My Lousy, Rotten, No-good, Miserable Morning

This morning started all wrong. I got up later than usual, my mind filled with weird dreams. I checked my e-mail and fired up the printer, which proceeded to eat the paper. On to get some coffee and a better start to the day. Not so! I opened a plastic package which split and spewed all its contents on the floor. I picked up a newspaper and a nasty, live bug was dangling from it. (Yes, we live in the country.) I thought to myself, “Now what? If the rest of the day is like this . . . .”

Time for prayer, thanking the Lord for a huge, recent blessing. Time for a cup of coffee and some breakfast. Time for the Word.

My day changed around!

This is what I read:

Praise ye the LORD.

Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD,

that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

(Psalm 112:1)

This verse begins with praise. Thankfully, I had already praised the Lord for something. I was feeling a little self-satisfied. Then, the verse talks of blessing. I love blessings! So far, so good. In Psalm 112, this blessing is for the man (or woman!) who fears (respects) the Lord. Wonderful! I definitely love and respect my Lord. It’s for someone who delights greatly . . . . Again, that’s me! I have a joy and a delight . . . .

And here came the surprise:

The blessing is for the person who delights in God’s commandments!

It’s so easy to delight in Who God is: His holiness, His omniscience, His power, His actions, His creation . . . . We could go on and on!

It’s easy to delight in God’s love, mercy, care, His dealings with mankind.

It’s easy to delight in reading His Word.

But, this is more specific. And, it carries a blessing. God will bless the person who delights not a little bit, but greatly, in His commandments. This person’s big joy is in what God tells us to do. He loves the commandments!

I thought of this verse: For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (1 John 5:3).

Here are some more, all from Psalm 119, probably the most complete chapter in the Bible about loving the Word of God. Can you feel the psalmist’s delight?

• With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. (verse 10)
• I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart. (verse 32)
• Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. (verse 35)
• And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. (verse 47)
• My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. (verse 48)
• Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments. (verse 73)
• Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. (verse 127)
• I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments. (verse 131)

And, these are just a few of the verses in this chapter about delighting in the commandments of God! All through the Bible, we find people who enjoyed God’s instructions. I can guarantee they were blessed.

So was I this morning, meditating on the way God tells us clearly what He wants. He didn’t leave us to grope around in the dark. He even rescued my spirit from my lousy, rotten, no-good, miserable morning . . . that He turned into blessing!

Praise Him!

Faith

Faith = the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

(from Hebrews 11:1, emphasis mine)

Such an interesting definition! Faith isn’t an I-hope-so or an I-wish kind of thing. It’s sure. It’s substance. It’s evidence! It’s knowing what you can’t actually see.

Let’s read the two verses that follow this definition of faith:

For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear (Heb. 11:2-3).

I’m reminded of an excursion with a blind friend named Lela. She and her husband accompanied our family to the historical church, St. John’s, in Richmond, Virginia. (It’s where Patrick Henry gave his famous, emotional “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech.) The guide was describing a beautiful low pulpit in the front of the church, carved like an eagle with its wings outspread. Lela wanted to “see” it. We waited until others had moved on, and walked up to the front where the guide graciously let Lela run her fingers over the carved pulpit. Lela’s face lit up, and she exclaimed, “It’s beautiful!”

During the guide’s introduction, Lela had understood the beautiful pulpit’s existence. She couldn’t see it in front of her, but she knew it was there. She hoped to examine it for herself, but she trusted it was real. That’s like faith.

God reveals Himself through His Word. We know in our hearts it is true. When we actually reach out and touch God spiritually, through faith in His Son, it’s like Lela’s “seeing” that intricately carved pulpit. It’s the substance and evidence of things not seen. It’s beautiful!

Later in this same chapter, Hebrews 11, we read about the heroes of the faith, those who believed God, even though they hadn’t yet experienced the completion of the promise. They believed, through faith. They knew through faith. Like Lela, they touched and saw, without really seeing . . .

Yet.

For now we see through a glass, darkly;

but then face to face:

now I know in part;

but then shall I know even as also I am known.

And now abideth faith . . . .

(1 Corinthians 13:12-13)