Psalm 21 - I Once Was Lost

His glory is great through Your salvation. (vs 5)

The king's, that is.  God's salvation makes those of us He saves a work of glory.  Do you have a before and after story?  I once was lost but now I'm found kind of testimony of the grace of God in your life?  Most of us do, if we have lived long enough. 

I became a Christian when I was six years old.  It was real, and I knew I would love God forever.  For many years I could not really say I had a lost and found, dynamic druggie-to-disciple story that would blow people away with all God can do in the life of one Kay Farish.  Unfortunately, I was often smug in this knowledge.  I was a good Christian girl who could not imagine committing the sin so evident around me.  After all, I had not much time to do a whole lot of sinning before I was six.  After that, I followed the rules and loved my God.

In my religious zeal and self-righteous lifestyle, I was setting myself apart from the mainstream of people in pain.  I was surely a work of God's glory because I understood His death for me, but God knew that "she who is forgiven much, loves much."  My life fell apart in my thirties, and I fell apart with it.  Made horrific decisions that affected everyone in my life.  And...I needed much forgiveness.  I understood the pain of sin and the anguish that often causes people to run to anything that makes the pain go away.  Judgment was gone.  No longer Kay, the good little Christian, but Kay, saved by grace, delivered in mercy, dependent on God for my very breath.  A wonderful place to be.  A glory to Him.  For only He could have taken my brokenness and made from the ashes a work that is my heart for Him.  Oh, how I love Him.

...splendor and majesty You bestow on him/her.  For You make her most blessed forever.  You make her glad with the joy of Your presence. (5-6)

Psalm 21 - Sing With Him

You have prayed and prayed for a breakthrough.  On your face, you have pleaded with God to give you strength, faith and courage to stand and fight instead of turn tail and run.  You have finally battled through addiction, abandonment, gossip, disease or failure.  What then is your response?

O Lord, in your strength the king (your name here) rejoices, and in your salvation he (I) greatly exult!  You have given me my heart's desire and have not withheld the request of my lips.  For you met me with rich blessings.  You set a crown of fine gold upon my head.  I asked life of you and you gave it to me, length of days forever and forever. (vs. 1-4)

This always makes me want to dance.  In fact, wait a minute because I am going to get up and dance right now! 

Okay, I'm back.  Remember the ten lepers that Jesus healed?  Outcasts because of their dread disease, the ten men were standing at a distance when Jesus passed by them on His way to Jerusalem through Samaria and Galilee.  Probably Samaritans, they were doubly dirty to the Jewish people in the entourage of disciples who followed Jesus from place to place.  Can you imagine the depth of their need?  Filthy and homeless, missing limbs perhaps, they call out to the One Who might be able to end this war with their bodies. 

"Jesus, have mercy on us!!"  they cried.  All ten of them yelling at the Christ to fix them.  Afraid to come close lest they be stoned for the intrusion of pariah on pristineness.  No one would touch them, look at them, love them much less hear them.  Really hear them.  Some in the crowd probably told them to shut up.  Who were they to request anything of this Jesus?

But God in the flesh looked over at these men.  He saw them.  Their need.  Their hearts. 

"Go!  Show yourselves to the priests!"  He yelled back.  Really?  You did not show yourself to the priest if you were unclean.  You had to be healed of leprosy in order to do that.

So, they turned and ran, fast as they could, to the nearest synagogue and on their way there, the leprosy left them.  Can you imagine? (I hope so, for you have no doubt seen your Savior do remarkable things with your life because He heard you.)  Flabbergasted, each leper checked out his arms and legs, belly and toes!  Nothing!  No trace of the disease that had separated them from all of normal life.  Would you not jump up and down and run to kiss Jesus all over His bearded face! 

You think?  Only one did.  Only one thought to return to Jesus and thank Him, face down, kissing not His face but His feet.  A Samaritan.  Perhaps he had joy on joy, as Jews did not have anything to do with the half-Jew Samaritans.  Were the other nine men Jewish?  It seems like it, for Jesus asked:  "Where are the other nine?  Was no one found to return and give thanks except a foreigner?"

"Rise and go your way for your faith has made you whole," said Jesus to the man at His feet.

I have to wonder as Jesus walked on toward Jerusalem if His heart didn't ache a little.  Wouldn't He have loved to rejoice with all those He had healed?  Dance with them in their near hysteria?  Wouldn't His heart have been buoyed by seeing those for whom He had come marvel in their wonder and excitement, acknowledging that it was worth it for Him to leave heaven so they could partake of the miraculous hand of God in their lives?  The ten robbed Jesus of that moment of singing over them with joy!  Of experiencing with them the body cleansing which could have also cleansed their souls.

Thank Him today with all your heart!  Bless HIS heart!  He has been strong in battle with you!  He is the One Who saved you from the enemy that was too strong for you.  What would you have given to the woman in actual battle beside you who took your bullet?  Oh...yeah..by the way, thanks.  NO!!  You would kiss her face, raise her kids, do her dishes and love her forever for that sacrifice!  Your Jesus is no less real and the victory in your life no less a sacrifice!  Let Him have the joy of hearing your gratitude and dancing about in your joy!

The Lord your God is in your midst, a Mighty One to save.  He will rejoice over you with gladness;  He will quiet you by His love.  He will exult over you with loud singing!!  (Zephaniah 3:17)

Psalm 20 - Hitchens in Heaven?

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord, our God.  They will collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. (vs. 7-8)

It often seems like the ungodly win.  And they might, in this life, have more than the godly.  What ultimately happens, though, makes we who know Christ the real winners.

Christopher Hitchens died this morning.  An outspoken, fist-in-His face atheist, Mr. Hitchens raged against religion with great wit and venom.  I always wonder why people become so mad at God that they have to wage war with Him on every front.  Hitchens said he wanted to be awake and aware at his death so that he could experience fully the phenomenon.  What did he experience?  What did he see?  Where is he now?

William Farish II died on Saturday, December 3, at 2:10 in the afternoon.  I was stroking his brow as he breathed his last breath here.  Also around him, holding his hands and saying good-bye, were his son and two of his grandchildren.  He was a quiet man who spent his life working hard, looked forward to retirement with his bride, but instead saw her through years of dementia before her death ten years ago.  He did not write terse vendettas against God, but rested in the knowledge that Jesus had "saved" him when he was a teenager at a little church in Belton, Texas.  He remembered the day with joy.  Did he want to die? Nope.  He was trying to sit up and get away from it to the very last hour of his life.  What did he experience?  What did he see?  Where is he now?

Perhaps Hitchens missed the point all along.  Brilliant and outspoken, maybe he could have listened a little more.  He trusted in his own brilliance to bring light to the things he did not understand.  Because he thought his opinions to be unquestionably true, he lost the light shed on them by a Carpenter Who could have told Hitchens that He agreed with him on the whole "religion" thing.  But, the "horse" Hitchens trusted took him to the end without hope in a God there Who would cause him to "rise and stand upright" in the glory of His eternal presence. 

William was a simple man whose opinions were usually stated for him by his wife.  He told me the story of his conversion to Christ when just the two of us were going to the movies one night some years ago.  His generation did not speak much of religion and politics, and he had never broached this subject with me before.  He and Mom had started attending a local Presbyterian church since his retirement, but we had not had discussions about it.  Mom said Dad did not like to discuss these things.  Turns out, he did.  He wanted me to know about his faith.  No world renowned articles in major magazines opining his take on God.  A simple faith that the God of the universe had met him one night in Jesus Christ and changed his life forever.

In the last days of his life, Dad could not get out of bed.  He could not stand upright anymore.  On Saturday, two weeks ago, though, we held his hands and watched as he doubtless took the hand of Jesus and rose, standing upright in his new home. 

Who won?

Psalm 20 - The God of the Last Minute

This is what the Lord says:  "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool." Isaiah 66:1

Now I know the Lord gives victory to His anointed.  He will answer from His holy heaven with mighty victories from His right hand!  (Psalm 20:6)

An interesting picture of God sitting on His throne with His feet resting on earth.  What does that mean?  I have been thinking about this today.  Earth cannot contain our Lord, for He is God over all.  Not only can the physical temple not hold Him, neither can our expectations define or limit His power.  He could rest His feet on the earth.  His throne is central to heaven.  So, we cannot put Him in a box.  We cannot limit Him in any way.  He is waaayyy bigger than we are.

How are you limiting Him today?  What are you telling Him is impossible to work out?  What did you stay up last night worrying about?  Are you looking up to Him today with bloodshot eyes, wondering what you will do to make everything all right?

Stop it!  Stop it right now!  Go get the spiritual Visine and clear up your vision!  You serve a mighty God who wants to show you that He Himself will deliver you, whether you think it is possible or not!  You, His anointed child - child of promise, joint heir with Christ, saint, royal priest - have been given His word that He will answer from heaven with mighty victories from His right hand.  You either believe that or you don't!  No matter what your impossibility today, His hand is mighty to save you and you can count on His presence and a mighty victory! 

Stop getting in His way!  Oh, brother!  I have gotten in His way so many times and the victory, though imminent, took waaayyy longer.  I was just trying to be helpful.  God is sometimes just too slow for us.  I call him "the God of the last minute."  That is why I tend to panic.  He takes me to the edge of my faith.  But I must declare to the world that He has NEVER failed to show up.  NEVER!  So, I am somewhat more calm now in a crisis, though my humanity still quivers at what could happen without Him.  I don't have to live without Him.  He, Himself, loves me and you.  From His holy heaven He controls earth.  It's easy for Him.  I am His beloved kid.  He takes care of me.  Some days, though, I admit I have to choose to say:  "I will trust in the Lord with all of my heart."  Refuse worry because it is a sin.  It is the opposite of faith.  I will stand, not on what things look like to me, but on His promise that He will hear from heaven and give me a mighty victory!

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4)  Today, Father, let me worship You because You are You.  Implant deeply into my spirit your truths.  May I understand Your promises to impact my earthly life as well as my eternal salvation.  May I believe You when You say that You will hear from Your holy heaven and give me mighty victories because I am Your beloved.  I rest in You.  I surrender to You.  I worship You, My Redeemer, My Shield,  My Refuge, My Hope, My Heavenly Abba.

Psalm 20 - Weak as a Worm

Some trust in chariots, others in horses. But we trust the Lord our God! (vs 7)


This is what the Lord God says:  "If you come back to Me and trust Me, you will be saved.  If you will be calm and trust Me, you will be strong.


But you don't want to do that! You say, "No, we need horses to run away on.". So you will run away on horses!  Isaiah 30


I am the Lord your God, Who holds your right hand. I tell you, "Don't be afraid. I will help you. Do not be afraid though you are weak as a worm.  I Myself will help you," says the Lord.
Isaiah 41

I have been in a place of panic several times in my life. Have you? I was given the perfect opportunity to be unafraid and hold on tightly to His strong right hand. Wishing I had always done that! Sometimes, though, I ran away on a fast horse and ended up nowhere. Didn't know where I was going....just needed to run away from the pain of my circumstances.

God knows that we get into terrifying situations for which we may not be emotionally or physically equipped. Surely that is why He addresses our panic in these verses. DO NOT BE AFRAID. Really? Circumstances are swirling about us, catching us up into the maelstrom, and we are supposed to remain calm? What does that look like?

"I, Myself, will help you."  Hmmmm...That is much more encouraging than getting on some stallion and riding out to meet an enemy too strong for me, for I am certain to be vanquished in that battle.  Better, too, than sleepless, gut-wrenching nights of worrying about all the ways my life could play out given my circumstances.  Infinitely more assuring than running away from what will certainly follow me, as I will take the issues with me in the saddlebags.

The problem? You could tell me without thinking. What if? As in,  "What if He does not come through? What then will I do?" And therein lies the problem.  I. You, weak as a worm, think you can match His plans for your redemption? What if you really believed He will never fail you or forsake you? No matter how complex your problem. No matter that you got yourself into the mess in the first place. What if you stood up right now in the face of whatever it is you are experiencing and declared: "I will trust in the Lord with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding!"?  Would you feel stupid because there is just no way this is all going to work out? Would you be trusting while you come up with Plan B?  Do you have the courage to take a deep breath and wait?  Do you trust Him to do what He says?

Then don't be afraid. Don't run away. Calm down. The Lord your God will Himself help you though you are weak as a worm. You will not be squashed. You will be transformed and not just like the frog who was a prince. But the analogy works. Inside you, if you know Christ, is the King of Kings, dwelling in the same power that raised Christ from the dead! Rise up, my sister! Take heart, my brother! For that same Spirit Who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, giving you power for faith! Look up! The Father Himself loves you and is already working out your difficulty for your good and His glory! Rest in that and rejoice, for your redemption is near!

Psalm 20 - What Does God Want, Anyway?

I remember speaking with a young man many years ago about becoming a Christian.  He felt that accepting Christ was too narrow a way to heaven and ended the conversation with these words:

"I will never, ever say those magic words and ask Christ into my heart.  If God cannot see all the good things I do and judge me worthy, then I don't want that kind of God!"

What is it that God wants?  That is a fair question.  Does He relish in all of our noble works?  Does he discount the fact that there are some non-Christians whose lives seem to count for more than those of us who go to church each Sunday and profess our righteousness?  What is our equivalent of the burnt offerings commanded in the Old Testament?  Were they even enough?

David begins Psalm 20 with this blessing:

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!  May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high!  May He send you help from the sanctuary, and support you from Zion!  May He remember all your meal offerings and find your burnt offering acceptable!  (vs. 1-3)

As a way to secure blessing, the Lord must find our offerings acceptable.  The burnt offerings were especially important, for an animal had to be slaughtered and its blood sprinkled in the temple.  The blood became holy, sanctifying God's people.  There are no more sacrifices today being offered in temples across the world.  All that ended by 70 AD when the Jewish nation was dispersed throughout the world.  So how are we sanctified today?  And what really made us right with God back then?

Remember the story of Saul in 1 Samuel 15?  Saul had waited on Samuel to get to his camp so that Samuel could offer the sacrifices that were his priestly duty.  Saul had been to battle and God had told him to utterly destroy the Amalekites because of their heinous treatment of the Israelites.  Saul defeated them but kept the best of their goods and did not kill the king as he was instructed to do.  This was in direct disobedience to what Saul had been instructed to do.  He took matters of God into his own hands, doing what he thought was the good and right thing to do.  Why destroy all of this good stuff?  Answer:  Because God told you to.  Here is the word of the Lord to Saul through Samuel that day:

What pleases the Lord more:  burnt offerings and sacrifices or obedience to His voice?  It is better to obey than to sacrifice.  It is better to listen to God than to offer the fat of sheep.  Disobedience is as the sin of sorcery.  Pride is as bad as the sin of worshipping idols.  You have rejected the Lord's command.  Now He rejects you as king."

Harsh?  Maybe it could be perceived that way by those think their rules are just as good as God's.  That is what happened here.  My friend from years past would not fault Saul for saving the king and keeping the best things of the Amalekites, I am sure.  This violent, bloodthirsty God of ours told Saul to annihilate a people.  How can that be good?  Saul thought his insight equal to the wisdom of God thereby setting himself up in God's place.  That is worshipping idols.  A pretty flawed one at that. 

I know God will  probably not tell us to utterly destroy a neighboring city today.  But think of the rejoicing in the streets at the deaths of tyrants recently vanquished.  There is a sense of righteous indignation over great harms done to whole nations by those who control power.  So, don't go getting all self-righteous about our bloody God who kills people.  He is just.  He is righteous.  He knows things we do not know.  He is never wrong!  So when He does ask of you today, will you obey?  That is what my friend was so incensed by.  God would tell him what to do.  Especially, that God would tell him what was good, and that based on the saving blood of Jesus we were counted righteous even if we were not as good as my friend thinks he is.  And he is a good man.  Better than many.  But obedience to God is what counts.  The heart that says yes, first to Christ, then to the many things He will ask us to do because we love Him. 

Nothing you can do will make Him love you more.  Nothing you can do is possibly good enough to get you a pass into eternity with Him unless you are perfect.  He asks us to start with the simple step of faith in Christ who is our sacrifice, once and for all.  If we understand that He died in our place - took our penalty,  covered our sins with His own blood - nothing He asks will be too great, for following Him is life and hope and peace.  I am my offering to Christ:

Since God has shown you such great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to Him.  Your offering must be only to God and pleasing to Him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship.  Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold, but be changed by changing the way you think.  Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you.  You will know what is good and pleasing to Him and what is perfect.  (Romans 12)

Psalm 20 - A Dying Mother's Prayer

Before she died, my mother wrote a letter to us, her daughters, and to our husbands, to be read at her funeral when she knew she would be present before His throne.  In part, her letter read:

As I stand before Him today and look into His face, these are my requests of Him for you......As their Creator, Lord, don't ever let them become complacent about or lazy with their miraculous gifts.  May they use them, Lord, to fulfill the separate, individual destinies for which You created them.

For all these, my grandchildren, I give you thanks today, Lord, and praise You for the short time You loaned them to us. Bless them, protect them, and help them with Your daily intervention, to find what they were born to be, and then give them the grace and power to do it.

David's prayer in Psalm 20 reminds me of Mother's heart when she prayed over our destinies.  I know this was so on her mind because, after my father was arrested in 1985, as she was dying from cancer, she questioned why she had ever been born. What had she done with her life? Her husband had been a fraud all those years, hiding the demons that drove him to pedophilia while telling her she was inadequate as a wife to meet his needs.  Fooled.  Tricked.  Emotionally abandoned.  Where was her worth and destiny in that scenario?

David's prayer is the cry of Mother's heart:  May Yahweh give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.  I know my response to Mother's broken heart was inadequate, but it was this.  Us.  Your children and grandchildren who would not be if you had not married Daddy.  Would Daddy have finally made that final effort to know Christ had Mother not fallen more deeply in love with her Savior as she lay dying?  How can we assess our own whole purpose?

I know with Mother that what her heart ultimately desired was Jesus.  To know Him.  To touch Him.  To hear from Him because she had fallen in love.  Having spent much of her life as a church-goer involved in religious activities, she realized she had often missed the Man for the message.  All the ugliness of death and Daddy threw her at the feet of her Master, and He was enough.  She escaped the questions of worthiness and loss when she stood before Him.  He opened wide His arms and said, I am certain:  "Welcome, Flossie!  I have always loved you."

Isn't that really our whole purpose?  To know and love Him?  What matters, really, other than that.  The desires of the beloved become our desires and we are lost in the headiness of doing what pleases our lover. 

So, I pray with David and Mother today:  May He give me the desires of my heart, and fulfill my whole purpose.