How many of us could honestly say these words are true of us: “Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering” (Psalm 26:1 NIV)? How many of us would like for them to be true?
Just as it is good to get periodic health exams from the doctor, we also need periodic spiritual health exams from the Lord. Psalm 26 is a great passage of scripture that we can use as a spiritual health exam. In fact, David writes in verse 2, “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart” (Ps. 26:2 NKJV). Would you let God give you a examination over the next few days? Would you be honest with God and honest with yourself? Let the Lord examine your heart and your mind.
Here is the first test: God’s Love—Is my relationship with Him a priority?
In verse 3 he writes, “For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,…” The word “lovingkindness” can be translated “mercy; love; kindness; favor; beauty.” It describes the way that God relates to us. God is merciful to us in not counting our sins against us (2 Cor. 5:19). It was God’s love expressed in mercy and grace that saved us, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph. 2:4-5).
God’s lovingkindness shown through Jesus Christ is the basis for my relationship with Him. Here’s the test: Is God’s lovingkindness, His relationship with me through Jesus Christ, “before my eyes”? Is my relationship with God a first priority? Is it always right in front of me? Is it my goal and my pursuit all day long?
What will help my love relationship with God?
How about a spiritual prescription?
Pick one or more of these verses of scripture and meditate on them today. See if they don’t help you pass the test:
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. (Psa 36:7 NKJV)
Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD; Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me. (Psa 40:11 NKJV)
The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me; A prayer to the God of my life. (Psa 42:8 NKJV)
We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple. (Psa 48:9 NKJV)
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. (Psa 63:3 NKJV)
Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies. (Psa 69:16 NKJV)
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, (Psa 92:1-2 NKJV)
I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. (Psa 138:2 NKJV)
Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. (Psa 143:8 NKJV)
Friday, April 30, 2010
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I think you hit the nail on the head. I was reading a book a while ago that was talking about how lots of people have this idea about heaven, that it will be a place where we always feel joyful, there's no pain, we get to hang out with our friends and loved ones who are there, everything that was good about them will be amplified and all of the junk will be gone, and while we'll probably do work, it'll be good, satisfying, sustaining work. The author then pointed out that the problem with that version of Heaven is that if you remove God from that version, it doesn't change much, and God is THE point.
ReplyDeleteYou also made me think of another verse from 2 Corinthians: "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!"
A very challenging verse indeed.
Nice to find a fellow "examinee" out there. You are right, God is the point of everything.
ReplyDeleteNow the tricky part is living that way, Amen?