From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help.
Hear my cry, O Lord.
Pay attention to my prayer.
Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,
who, O Lord, could ever survive?
But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.
I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him.
I have put my hope in his word.
I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn,
yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.
O Israel, hope in the Lord;
for with the Lord there is unfailing love.
His redemption overflows.
He himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin.      Psalm 130 (NLT)
Some people spend much of their Bible study time looking for insight on when Jesus is coming back or when Jerusalem will be restored to Israel. I’ve always wondered what they do with Jesus’ words in Acts 1:6-7 which says that no, not even Him, will know that time. The more I study, especially Jesus’ words, the more I feel I am being told to pay attention to my relationship with God and draw as many toward a relationship with Jesus with the power of His Spirit. What is time in Jesus’ Kingdom any way?
Paul believed that Jesus was going to return “soonâ€. I do, too. And if I consider an eternal timeline, 2000 years isn’t very long. But the wars and disease and decadence of the time in which I live makes a relationship with Jesus seem more important. I was sharing with someone the other day that “getting around to it†may not have as much flexibility as it once did. And even if Jesus doesn’t return in my lifetime, do I really want to live my final years without Jesus right next to me? Uh, no.
This is, I believe, what God loved so much about David. David’s heart was totally committed to God. David wasn’t perfect in the execution of his service to God. He wasn’t perfect in his listening to God. David wasn’t even perfect in his repentance to God. BUT David knew that he should be. He wanted to be. And God knew David’s heart.
God knows my heart today, my imperfect heart. God knows my commitment to Him. God knows that I will sin. But He also knows that I will be sorry and ask His forgiveness and we will be back together again. His love is unfailing. How I long for my LORD!
I am reading a book right now, Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11’s Last Survivor by Genelle Guzman-McMillan. It is an extraordinary testimony. Twenty-seven hours this young woman laid beneath tons of concrete and steel unable to see her hand in front of her face. She could not move her head. She could not move her legs. She could only move one arm.
“How did I last as long as I did in those conditions?…I firmly believe that the first of countless steps in His[God] plan for me was to draw me near to Him.
I apologized, and He accepted. I promised, and He believed…It didn’t feel like only concrete and beams had been lifted off me, but a dark veil that had been shrouding me for years as well…the best story I was going to have to tell from my tribulation to my family and friends was that, when it was over, I had made a new best friend, one I could count on for anything and one I would spend the rest of my life serving with honor and glory. (p. 118)
The Bible is my standard for reading material but God isn’t finished with His inspired teaching. He has more stories to tell me about His character. Genelle knows the character of God. Go to your local library like I did or get on Amazon.com or visit your local book store and be encouraged by God’s faithfulness, love, and mercy. There’s always more for me to learn and live and invite others to join in.
