Good Morning, Siblings!

Today’s readings are Psalms 86-89

Click here to read today’s passages on BibleGateway.

Rabbit Trails

Psalm 86: All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, YHWH, and glorify your name.

Note the definitive nature of that statement. Now nation can refer to a lineage of people or a place of origin. In this context and biblically speaking, I see this as referring to everyone on the face of the world. It will happen, one way or another. As I mentioned in my Facebook live last week, I sure do wish we would do it the easy way but we are a stiff necked and foolhardy people.

Psalms 86:11 really jumped out at me

Teach me your way, YHWH
that I may walk in your truth Psalm 86:11

As His people, who should we be looking to for teaching? Obviously, the answer is the Father, but all to often we look everywhere but Him. We find who we feel are reputable secondhand sources and seek them first – even though anything outside of the Father and His word should be, at best, a second or third hand source for us.

Why do Believers insist on following someone they feel is following YHWH instead of following YHWH directly? I believe it is herd mentality. This is why, when the Father calls us out to a quiet place where perhaps we are more alone than we’d like, and forced to remain that way for a while, we should see this as a great blessing. He is arranging for our undivided attention and loyalty. And when the Father directs us to look Him in the eye, so to speak, He is about to impart something very special to us. I call these places my “deserts”. And whenever you follow the King of Kings into the desert, you come out a changed person.

I also want to point something else out in this passage. David is asking the Father to teach him His way so that he can walk in His truth. For a Believer seeking to be in covenant with YHWH, let there be no doubt that to walk in any way other than the Father’s is to walk in disobedience to Him.

As Psalm 86:12 reminds us, there is no halfhearted seeking a wholehearted God. We are called to follow Him wholeheartedly. To follow Him any other way is not considered following Him at all. What does wholehearted look like? ALL IN.

Commit yourself to:

  • Looking stupid in the eyes of your peers
  • Being confronted when you decide to live according to the Biblical expectations rather than religious expectations.
  • Rocking the boat, even when you don’t mean to.
  • Breaking free from world’s expectations in order to live up to YHWH’s expectations
  • Being willing to exit the boat entirely if you see that it does not regard YHWH’s truth as authority but has set up it’s own authority

And amid all of this, when people you love and respect scorn and demean you for following YHWH according to His truth rather than the model set up by the world, you have to be committed to loving them fiercely in spite of their unjust treatment. And let me assure you, if you’ve not experienced rejection by the people you love because of your commitment to walking in the way of our Messiah, it is coming – and it cuts deep. But I also want to assure you of something else: He will not only be our shield but He will also be the balm to our wearied and aching soul.

Psalms 86:14 prompts us to ask a question:

Oh God, insolent men have risen up against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life, and they do not set you before them.

Is He before us? Or do we keep a chair for Him off to the side somewhere? 

Psalm 87 is one of the most beautiful Psalms I’ve read in terms of hope. This short Psalm speaks of people who were born in Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush.

Y’all, these are areas belonging to gentiles.

This one was born there, they will say. “This one” as we read it, is the Father, registering His people. This one was born here, this one was born there…. Note that there is no difference in citizenship between Gentile born and Israel born, each are registered as YHWH’s people. Recall that He has always made a way for us to be counted as His people should we choose to serve Him as our God.

Psalm 87:7 makes my heart swell to read it. And it culminates in stating so beautifully the fact that, for those who choose to follow Him, there has been a redirection of our source.

All my springs are in you. 

Psalm 87:7

All our springs are in Him. We are counted among His people and now, He is our source.

All my springs are in you. 

We go from a Psalm of great hope to a Psalm of great despair. Psalm 88 is considered to be one of the saddest Psalms in the Bible. Written by Heman, the Ezrahite, we read his feelings towards the Father as he laments his position and lays bare the felling of hopelessness and despair.

I read this Psalm more as a warning of what it would feel like to turn away from the Father, to not be in relationship with Him. In fact, I’ve been in that very position and I have felt many of these same things the Psalmist describes. From the perspective of a human going through these things (A “me” perspective), this Psalm is raw, emotional, and painful to read, but it reminds us that we are not alone and there is, in fact, nothing new under the sun. Let us cling to it and realize that we still have the privilege of going back to Psalm 87 and being registered as one of His people – IF we trust in His truth and walk in His ways.

This specific if/then scenario is one of the primary themes of the entire Bible. If we will trust in His truth and walk in His ways, then He will be our God and He will deliver us. It’s not enough to just believe He is God. Even the demons believe (James 2:19). We should want, desire, and crave to have more than a demon level of faith. How do we do that? By trusting in Him and walking in His ways.

Psalm 89:18  FOR OUR SHIELD BELONGS TO YHWH – Remember whose shield we carry as you battle the world this week.

I could write a book on Psalm 89, specifically 89:26-45 where we see the covenant established with David. It goes on to describe punishment and correction for those in David’s line who would forsake the law of YHWH, not walk according to His commandments, and purposefully violate His statutes.

This passage makes me sit up a little straighter because I have done all of these things at one time in my life and I live in a country that does all of this daily, with boldness.

Psalms 89:38-45 describes many kings throughout history in David’s line but it also describes us.  The Psalmist ends by blessing the name of the Father, knowing that He will not withhold His love forever. During a time of trial, we should consider it a time of correction and use that trial wisely, to draw near to Him, to seek His face, and to return to His ways. 

Test everything, hold tight to what is good.~ 1 Thess 5:21

We are saved by Grace alone: Obedience is not the root of our salvation, it is the fruit!

May YHWH bless the reading of His Word!

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Christy Jordan
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