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Good Friday morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends;
May I ask. . .are you walking closely with Jesus today, or do you have to look far in the distance to see Him? Can you hear His voice, or is Jesus’ voice lost in all the noise, especially the angry shouts, or the tearful cries that fill our ears, in these days?
This week we’re trying to wrap our minds, and our hearts around the concept that God understands our pain, our confusion, even our despair in difficult times, like the times we’re living these months, almost anywhere in the world. God understands because He’s God and He’s Omniscient. But there’s more. Because of Jesus’ incarnation and His years spent here on planet earth during a similarly very difficult time, Jesus fully understands us because He experienced it, all of it!
We looked at that yesterday together in Hebrews 2 & 4, and this means Jesus has EMPATHY toward us! That my friends, should awaken in us a sense of “content”… that even though we may not understand what’s happening all around us, God does. And when we hurt, Jesus says “I empathize with you, I feel your pain and so I reach to you in My empathy for you, and I want to help you, right where you are, today.” Consider this word from God in Isaiah 41:13 “I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.” Will you let Jesus help you today my friends?
Let’s look at Psalm 33 together today. It’s a wonderful, encouraging, hopeful Psalm and we don’t know for sure who authored it or in what circumstances. One of the reasons I go to the Psalms every day is that they are very real. They are the outflow of human hearts like mine and yours. They are unfiltered, raw, nitty gritty, feeling driven expressions, and as I read, I often find myself saying…”hey, that’s very much like how I feel today.”
Would you look specifically with me at Psalm 33:13-15 “From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind, from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth – He who forms the hearts of all, considers everything they do.”
Wow, do you notice the words ‘all’ and ‘everything’? So what doesn’t God see? What is happening that God can’t see in the dark alleyways in big cities, or behind closed doors, or even in drug smuggling tunnels or terrorist torture dungeons? WHO is NOT being watched by the eyes of God? I invite us to be encouraged by this great truth. . . God doesn’t miss anything!
In fact, may I invite you to link Psalm 33 with Hebrews 4:13 which says: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before Him to whom we must give account.”
Now when we combine these two powerful statements, what should we conclude about God watching us, especially as we watch the evening news and listen to the media spin as they explain why the Coronavirus continues to spread world-wide, or why there are riots in American cities, or why the cry to ‘defund’ the police force in some major American cities, or why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or why the drug cartels in Mexico are killing so many people, or a million other questions?
Does it encourage you to know God sees it all, everywhere, everyday? Is it also encouraging to know God doesn’t get His information from the global media, but rather as God watches EVERY person, He considers everything happening here on planet earth with a deep, profound understanding of every human heart and mind. In fact king David challenged his son Solomon, as he was transferring the throne to Solomon with this statement: “…the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts…” (1 Chronicles 28:9)
So God sees every action, hears every word, understands every attitude, and more than that, God even knows every thought in every human mind and even every motive behind every thought, word or action! So you and I don’t need to beat our chest or pull our hair wishing God was more aware of what’s going on in our messed up world. In fact, the truth is, God sees far more than we will ever see, He understands it all and even sees deep in the hearts of all, so we can step back from the cliff of worry, confident that God knows!
Oh and one more thing…did you notice it at the end of Hebrews 4:13? “…to whom we must give account.” The next time you are nearly overwhelmed with dread as you contemplate so much evil, so much unbridled anger and willful wickedness in our world, calm your heart with the thought that there will be a day of reckoning when every person stands before an all knowing, Holy God, to give account for everything in their life!
Now please hear this encouraging word for today from Psalm 33, are you ready? “But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love… We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.” (vs. 20,21) Oh Amen my friends! While it is true God is watching every person and everything that is happening in our world, God has His eyes especially on those who have their hope in His unfailing love, His unchanging character, His power and His holiness! Those people whose focus is on Jesus, despite the darkness all around us, find rejoicing in their hearts! This my friends is one of the great secrets of how God’s people move out of the darkness and despair of terrible times. Are you walking this path with Jesus?
Do you remember this great challenge from Hebrews 12:1,2? “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
And finally, this closing verse from Psalm 33, my friends: “May Your unfailing love rest upon us O LORD, even as we put our hope in You.” Oh my friends, do I hear a rousing AMEN from you, where-ever you are hearing my voice all around the world, no matter how desperate the situation in your city or town?
Now I have a dear friend with a God given tender voice. I call her “Loon” for her voice sometimes reminds me of that wonderful sound of the Minnesota Loons on a quiet early morning by the lake. She offers us a song today that fits so well with these very encouraging words from God’s Word. Take your journal and pen, with your Bible open to Psalm 33, listen to “Loon”, worship our Lord Jesus, and listen to what the Holy Spirit says to you today:
Click to listen to “Remember Me”
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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