ABCs
"T" TRUST
When I am afraid, I can trust my Father. (Psa. 56:3-4, 11)
My Father is absolutely trustworthy. (Psa. 9:10, Isa. 12:2, Jer. 17:5-8, Mat. 12:17-21
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOGb6rAy ... re=related I trust you Lord
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcBWOBUVdfY I will trust you Lord
*** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3wwWFsSlNQ
Still
How is your heart today? Are there any hidden or not so hidden fears? Any place where you are just not sure if God is trustworthy like the Word says he is?
Are there unhealed places where you need to invite God to show you how he was trustworthy even though it might not have felt like He was?
If/when we ask our mind if God is trustworthy, we can all say yes... but if we look into our heart... is it different?
Hopefully today we will get it implanted deeper into our mind AND heart.
Psa. 56:3-4, 11 (AMP) 3 What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You.
**When I am afraid, not IF I am afraid. Then the choice... an act of our mind, which hopefully once we state it our emotions will follow..I WILL (act of our will, a choice) put both my trust AND reliance. I have been doing a study which has helped me so much, about how I can’t but God can. And my part is to call upon Him. So in this context we see we WILL trust.
4 By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?
Verse 11 kind of repeats this...11In God have I put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
** I like amp, with the HELP of God, I will praise His Word and again lean, rely and trust him with confidence. I will not fear ( will-choice). We know the final outcome, is heaven. So yes men may hurt us, in fact they will at times. But we know that in the end, we belong to GOD.
How though do we do that?
Comments or questions?
I think one way is to simply “do it” to affirm it, to state it out loud or put it in writing.. “I am choosing to trust God, he is trustworthy and safe.” We can admit exactly how we feel too, God already knows anyhow. So I might say to God...”It feels like, or I feel like things will never change, it feels so unsafe right now, or I am so hurt right now, but your Word says you are on my side and I WILL praise you and I WILL and am choosing to trust, lean and rely on you. Please help me.”
Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Often we or I did at one time think of a rod and staff more as a tool of discipline instead of a tool of LOVE.
Do you ever think that way?
But look at the amp version... 4 Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.
From “A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm”
Each shepherd boy, from the time he first starts to tend his father's flock, takes special pride in the selection of a rod and staff exactly suited to his own size and strength. He goes into the bush and selects a young sapling which is dug from the ground. This is carved and whittled down with great care and patience. The enlarged base of the sapling where its trunk joins the roots is shaped into a smooth, rounded head of hard wood. The sapling itself is shaped to exactly fit the owner's hand. After he completes it, the shepherd boy spends hours practicing with this club, leaning how to throw it with amazing speed and accuracy. It becomes his main weapon of defense for both himself and his sheep. ...the rod, in fact, was an extension of the owner's own right arm. It stood as a symbol of his strength, his power, his authority in any serious situation.
The rod was what he relied on to safeguard both himself and his flock in danger. And it was, furthermore, the instrument he used to discipline and correct any wayward sheep that insisted on wandering away.
If the shepherd saw a sheep wandering away from its own, or approaching poisonous weeds, or getting too close to danger of one sort or another, the club would go whistling through the air to send the wayward animal scurrying back to the bunch.
Another interesting use of the rod in the shepherd's hand was to examine and count the sheep. In the terminology of the Old Testament this was referred to as passing "under the rod":
And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: (Ezek. 20:37).
This meant not only coming under the owner's control and authority, but also to be subject to his most careful, intimate and firsthand examination. A sheep that passed "under the rod" was one which had been counted and looked over with great care to make sure all was well with it.
In caring for his sheep, the good shepherd, the careful manager, will from time to time make a careful examination of each individual sheep. As each animal comes out of the corral and through the gate, it is stopped by the shepherd's outstretched rod. He opens the fleece with the rod; he runs his skillful hands over the body; he feels for any sign of trouble; he examines the sheep with care to see if all is well. This is a most searching process entailing every intimate detail. It is, too, a comfort to the sheep for only in this way can its hidden problems be laid bare before the shepherd.
the staff, more than any other item of his personal equipment, identifies the shepherd as a shepherd. No one in any other profession carries a shepherd's staff. It is uniquely an instrument used for the care and management of sheep -- and only sheep. It will not do for cattle, horses or hogs. It is designed, shaped and adapted especially to the needs of sheep.
The staff is essentially a symbol of the concern, the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges. No other single word can better describe its function on behalf of the flock than that it is for their "comfort."
Whereas the rod conveys the concept of authority, of power, of discipline, of defense against danger, the word "staff" speaks of all that is long-suffering and kind.
The shepherd's staff is normally a long, slender stick, often with a crook or hook on one end. It is selected with care by the owner; it is shaped, smoothed, and cut to best suit his own personal use.
Somehow the staff is of special comfort to the shepherd himself. In the tough tramps and during the long weary watches with his sheep, he leans on it for support and strength. It becomes to him a most precious comfort and help in his duties.
There are three areas of sheep management in which the staff plays a most significant role. The first of these lies in drawing sheep together into an intimate relationship. The shepherd will use his staff to gently lift a newborn lamb and bring it to its mother if they become parted. He does this because he does not wish to have the ewe reject her offspring if it bears the odor of his hands upon it.
...the staff is used by the shepherd to reach out and catch individual sheep, young or old, and draw them close to himself for intimate examination. The staff is very useful this way for the shy and timid sheep normally tend to keep at a distance from the shepherd.
The staff is also used for guiding sheep. Again and again I have seen a shepherd use his staff to guide his sheep gently into a new path or through some gate or along dangerous, difficult routes. He does not use it actually to beat the beast. Rather, the tip of the long slender stick is laid gently against the animal's side and the pressure applied guides the sheep in the way the owner wants it to go. Thus the sheep is reassured of its proper path.
Being stubborn creatures sheep often get into the most ridiculous and preposterous dilemmas. I have seen my own sheep, greedy for one more mouthful of green grass, climb down steep cliffs where they slipped and fell into the sea. Only my long shepherd's staff could lift them out of the water back onto solid ground.
Another common occurrence was to find sheep stuck fast in labyrinths of wild roses or brambles where they had pushed in to find a few stray mouthfuls of green grass. Soon the thorns were so hooked in their wool they could not possibly pull free, tug as they might. Only the use of the staff could free them from their entanglement.
That was long but interesting to me. Do you see how we are like sheep and we can TRUST God to take care of us, even including discipline (FOR OUR PROTECTION)?
Does it make sense that a rod and a staff are tools God uses to demonstrate His love? Even when we surely do NOT understand the “why” in the moments?
To be continued next week......
When I am afraid, I can trust my Father. (Psa. 56:3-4, 11)
My Father is absolutely trustworthy. (Psa. 9:10, Isa. 12:2, Jer. 17:5-8, Mat. 12:17-21
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOGb6rAy ... re=related I trust you Lord
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcBWOBUVdfY I will trust you Lord
*** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3wwWFsSlNQ
Still
How is your heart today? Are there any hidden or not so hidden fears? Any place where you are just not sure if God is trustworthy like the Word says he is?
Are there unhealed places where you need to invite God to show you how he was trustworthy even though it might not have felt like He was?
If/when we ask our mind if God is trustworthy, we can all say yes... but if we look into our heart... is it different?
Hopefully today we will get it implanted deeper into our mind AND heart.
Psa. 56:3-4, 11 (AMP) 3 What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You.
**When I am afraid, not IF I am afraid. Then the choice... an act of our mind, which hopefully once we state it our emotions will follow..I WILL (act of our will, a choice) put both my trust AND reliance. I have been doing a study which has helped me so much, about how I can’t but God can. And my part is to call upon Him. So in this context we see we WILL trust.
4 By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?
Verse 11 kind of repeats this...11In God have I put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
** I like amp, with the HELP of God, I will praise His Word and again lean, rely and trust him with confidence. I will not fear ( will-choice). We know the final outcome, is heaven. So yes men may hurt us, in fact they will at times. But we know that in the end, we belong to GOD.
How though do we do that?
Comments or questions?
I think one way is to simply “do it” to affirm it, to state it out loud or put it in writing.. “I am choosing to trust God, he is trustworthy and safe.” We can admit exactly how we feel too, God already knows anyhow. So I might say to God...”It feels like, or I feel like things will never change, it feels so unsafe right now, or I am so hurt right now, but your Word says you are on my side and I WILL praise you and I WILL and am choosing to trust, lean and rely on you. Please help me.”
Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Often we or I did at one time think of a rod and staff more as a tool of discipline instead of a tool of LOVE.
Do you ever think that way?
But look at the amp version... 4 Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.
From “A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm”
Each shepherd boy, from the time he first starts to tend his father's flock, takes special pride in the selection of a rod and staff exactly suited to his own size and strength. He goes into the bush and selects a young sapling which is dug from the ground. This is carved and whittled down with great care and patience. The enlarged base of the sapling where its trunk joins the roots is shaped into a smooth, rounded head of hard wood. The sapling itself is shaped to exactly fit the owner's hand. After he completes it, the shepherd boy spends hours practicing with this club, leaning how to throw it with amazing speed and accuracy. It becomes his main weapon of defense for both himself and his sheep. ...the rod, in fact, was an extension of the owner's own right arm. It stood as a symbol of his strength, his power, his authority in any serious situation.
The rod was what he relied on to safeguard both himself and his flock in danger. And it was, furthermore, the instrument he used to discipline and correct any wayward sheep that insisted on wandering away.
If the shepherd saw a sheep wandering away from its own, or approaching poisonous weeds, or getting too close to danger of one sort or another, the club would go whistling through the air to send the wayward animal scurrying back to the bunch.
Another interesting use of the rod in the shepherd's hand was to examine and count the sheep. In the terminology of the Old Testament this was referred to as passing "under the rod":
And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: (Ezek. 20:37).
This meant not only coming under the owner's control and authority, but also to be subject to his most careful, intimate and firsthand examination. A sheep that passed "under the rod" was one which had been counted and looked over with great care to make sure all was well with it.
In caring for his sheep, the good shepherd, the careful manager, will from time to time make a careful examination of each individual sheep. As each animal comes out of the corral and through the gate, it is stopped by the shepherd's outstretched rod. He opens the fleece with the rod; he runs his skillful hands over the body; he feels for any sign of trouble; he examines the sheep with care to see if all is well. This is a most searching process entailing every intimate detail. It is, too, a comfort to the sheep for only in this way can its hidden problems be laid bare before the shepherd.
the staff, more than any other item of his personal equipment, identifies the shepherd as a shepherd. No one in any other profession carries a shepherd's staff. It is uniquely an instrument used for the care and management of sheep -- and only sheep. It will not do for cattle, horses or hogs. It is designed, shaped and adapted especially to the needs of sheep.
The staff is essentially a symbol of the concern, the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges. No other single word can better describe its function on behalf of the flock than that it is for their "comfort."
Whereas the rod conveys the concept of authority, of power, of discipline, of defense against danger, the word "staff" speaks of all that is long-suffering and kind.
The shepherd's staff is normally a long, slender stick, often with a crook or hook on one end. It is selected with care by the owner; it is shaped, smoothed, and cut to best suit his own personal use.
Somehow the staff is of special comfort to the shepherd himself. In the tough tramps and during the long weary watches with his sheep, he leans on it for support and strength. It becomes to him a most precious comfort and help in his duties.
There are three areas of sheep management in which the staff plays a most significant role. The first of these lies in drawing sheep together into an intimate relationship. The shepherd will use his staff to gently lift a newborn lamb and bring it to its mother if they become parted. He does this because he does not wish to have the ewe reject her offspring if it bears the odor of his hands upon it.
...the staff is used by the shepherd to reach out and catch individual sheep, young or old, and draw them close to himself for intimate examination. The staff is very useful this way for the shy and timid sheep normally tend to keep at a distance from the shepherd.
The staff is also used for guiding sheep. Again and again I have seen a shepherd use his staff to guide his sheep gently into a new path or through some gate or along dangerous, difficult routes. He does not use it actually to beat the beast. Rather, the tip of the long slender stick is laid gently against the animal's side and the pressure applied guides the sheep in the way the owner wants it to go. Thus the sheep is reassured of its proper path.
Being stubborn creatures sheep often get into the most ridiculous and preposterous dilemmas. I have seen my own sheep, greedy for one more mouthful of green grass, climb down steep cliffs where they slipped and fell into the sea. Only my long shepherd's staff could lift them out of the water back onto solid ground.
Another common occurrence was to find sheep stuck fast in labyrinths of wild roses or brambles where they had pushed in to find a few stray mouthfuls of green grass. Soon the thorns were so hooked in their wool they could not possibly pull free, tug as they might. Only the use of the staff could free them from their entanglement.
That was long but interesting to me. Do you see how we are like sheep and we can TRUST God to take care of us, even including discipline (FOR OUR PROTECTION)?
Does it make sense that a rod and a staff are tools God uses to demonstrate His love? Even when we surely do NOT understand the “why” in the moments?
To be continued next week......
