Monday, February 18, 2008

Peace of Mind Verses Caving In

"But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; The Lord hears when I call to Him. Tremble and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the Lord...in peace I will both lie down and sleep for Thou alone, O LORD, dost make me to dwell in safety." Psalm 4:3-5;8

This is a psalm of reassurance and "what to do" when we are anxious or stressed.

The psalm starts by reassuring us that the godly are "set apart" for "Himself." The title of "godly" is kind of overwhelming, but we are called this by God because, as believers, He sees us through the lense of the forgiveness we have in Christ. We have a place of honor and distinction in His eyes. He claims us. He values us. God wants us for Himself. Wow. We are reassured that the Lord hears us when we call to Him. We are instructed by the word "tremble" to respect and be in awe of God. It is never the right course of action to be proud in God's presence. We have no right. When we are in need it is a good reminder that our attitude should be one of humility. The psalm says to "meditate in our hearts - upon our beds and be still." This means to focus wholly on God and His Word. We are still so we can heart that quiet gentle voice. Then we are told to "offer the sacrifices of righteousness and truth." We are told to do the right thing - even when it is hard. It is a sacrifice of sorts to go against the grain when it would be "the path of least resistance" just to cave in and do what we feel pressured to do. But we must do the right thing. The Lord's reward? Peace, sleep and safety. Peace of mind for doing the right thing is better than caving in and going along with the crowd and having regret and no peace. This psalm encourages us to be strong and do the right thing, even when it is hard.

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