Psalms To See Me Through: Psalm 12—God Is A Helper Against The Treacherous

For the choir director; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David. 

Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases to be, for the faithful disappear from among the sons of men {v.1}.

The world is full of so much evil that sometimes it’s hard to see the good. It is easy to feel as though we are the only righteous ones left. Another righteous man of God felt the same way when he faced a very evil king and queen and five-hundred of their prophets. Elijah confronted those five-hundred on Mt. Carmel and the God of Heaven answered him by fire. But one threat by Jezebel in retaliation sent Elijah running for his life. Words can frighten and intimidate. This is one of the devil's most devious schemes. Elijah  hides in the desert afraid for his life and overwhelmed by his circumstances. God finally asks him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” Has God ever asked you that question? He has me; too many times. Too many times I have felt overwhelmed with my circumstances, wondering how long I will have to endure. God knew what Elijah was doing⸺he was hiding. I hide. You hide. The Lord is telling us it is time to come out of our cave.

Elijah answers the Lord of Hosts, 

I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” {1 Kings 19:14 NASB}.

It is so easy to feel like we are the only ones left that serve God. The lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life {see 1 Jn. 2:16} reign over our culture; finding the righteous can be challenging through the darkness. But God doesn’t let Elijah stay there in his dark night of the soul; He assures him that he is not alone, and that God has set aside for Himself those that will not succumb to the darkness that seems to be ruling. God Reigns.

Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him {1 Kings 19:18. NASB}.

When I feel like Elijah did while hiding in his cave, I remember God’s promise to me⸺I remember His goodness. He will not leave me, will not forsake me.

They speak falsehood to one another; with flattering lips and with a double heart they speak. May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaks great things; who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?” {vv. 2-4}.

Words can be hurtful. They can tear down and cause pain. People will not always speak well of you⸺no matter how good you are. The culture today is full of words and people talking. The cowardly hide behind their computers while spewing hate. No one knows them nor do they need to prove their character. They spew vile with seemingly little or no consequence. But what they is speak falsehood. They believe that no one will hold them accountable. It is our fallenness displayed in self-aggrandizement. 

Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and turn away from evil {Prov. 3:7}.

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith {Rom. 12:3}.

The Lord will always rise to defend those who love Him; those who are desperate; those in despair. The Words of the Lord are true; reliable; dependable; He will fight on behalf of the needy.

“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy, now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.” The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth refined seven times. You, O Lord, will keep them; You will preserve him from this generation forever. The wicked strut about on every side when vileness is exalted among the sons of men” {vv. 5-8}.

Not one Word that God has spoken has failed. Not one. His Word does not fail. Are you afflicted today? God says He will arise on your behalf. Are you needy today? God will raise you up according to His Word. His Word has been tried and tested and passes with flying colors. Every time. God will keep you; that is His promise. Let the wicked speak what they will. Let those who hurt you with their words say what they will. The wicked strut but God preserves you.

To read all the Psalms in this series click here: Psalms To See Me Through

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Encounter With The Spectacular

Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar.  He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side.  When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins {Ezekiel 47:1-4 NASB}.

This was an incredible vision and encounter for Ezekiel; God touched him in a spectacular way; He pierced the veil and saw God's glory revealed. Ezekiel had a vision of holy waters, their rise, depth, and the healing virtue they contained.

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water {Jn. 7:38}.

This is a prophecy of Living Waters; John the Revelator saw the same Living Waters in a vision in Revelation 22. I long for God to touch me in a spectacular way. I know, I am supposed to be deep and humble and tell you how thankful I am to see God in the mundane; that I don’t need a spectacular experience to believe in God or trust His faithfulness. I don’t need one to believe in Him, I do desire to know Him more. I am grateful for the mundane, while anticipating the spectacular. If I don’t encounter Him in this way, I still believe in Him and know Him to be faithful and trustworthy. Forever.

The spectacular does not mean that I will necessarily experience God’s power like Ezekiel, and I don’t just desire to witness a display of His power for a sign or for the sake of having an experience. I want to know Him deeper and more intimately than I ever have. I follow in the footprints of women and men of God who sought the same; Moses witnessed God’s power, provision, and miracles in the wilderness, yet, He still prayed for God to show him His glory. He wanted to know God on a deeper level; not only the provision of His hand, but in the intimacy of His face. He was called a friend of God.

You are my friends if you do what I command you {Jn. 15:14}.

Elijah, while hiding in a cave in fear of his life, had just witnessed God’s power on Mt. Carmel, but he came to know God in a deeper way in the cave. He saw the earthquake, fire, whirlwind, yet heard God in the still small voice. In studying the original Hebrew in 1 Kings 19:11-14, some scholars suggest that Elijah did not only hear God’s voice, but actually heard God’s thoughts. A spectacular experience indeed. In case you don’t believe that is possible let’s read:

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.  But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.  For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ {1 Cor. 2:14-16 NASB emphasis mine}.

God continues to reveal Himself to those who seek Him. We can know the thoughts of Christ through His Holy Spirit and the Word. The Word is a record of His thoughts. A word of caution—if your experience or encounter with God does not line up with His Word, you did not have an encounter with the Creator of the universe; lean into Him like you never have before. His Word trumps any experience or encounter we may have.

 Not all of us will encounter God in the spectacular way that Ezekiel did, however, He does want to reveal Himself to us deeper as we grow in Him. He revealed Himself to Moses at different times in deeper ways during each step of his journey to the promise land. 

We need to discipline ourselves to recognize God in the mundane, but He does not expect us to stay in the mundane, mediocrity of life. If He did, He would not have established the Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle; He would have built the outer and inner courts only. The deeper you journey into the Tabernacle, the deeper you experience the life, work, and ministry of Jesus and there you commune with Him (read about the Tabernacle here). If God did not want us to experience the spectacular, Peter and John would not have witnessed Christ’s transfiguration. He desires for us to see His glory.

He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power {Heb. 1:3 NASB}.

God brought Ezekiel through the waters at different levels; first his ankles, then the knees, and then up to his loins. Continue into the next verses and the water exceeds his head. God wants to take us deeper and deeper in Him; not so that we can have just some mystical experience, but that we can experience Him. He wants to know us face to face just as He did Moses.  These men that experienced God in the spectacular, did not merely have an experience, they had an encounter. My spirit cries out for an encounter.