RTW May 15
NOTE: Oops, I said it was May 16th on the video.
Be Concerned With The Right Things
LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty.
Psalm 131:1a
My Takeaways
Something Old
Harmony is costly. Psalm 133:2
Something New
“It is one of the shortest Psalms to read, but one of the longest to learn.” – Spurgeon
- Concern ourselves with humility
But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (ESV) James 4:6 - Concern ourselves with godly aspirations
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. Romans 8:5 - Concern ourselves with contentment
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So, if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. 1 Timothy 6:6-8
Something to Do
Woo hoo to all of us for being on day 135 in God’s Word! This is truly a miracle for me. For years I have started, stopped, and restarted RTW – but this year I am sticking it out!
Psalm 131 was my focus this morning as well – what a great lesson from Wendy – thank you! My takeaways:
First – the condition of David’s heart. He rejected pride. He was humble. It all starts in the heart
Second – how David views things – what he sees. His eyes aren’t haughty, lofty, exalted. He didn’t loo down on others and think he was better than them.
Third – He wasn’t a know it all. He didn’t seek to know things that were beyond his grasp and weren’t his to know or do.
Fourth – he sought peace within himself which came from relationship with God.
I love the Spurgeon quote Wendy gave us – it is true. This Psalm is the HARDEST for me to learn. I am the exact opposite of these things.
And here is my AHA!!! moment of today’s reading. Psalm 139 – my favorite Psalm!!! It has such meaning for me from when I first came to Christ 6 years ago. But this morning it took on a new life (oh, isn’t God’s Word amazingly alive & active!!!???). As I was reading this Psalm, I started noticing all the times David said “you” or “your” in reference to God and circled them. 31 times! And I realized this Psalm isn’t about ME – it’s about God! For years, I made this Psalm about me, and I don’t think it’s WRONG, per se – but I now see God’s omniscient, omnipresent power in all of it … It testifies to His greatness, His faithfulness! HIS workmanship – How HE made me. Not about how I’m made or how I’m such a masterpiece of His. (I”m not sure if that makes sense but I am having difficulty putting it into words).
And finally – Psalm 141 v.3 is one I used to pray every day. I need to get back to this … My mouth gets me in trouble ALL the time!
I have heard humility defined as “strength under control”. I love that! I have the strength of Jesus living inside me. Like Wendy said I know my identity in Christ, but it is not something I wield like a sword towards people. I wield it towards satan and love people with the love of Christ.
I am amazed and humbled by God’s love today! When it said his thoughts about me outnumber the grains of sand it was overwhelming. He is soo loving and cares about ever detail in our lives!
Also Psalm 141 talked about drifting toward evil. I want to not even drift or take little steps towards it. Also the warning not to share in the delicacies of those who do wrong. I can’t help but think of those whose diet consists of mainly delicacies. Their health suffers and they can’t accomplish what they should on a daily level. So will my spiritual life suffer if I even share in the seemingly nice temporal ways of those who do wrong. It has an eternal effect. I want to be aware and stay on the Lord’ s path for me.