Post by Cindy on May 1, 2015 10:53:13 GMT -5
Yesterday we looked specifically at what waiting on the Lord means for us today in relation to this being the end times and the command that we are to wait and watch for the Lord’s return. Today we’re going to look at other ways we are to wait on the Lord. And what it means for us today.
Psalm 39:1-13 I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.” But when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased. My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools. I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand. You rebuke and discipline men for their sin; you consume their wealth like a moth— each man is but a breath. “Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were. Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more.”
In the first passage we’ll look at, David is the one writing. He starts off by saying that he vows to guard his ways so that he won’t sin by saying things he shouldn’t. Every thing seemed to get worse for him after that. When he says his heart grew hot within him, he’s saying that he is being convicted of his sins. That conviction caused him to meditate or reflect on God and His laws. It was then that he began to recognize that the things that were happening to him were discipline from the Lord,. He asks God to show him and remind him of just how short our lives really are, so that he can get his priorities straight. He doesn’t want to be running around busy doing things that aren’t of value to the Lord. He wants to please God.
Thinking on all he is going through and suffering as discipline, David cries out to the Lord asking Him, “What do I wait for now Lord, my hope is in You!” In other words David is telling God that he is aware that his only hope comes from Him and that He is the only one that can save him and forgive him. He begs God to remove the discipline, to end it as it is just to much for him to bear any longer. When David says that God’s correction makes mans beauty (KJV and “wealth” NIV) melt away like a moth, he is referring to his health and strength being taken away from him by the Lords discipline. So whatever the Lord was permitting, it must have been pretty heavy.
Notice however that David never says or implies that God is wrong or bad or mean for having disciplined him in such a harsh way. Instead David agrees with God that the discipline was necessary because he needed correction. He says that because of God’s correction he now understands that without God, life is vain and not worthwhile at all. Although David was obviously feeling overwhelmed by the discipline of the Lord and feeling that he just couldn’t take it anymore, his reason for asking the Lord to remove the discipline from his wasn’t just because of that. He asks to have it removed so that he won’t be a reproach to the Lord any longer. He wanted to be a good witness for the Lord instead.
How was David “waiting on the Lord” here? He was waiting for the Lord to hear his cry of repentance, forgive him and remove the discipline from him. David was undergoing what we might also refer to at times as “a time in the desert” when no matter how much you cry out, the Lord doesn’t seem to hear you. We can see from this psalm though that although it might seem that way, the Lord really does hear our cries.
How very differently David handled “waiting on the Lord” then we usually do. Perhaps I should say then “I usually do”. I know for myself that when the Lord’s hand is heavy on me in discipline, that my reaction is usually to whine, cry, make excuses for my past behavior, say it’s not my fault, say how unfair it is, etc. That most certainly is not the godly way to deal with it. When we do that, making excuses and saying it’s not fair etc, that just causes our time of waiting to last longer. Like any good father, the Lord is not going to stop the discipline until we have recognized the fact that we are being disciplined and why and have repented from our sins.
This is especially difficult for us today because we simply aren’t taught much about the Lord’s discipline, if we’re taught about it at all. It’s as though most would simply like to pretend that it doesn’t happen any more, which is just plain silly. God doesn’t change and He doesn’t lie. He tells us right out that He disciplines those He loves and He tells us why:
Hebrews 12:5-10 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
How are we to respond when the Lord disciplines us? That’s what the psalm we’re looking at today teaches us. We should turn to God’s Word just as David reflected on God’s ways and the scripture he knew. We need to turn to God in prayer, not admitting to Him that we have sinned and that His discipline is deserved. We need to show Him, just as we would our earthly father if he was the one disciplining us, that we have learned our lesson, and we need to ask His forgiveness. When we’ve done that, we need to then “wait on the Lord” patiently, knowing that everything that is happening is happening for our good (even though we don’t like it). Like David, we need to humble ourselves before the Lord, asking Him to show us His ways and teach us to walk on His paths, to show us what He would have us do. Then we continue to wait patiently and humbly for the Lord to answer our prayer.
If you recall from yesterdays study, How do we wait for the Lord? when the phrase “wait on the Lord” is used, it is talking about a “hopeful waiting”, not a discouraged one. So when we are waiting on the Lord in a situation like this, our wait should still be hopeful and expectant because we know that the Lord is good, all the time!
Psalm 39:1-13 I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence.” But when I was silent and still, not even saying anything good, my anguish increased. My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools. I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this. Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand. You rebuke and discipline men for their sin; you consume their wealth like a moth— each man is but a breath. “Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were. Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more.”
In the first passage we’ll look at, David is the one writing. He starts off by saying that he vows to guard his ways so that he won’t sin by saying things he shouldn’t. Every thing seemed to get worse for him after that. When he says his heart grew hot within him, he’s saying that he is being convicted of his sins. That conviction caused him to meditate or reflect on God and His laws. It was then that he began to recognize that the things that were happening to him were discipline from the Lord,. He asks God to show him and remind him of just how short our lives really are, so that he can get his priorities straight. He doesn’t want to be running around busy doing things that aren’t of value to the Lord. He wants to please God.
Thinking on all he is going through and suffering as discipline, David cries out to the Lord asking Him, “What do I wait for now Lord, my hope is in You!” In other words David is telling God that he is aware that his only hope comes from Him and that He is the only one that can save him and forgive him. He begs God to remove the discipline, to end it as it is just to much for him to bear any longer. When David says that God’s correction makes mans beauty (KJV and “wealth” NIV) melt away like a moth, he is referring to his health and strength being taken away from him by the Lords discipline. So whatever the Lord was permitting, it must have been pretty heavy.
Notice however that David never says or implies that God is wrong or bad or mean for having disciplined him in such a harsh way. Instead David agrees with God that the discipline was necessary because he needed correction. He says that because of God’s correction he now understands that without God, life is vain and not worthwhile at all. Although David was obviously feeling overwhelmed by the discipline of the Lord and feeling that he just couldn’t take it anymore, his reason for asking the Lord to remove the discipline from his wasn’t just because of that. He asks to have it removed so that he won’t be a reproach to the Lord any longer. He wanted to be a good witness for the Lord instead.
How was David “waiting on the Lord” here? He was waiting for the Lord to hear his cry of repentance, forgive him and remove the discipline from him. David was undergoing what we might also refer to at times as “a time in the desert” when no matter how much you cry out, the Lord doesn’t seem to hear you. We can see from this psalm though that although it might seem that way, the Lord really does hear our cries.
How very differently David handled “waiting on the Lord” then we usually do. Perhaps I should say then “I usually do”. I know for myself that when the Lord’s hand is heavy on me in discipline, that my reaction is usually to whine, cry, make excuses for my past behavior, say it’s not my fault, say how unfair it is, etc. That most certainly is not the godly way to deal with it. When we do that, making excuses and saying it’s not fair etc, that just causes our time of waiting to last longer. Like any good father, the Lord is not going to stop the discipline until we have recognized the fact that we are being disciplined and why and have repented from our sins.
This is especially difficult for us today because we simply aren’t taught much about the Lord’s discipline, if we’re taught about it at all. It’s as though most would simply like to pretend that it doesn’t happen any more, which is just plain silly. God doesn’t change and He doesn’t lie. He tells us right out that He disciplines those He loves and He tells us why:
Hebrews 12:5-10 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
How are we to respond when the Lord disciplines us? That’s what the psalm we’re looking at today teaches us. We should turn to God’s Word just as David reflected on God’s ways and the scripture he knew. We need to turn to God in prayer, not admitting to Him that we have sinned and that His discipline is deserved. We need to show Him, just as we would our earthly father if he was the one disciplining us, that we have learned our lesson, and we need to ask His forgiveness. When we’ve done that, we need to then “wait on the Lord” patiently, knowing that everything that is happening is happening for our good (even though we don’t like it). Like David, we need to humble ourselves before the Lord, asking Him to show us His ways and teach us to walk on His paths, to show us what He would have us do. Then we continue to wait patiently and humbly for the Lord to answer our prayer.
If you recall from yesterdays study, How do we wait for the Lord? when the phrase “wait on the Lord” is used, it is talking about a “hopeful waiting”, not a discouraged one. So when we are waiting on the Lord in a situation like this, our wait should still be hopeful and expectant because we know that the Lord is good, all the time!
!!
