MichelleBentham“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.” ~Psalms 34:4-6 (NKJV)
When I think of the Lord delivering me from all my fears, I think of what it took for me to overcome them.
OUCH.
I look back over the time when I began to earnestly seek the Lord until now and think how He has used every experience, every opportunity, every moment of my life as a catalyst to draw me into Himself and set me from from myself at the same time.
Free to be who I am in Him would sum it up nicely.
I guess what has struck me fresh as I read these three verses of Psalm 34 and chew on them is what happened after the Lord delivers from all fear.
“They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.”
How often do we refrain from looking to the Lord because we are afraid of what He will show us about ourselves. I know there have been times in my life, some not so very long ago, when I would not take something I knew He wanted to deal with to Him because I was afraid of confronting that thing and allowing Him to deal with it. How often do we refuse to allow God to heal, deliver, set free or correct in our lives because we a AFRAID of what the change will look like?
I see it all the time in Pastoral Care Ministry. People call in and come in for prayer and for assistance. They want the pain to stop, but they don’t necessarily deal with why the pain exists in the first place.
For some there is an element of the unknown that keeps them paralyzed. I have carried both the title of victim and survivor in my lifetime. I was a victim of domestic violence, rape and assault. I survived the death of my oldest child. The problem with these titles is not that they don’t ring true. The problem is that these titles define my existences on the basis of my experience rather than on my position in Christ. If I indeed believe I am a victim then I run the risk not only of fulfilling that role, but having the expectation that I somehow will be a victim again. The same with survivors.
Something glorious happens when I turn my face to the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3 says that when we turn our eyes to the Lord, the veil is removed and we see Him as one looking a mirror with unveiled face. His reflection in my says I am a victor, more than a conqueror, but instead a co-hear and child of the King. Victor is a title that defines a person based on their position after the battle. Warrior defines my role in the battle, but Victor defines my position after the battle. Think of it.
I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. Do I believe that is true? Or, am I a victim and a survivor who has been merely saved with little or no victory at all.
When they turn their faces to the Lord, their face become radiant, as the glory of the Lord shines upon them and when they cry out to Him, He hears them and delivers them from all their troubles. Who is the they in this passage?
Those whose praise of God is continually on their lips, who declare and exalt Him and His glories in their life. Those whose souls boast fully in the Lord because He has delivered them from all their fears.
Lord, Let me never forget the benefits of being your child and turning my face toward you. Let Your glory shine Lord, all the days of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.