His Steadfast Love for You

                                                                       Psalm 66:13-20

 

June 30, 2022

 

I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.  I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

 

Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.   I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue.

 

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.   But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.  Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.

 

I’ve been told that I stood at the door of death, at least twice and God heard the prayers of the saints and mine as I ask that His will was to leave me to take care of Jan.  As I write this praise to God, it has been more Jan taking care of me than I've done for her.  As those events took place I began to grasp the reality of what Paul was telling the church at Philippi.  “ I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;  but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”

 

Do you recall David, making this statement; I will perform my vows to you, that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.  My prayer is that I will not fail in this area, God address many of my petty hang-ups while I laid them on my back, in the dark of the night.  And I vow that if they were petty to Him, why then should I get so worked up over them?  The question that came to my mind was “Do I have higher standards than God”?  As I reflected on that, I wonder how many make promises to God when they are in trouble and never acted on them, and how many of us are so self-righteous that our standards for others are higher than God’s?  

 

I’m not sure anyone plans to one day be healthy and the next day be on death's door, that was not my plan, but it happens, and as my pastor often states; it is still a 100% death rate for Earth people, or as I often say, we are all heading for the dirt.

 

I was in trouble, not sure I had a full understanding of all that was taking place, but this I do know, I have much to be thankful for, and many to be grateful for, your prayers.  So like David in this regard, I will give thanks not only on the temple grounds but also anywhere I encounter people.  Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.   

 

Yes, God heard my prayers but also He heard your prayers.  Shall we always be filled with joy as we read God’s word?  But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer.  Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice