We need some encouragement today. We need to remember Who is in charge of the world, the universe, and all the affairs and details surrounding us, our past, our present, our future.
This is what Psalm 37: 3-6 reminds us:
Trust in the Lord and do goo
Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the Lord
And He will gibe you the He will do this:
He will make your righteousness
Shine like the dawn.
In light of th events of the last few days, the falling of Afghanistan and our nation’s horrid lack of planning and poor execution, it is easy to put blame anywhere we can. Man has done that since the fall of Adam and Eve. The blame game today is vicious , and although there is plenty of blame to go around, it’s just a reminder of the fact that we are shortsighted, jealous, vindictive, sinful mortals who make mistakes because we are shortsighted, jealous, vindictive, and sinful.
“My Psalm 177, written July 4, 2016:
O Lord, Our God, Our only hope,
We come to You with humility
Asking mercy upon us even as You have granted peace
To those before us.
You have been faithful to our forefathers
Who called upon Your Name:
When in humility, they acknowledged Your Sovereignty
And begged for mercy, You granted them deliverance.
We call upon Your Holy Name to accept our pleas
And restore us to Your throng.
Even in our sinful state
Which boldly, haughtily shows itself
In our actions against You and Your people
Those You created in Your image to bring You worship,
We have so failed because of our sin.
We worship idols of comfort, of security, of selfdom.
We nurse our prejudices and the thoughts and desires
Of our own hearts.
We turn our backs on You,
God of the Universe.
We squander our resources and our opportunities
In outright sin and depravity.
Accept our humble attempts
To express sorrow for our sins,
Individual and corporate.
For our nation’s missteps and turning from Your principles,
For our families in strife and conflict,
For aborting our children to the throne of convenience,
For ignoring Your commandments
In thought, word, deed, and legislation,
Forgive our thought
That Your benevolence is our birthright,
For rejecting those different from us, for ignoring the poor,
For allowing our government to speak and do evil,
For just nor caring enough to right the present wrongs.
Redeem us once again to walk in Your Presence.
Help Thou our unbelief that we need Your Son
To redeem us, to gibe us life, to give us purpose,
To show us the way to restoration.
Make His Presence very real to us
As we pray for mercy and forgiveness
To be clothed in Your righteousness
And banish our filth and unfaithfulness.
We justly deserve the retribution facing us:
Our fear of the future, wars and rumors of war,
Nature turning against us, our children straying from
Your narrow pathway to serve their own interests.
We have not learned from the stories You have told
When entire nations and thrones were swept from history
Because of their sins against You. Let it not be true for us.
Not through our merits do we beg forgiveness,
Mercy, the staying of Your hand of retribution.
We embrace Your Son’s mission of mercy, of love, of peace
To heal our land and our homes.
You have told us if we humble our hearts, and love justice,
and walk humbly with You, we can be restored.
Redirect our paths as You have done with those
We knowthrough Your Word.
We fact Your judgment, persecution for belonging to You,
Terrorism, fear, distress, and disaster
Unless we humble ourselves as a people, as a Nation.
Bring us back to You. Restore the joy of our salvation,
Turn our faces toward You and bring us peace,
Not because we deserve it by our own merits,
For we have nothing to offer but our weakness
And the blessed righteousness of Jesus Who pleads for us.
Show us Your justice in destruction of Your foes,
For we know as believers in Your son, You love us.
Let us become passionate bout serving Him
In such a time as this, so that Your Kingdom
Can quickly come on earth.
Use us to spread Your Gospel Message of hope
And to serve You faithfully all the days You give us.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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