May 15, 2012 … Oh Lord, You Lift Me Up!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Psalm 3-4 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
 ============  
Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Psalm 12-13 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
============  
Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Psalm 28 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
============  
Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Psalm 55 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
============

Highlight Passage : Psalm 3: 1-3 … 1 LORD, how many are my foes! … How many rise up against me! … 2 Many are saying of me,… “God will not deliver him.” … 3 But You, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. 

My Journal for Today: Have you ever felt like the world, or maybe even those around you, were pressing in against you? Maybe you felt spiritually, or even personally, oppressed by those about you or maybe even those who had been close friends or family in your past? Well, that’s where David again found himself as I have been reading about his challenges of late in my chronological read through 2nd Samuel and in some of the Psalms David wrote. Currently, I had been reading about how the outflow of his past sins (described in 2nd Samuel 11-12) had him trying to escape from the pursuits of his own rebellious son, Absalom, who was out to kill his daddy.

And then, today, we read of six songs (Psalms), all of which express David’s reliance, trust, and clinging to the one place the King knew to go, to trust, and to be lifted up; and that was going to his God. And in these songs we read that David had no doubt learned of how God lifted him up in his times of trials back when he was being pursued by King Saul. Now, historically, David is the king; and again he’s being pursued, … this time by his own son. But David goes back to a place where he knew he could go when he was stressed and oppressed … and that was to His Lord, … Yahweh!!

And immediately as I read all six of these Psalms (which I hope you do if you’re following along), a passage from the New Testament resonated with me, written by the Apostle Paul, who, while under great oppression in prison himself, was trying to get an oppressed Christian people in Philippi (as well as you and me) to realize that at NO TIME should we be anxious; but when we feel oppressed or stressed, we should take our feelings to the One, … the only One, … Who will hear and will lift us up; and that, of course, is our Lord. I hope you have Philippians 4: 6-7 memorized. If not, look it up, mediate on it; and ask yourself if that is your M.O. when your stressed out by life. I’ll leave it to you to do that self-analysis.

But that’s why David was able to handle life the way he did; and he wrote songs about where he went – ALWAYS – when he was down-and-out. And when he did, his head (i.e., his attitude) was lifted up. And to help you be lifted up – no matter where you might be in life right now – I want you to go to the link I’m going to provide here and listen to the great Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, under the direction of Carol Cymbala, as they sing Thou, Oh Lord, Are a Shield For Me.   Go to this link;  And as you listen to this song and mediate on the highlight passage from David in Psalm 3 today, be lifted up by God and know that you can always go to the Lord, as did David and Paul, and be lifted up in your prayers to our LORD.

My Prayer Today: … Oh, my Lord, You are my shield and the lifter of my head! Amen