing anything. It isn’t conditional. We are conditional.

And our conditions put limits on God. And that’s where we fail. We fail because we want God to fit in a box and folks to fit in a box too. That box is determined by how we feel at that moment. BUT God is good all the time. And our love for God and our neighbor needs to be good all the time too. So, that’s what I am going to take away from the past week and change. I am going to realize and internalize that my condition is not running things. I get to choose what to do with the thoughts that enter my mind. I am going to remember that my condition is transitory BUT God is permanent. And my love of God and my love for my neighbor is permanent as well.

Peace to your home. Bless your being. The reign of God is now. Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain #EmbracetheWithin