Loving an Unseen God
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
Bee's Thoughts:
We have heard many times that people are closest to God when they are broken hearted. Verse 15 and 18 confirm it and tell us that when we are broken hearted and feeling crushed, God will be there for us. Yes, "A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." (Isaiah 42:3). We have a very compassionate and faithful God. How wonderful God is!
Being Christians who walk faithfully with God doesn't mean we have no trouble. In fact we have more troubles than non-believers as Satan will be out to get us. But God promised that He will deliver us from them. Yes, I have experienced that many times.
Dear Lord,
Thank You that whenever I am broken and crushed in spirit, You are always there to lift me up. You never leave me alone.
Thank You also for friends who have comforted me during my low periods in life. Thank You for their friendship. I pray that You they will also know that You will be there for them when they are feeling low, me too.
I pray these in Jesus' name. Amen.
Tommy's Thoughts:
In The Greatest Commandment, we were told to love our God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:34-40). I’ve been struggling with how to love an unseen God, as I even have problem in loving those who I can see around me.
As I read the Bible more, I’ve learnt that the first step to take is to obey His teaching, fear Him and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13). In John 14:23, Jesus said "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching”. The fear here is to show love and reverence for God through our obedience and knowing His amazing love for us.
From the Scriptures like in today passage, we can learn how to fear the Lord by always speaking the truth, turning away from all forms of evil in our heart (greed, deceit, lust, pride), doing good through the prompting of the Spirit and working hard by proactively seeking peace with one another.
Together with a clear goal in loving and serving the Lord, we will view being obedient and discipline not as some wearisome self-punishment or chore, but as a meaningful and purposeful preparation towards our eternal glory. And, with this in mind, we can begin truly loving our God wholeheartedly.
Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for not obeying Your teachings and getting frustrated when troubles and problems loomed around my head. Teach me to admit that only You alone can supply all the help and guidance I need. Thank You Father for being by my side always, to be my source of power, courage and wisdom, helping me through my problems. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
