G: Proverbs 28

Proverbs 28

English Standard Version (ESV)

28 The wicked flee when no one pursues,
    but the righteous are bold as a lion.
² When a land transgresses, it has many rulers,
    but with a man of understanding and knowledge,
    its stability will long continue.
³ A poor man who oppresses the poor
    is a beating rain that leaves no food.
⁴ Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
    but those who keep the law strive against them.
⁵ Evil men do not understand justice,
    but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.
⁶ Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
    than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
⁷ The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding,
    but a companion of gluttons shames his father.
⁸ Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit

     gathers it for him who is generous to the poor.
⁹ If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
    even his prayer is an abomination.
¹⁰ Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way
     will fall into his own pit,
    but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.
¹¹ A rich man is wise in his own eyes,
    but a poor man who has understanding will find him out.
¹² When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,
    but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.
¹³ Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
    but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
¹⁴ Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always,
    but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
¹⁵ Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
    is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
¹⁶ A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor,
    but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.
¹⁷ If one is burdened with the blood of another,
    he will be a fugitive until death;
    let no one help him.
¹⁸ Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered,
    but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.
¹⁹ Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
    but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
²⁰ A faithful man will abound with blessings,
    but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
²¹ To show partiality is not good,
    but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.
²² A stingy man hastens after wealth
    and does not know that poverty will come upon him.
²³ Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor
    than he who flatters with his tongue.

²⁴ Whoever robs his father or his mother
    and says, “That is no transgression,”
    is a companion to a man who destroys.
²⁵ A greedy man stirs up strife,
    but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched.
²⁶ Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool,
    but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.²⁷ Whoever gives to the poor will not want,
    but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.
²⁸ When the wicked rise, people hide themselves,
    but when they perish, the righteous increase.

G: Psalm 121 (ESV)

Psalm 121

English Standard Version (ESV)

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

121 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
⁸ The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

 I have a migraine problem. When I had long hair, I had a migraine just about every day. (And yes, I know the difference between a "normal" headache and a migraine.) Now, with short hair, I have them about twice every week. Often, some tylenol or advil will help. Sometimes though, like today, it doesn't.

I used to just lay in bed in the cold and dark bemoaning the fact that my head hurt so badly. The migraines have gotten so severe that they make one eye tear up and keep me in bed for a day or two. I used to be completely okay with complaining about them. And I still whine about them when they hurt a whole lot. I don't feel like there's anything wrong with expressing my displeasure for them.

But something I've learned to do recently, before turning to coffee or excedrin (my last ditch efforts to get rid of the pain), is to thank God. Sound silly? I don't think it is at all. Especially when I flipped open my Bible to do my devotions this morning and it randomly flipped open to Psalm 121, right when I was telling God I was going to push past the migraine enough to talk to him. And the first thing He says to me isn't "stop complaining," it's "I am your Help."

And for me that's huge. I'm such a comfort seeker when I'm sick or in pain--always asking my family and boyfriend for hugs, attention, and love. Is that bad? I don't think so. But it's really big to me when GOD steps in and says "Here. Let me take care of you." I'm not trying to say He doesn't take care of me other times. But it's those times where I've learned to praise Him in spite of the pain that resonate most deeply within me because God wants to help me. He wants to help you. He wants to help all of his children! He's proven that time and time again over the course of history. But He doesn't help where we don't let him. When the Israelites turned their noses up at God and said "We don't need you, we need Baal and the Asherah," God got angry and said "Fine, do it your way." And the Israelites suffered. Yes, God wants all people to know and love and worship and follow Him. But He doesn't force them to. He doesn't force me to keep him as my top priority, number one in my life. But when I do, He blesses me. And I get that not just from experience, but from Isaiah:

Isaiah 40:30-31

English Standard Version (ESV)

³⁰ Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted;
³¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

By telling God I want Him to be first in my life, that I can't do it on my own and I don't want to, I allow room in my life for Him to work. Psalm 121 says he will never fall asleep on us (like Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:27. Curious? That chapter is worth the read.) Psalm 121 says God will keep us, won't "let your foot be moved," will keep "you from all evil," and will "keep your going out and your coming in."

Basically, God will take care of you.

And in this passage this morning, God told me that even though my head felt like it was trying to crack open, He was taking care of me. And after reading that and praying (and some coffee,) my head stopped hurting. Some people would say it was just the caffeine that helped. I say it was God. So when the pain comes, I choose to say "Thank you God for my migraine, because it is in this pain that I remember to turn to You for help." And He never fails to answer. Whether it is to provide healing, or to put an invisible hand on my heart to comfort me, or to wrap me in a giant, tender hug. Would I like it to be healing every time? Of course. But I'm not picky, because God doesn't have to help me.

But He chooses to.

In Christ and Love,

Gabrielle

G: Deuteronomy 6:4-5

“'Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.'” Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ESV

 These verses (and this chapter, really) speak volumes to me. Deut. 6:4 has always been one of my favorite verses, ever since I heard it a few years ago. I never knew what it meant, but it has always touched my heart, striking something so deep in my core that my soul can't help but worship. Thanks to a footnote in my Bible, I now know what it means. Basically, it's reemphasizing that there is only one God. The footnote's alternate translation reads "The LORD is our God, the LORD alone."

I've always had a huge problem with priorities. In school, chores, and scheduling I always seem to pick the smallest, least important, and most trivial thing to spend my energy on. Well, "waste" is a better word. I waste it on Facebook. Neopets. Pinterest. Worry. Anxiety. Stress. Fear. I let not one but all of these become my priority on a day-to-day basis. And while (except for the last four) these things aren't bad in and of themselves, they've become bad. How?

By spending all of my time on those things, I am saying with my actions that God is not the only Lord of my life. Now, I'm not intentionally putting those things as idols. Like a lot of sins, it "just seems to happen." But when I'm on Facebook or texting instead of doing my quiet time, I am telling God through my actions that He's not as important as my technology.

And because I've let my list of seven take the place of God's hand in my day-to-day doings, life has become a LOT more stressful and a lot less certain. I start to panic about things that I never panic about when I trust God to take care of it! Instead I've told God that I can run my life all by myself.

And the truth is, I can't. I'm not strong enough. I'm weak, and I don't have the capacity to handle everything myself without burning myself out like an overused lightbulb.

And so it is with a crying and repentant heart that I pray with the deepest part of my soul the one, worshipful sentence that has captured my heart:

"The LORD our God, the LORD is one."

And so I'm starting anew in this great romance with the Bridegroom, with my precious love Jesus. It is with a renewed spark and a refilled heart that I pick up the pen, put down the phone, and write over and over, "The LORD our God, the LORD is one."

My heartbeat. My battlecry. My love. My all.

"The LORD our God, the LORD is one."

He is my one. My eternal. My all.

Life feels so right when He's first in my life. Not my boyfriend. Not my friends. Not my stupid fears of uncertainty. Not technology, and certainly not school.

But Christ alone.

In Christ and Love,
Gabrielle