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Sunday, October 23, 2011

trusting our Sun and Shield

I wrote this in my prayer journal on October 17, but I never got around to posting it in a blog until now:


Have you ever been afraid to enjoy something, love someone or want something so much for fear that God is going to take it away, or not give it to you? Our reasoning is often this: While we want to believe it's not in God's nature to take away what we want for the sake of it, we have experienced times where He will withhold what we want or what we have because it's become an idol for us or it's just not best for us.

I was just talking to my Bible study co-leader, Ashleigh, about this Friday night, discussing how sometimes we live in this fear, so that if there is anything we begin to love or enjoy, we force ourselves to become apathetic to it, because if we care too much, God is going to take it away from us.

Two days later, I read Psalm 84 in my quiet time. In verses 11-12, the psalmist says that God is our sun and shield -- one who gives life, and one who protects life. He "bestows" favor and honor upon us, and does not withhold good things from us, if we continue in faith and righteousness with Him.

That is His heart -- He takes great joy in blessing us and will not withhold that which is good for us; but in light of that, if something is not good for us, He may take it away. Or sometimes He will want to teach us a lesson by letting us keep it and having us see the consequences of it. His actions may not seem consistent to us, but they are consistent with His consistent nature -- a God of justice and mercy, wrath and love.

But how do we go about living in light of this? How do we find this balance?

"O LORD Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you."

Trust.



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