Psalm Twenty-One: Answered Prayer Plus

"O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.  How great is his joy in the victories you give!  You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips.  You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.


 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him- length of days, for ever and ever.


Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed him splendor and majesty.  Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.


For the king trusts in the LORD; through the unfailing love of the most high he will not be shaken."  v. 1-7

God, when David asked for victory and you spared his life, I wonder if he knew that by doing so, he would eventually be in the lineage of the Messiah?  How small is the scope of our requests and understanding, yet you grant them and bestow so much more than we could ever think to ask for.  Through David's victory, you gave him

 his own life, 

glory for himself, 

eternal blessings from heaven, 

joy in Your presence, 

and most importantly- added to his faith and ensured him that You are a God who loves him.  

God, may I trust in Your unfailing love in the same way that David did even before my requests are answered.  

In this illustration, I drew three little eggs that had hatched.  A few weeks earlier, I drew a bird sitting on three eggs to represent the three babies I had lost. 

 They were waiting, sitting under the protection of their Father in Heaven.  But after I read this Psalm, God changed the way that I viewed these children.  They weren't stagnant anymore and their purpose wasn't unfulfilled.  They were now all that God created them to be.  Whole and perfect and victorious.  I drew the nest like a crown- "death swallowed up in victory."  I knew that, if God never made me a mother and granted my requests like I thought He would or should, God was filling me with the joy of His presence and given me eternal blessings, and why should that not be enough?  (ETERNAL.  I can not fathom the word.  Blessings for EVVVVVVERRRRRRRRRR.)  Why am I such a complainer?        

This seems like a theme that has been resurfacing in my life over and over now.  I don't know if its discouraging to revisit old lessons and realize that what I thought I learned I do not continue to put into practice like I should, or encouraging to see these lessons again and know that God refuses to leave me unchanged.  

I've been going to a women's Bible Study on Tuesday mornings.  It is 2 hours of awesomeness-   so many nuggets of wisdom and encouragement that I barely have enough time to scribble them all down.  What was the theme this week?  Gratitude.  Of course.  Gena, our Bible Study leader was talking about "dancing on the Egyptian side of the Red Sea."  When God promised to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Egyptians, they did not believe Him until they had crossed the Red Sea.  So they waited until it happened before they started to celebrate the goodness of God.  What blessings had they missed out on by not believing God before this miracle happened, and even after it happened?  What did their faithlessness produce?  A whole generation that missed out on seeing the Promised Land.  An ingratitude for what God had done spread like cancer amongst the Israelites.   So they wandered for forty years.  I really hope it doesn't take me that long before I learn to appreciate what God has given me- all the things that I can see now and all that I won't see until I'm in Heaven.

Psalm Seventeen: Apples and Shadows

"I call on you for you will answer me. Give ear to me and hear my prayer.  Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.  Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." v. 6-8
"You still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for your children.  And I- in righteousness- I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness."  v 14b-15


God, I pray you hear me when I call- that your love will be so evident, that I will not question your faithfulness.  Please do not forget me, and satisfy my longing for wanting to know "why" all of the time.  I thank you for the hope of seeing all things through your perspective one day, and I know that when that time comes I will be satisfied with how You have worked everything out for good.

I love the idea of a refuge being a nest.  For me, it is the symbol for security, fruitfulness, and hope of new life.  Here I used the three eggs to represent the three babies I had lost up until this point in my life.  It was reassuring to think of them- not as unborn- but as though they were waiting for me under the wings of protection of their Heavenly Father.

And I love when the Psalmist talks about us being in the apple of God's eye.  "The apple" refers to the pupil of the eye.  When we first got Josiah, his eyes were so dark brown, they were almost black.  I would look deep into them and only see a perfect reflection of myself.  What a beautiful word picture that God loves us so much, we are what He is completely focused on.

  It is because the psalmist is focused on the face of God that, as he writes in verse 15,  he displays the character of God in his own life, and therefore is satisfied despite all circumstances that surround him.

Psalm Ten: God Protects, God Provides

"He lies in wait like a lion in cover, he lies in wait to catch the helpless and drags them off in his net." v. 7

"The LORD is king forever and ever, the nations will perish from his land. You hear, o LORD the desire of the afflicted. You encourage them, and listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." v. 16-18

In this Psalm, the King does not take the threat of the oppressor away. Instead, he protects the psalmist from it, and therefore takes the sting of fear away from him.

I would rather be in the protecting and nurturing hands of my Heavenly Father, than safe from any oppression where I do not see the need for Him.

Psalm Nine: In the Stronghold, I will praise Him

"I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O most high." v. 1-2
"The LORD is the refuge for the oppressed, and stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." v. 9-10

I will be in a place of complete worship when I realize what You have saved me from and what You have saved me for. Recounting what You have done in my past will give me hope in what You will do in the future. For that to happen, I need to be searching Your Word for Your promises- past and present- to those you love.

In this drawing, the stumbling stones along the path and prickly trees represent the hardships God allows in our lives to help us focus on the goal- worshiping Him. In the fortress (stronghold) at the top, I drew the parting of the red sea, the cross, and the ark. These are all stories in the Bible that should allow us to see how God has worked in His peoples' lives in the past, and it should give us hope of how He will show Himself faithful to us in the future.

Psalm Five: Silent Night, Holy Morning

"Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." v. 1-3


I found it interesting the progression from chapter four to five.

Keeping silent
Sleeping knowing God is in control
Asking God to listen
Sighing
Crying to a God who is Sovereign
Acknowledging that God is listening
Requesting
Waiting
Expecting

It is interesting what perspective can bring when God sheds his light on our suffering and turns it into something that glorifies Himself.

In this drawing, the smooth path represents the way we know we are supposed to go that is directed by God's leading toward Himself (the sun). However, we are forced to go through a deep dark time represented by the trees. In them are hidden words such as "pain, doubt, why, etc." The morning sun is dispelling clouds, or the night's darkness that appears to be surrounding us.

Psalm Four: Be Silent, Be Safe

"In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds search your hearts
and be silent." v. 4
"In will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone O LORD
make me dwell in safety."
v. 8

Unlike the psalmist, I have no physical enemies. I do not worry about being hard-pressed on every side by those who wish to conquer me when I sleep. However, in the quietness of evening before I rest, my biggest adversary is ready to attack- it is myself. It is then when I am most likely to recount the day's failures, linger on tomorrow's worries, and let the cold fingers of discontentment and bitterness strangle my joy. It is then that I should be silent before God and rely on Him to for the peace that only He can bring.

In the safety of Your Truth, dear God, I can be silent and dwell in peace.

Psalm One: Yielding Fruit in Season

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked...v.1
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yeilds its fruits in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers...v.3
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous." v. 6a


God, you promise that our ways will prosper if we surround ourselves with Godly influences and are planted firmly in the truth of Your Word. While I am always promised abundant sustenance for my soul, the evidence of Your work in my life will only be revealed in Your timing. It is frustrating to know that You are working and growing me, and that evidence is not yet seen. And yet, you bring me hope knowing that I have more to look forward to.

My sister, Robin, who is quite possibly one of the most talented writers I know, wrote a sonnet that reminds me of the Psalm.

I've heard it said, "The fruit defines the tree."
What shall we say when branch and leaf and root
Are all the measure that our eyes can see?
How shall we name the tree without the fruit?
We may be tempted to assign the blame
Of lacking crop to inactivity
And say the tree does not deserve a name
If idle is what it decides to be.
But if this is our verdict, we despise
The very work by which the fruit is won:
How desperately the root for water cries,
How faithfully the sapling seeks the sun.
If day by day, the tree is slowly grown
In season, by its fruit it will be known.

By Robin M.G. Lawrenz