Solomon tells us that “a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (Proverbs 17:22, AMP ). God undoubtedly has a sense of humor; we need only look at some of the animals He created (it’s hard not to smile at the sight of a hippo, a monkey, or a puppy). Or think of some of the married couples you know: don’t you think God was smiling at the wedding as He looked ahead to the interaction of the wildly different personalities that will be living together?Posts Tagged ‘Lord’
peace in the nature of God
Last time, I wrote about the names of God, looking at a handful of psalms for the ways that God is described. As I meditate on and come to believe that God truly is “my stronghold, my refuge, my light, and my salvation,” I will find it easier to experience the perfect peace that Isaiah promises to those who stay fixed on God.
It’s knowledge of God that allows us to trust Him, and knowing these names is one way to know Him better. The Psalms also reveal His nature in more detail as David and other writers praise God at length for different aspects of His character. Today, I want to point you toward just a few psalms that can build our faith in God.
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p>Need a reminder that God is able? Take Psalm 29, as an example; David begins with “Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.” The rest of this psalm describes God’s majesty and power. For instance, David tells us: continue reading
crying out for mercy
This is second in a series on mercy.
Tuesday, I wrote about praying the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner) and how the beginning acknowledges all that Jesus is. I ended with the question, “But what about the mercy part?” and that’s where I’ll pick up today.
I wondered how often mercy showed up in Scripture. It’s there a lot! What caught my attention as I looked at the gospels is that the most frequent occurrence of mercy is in requests:
Lord, have mercy
I never gave much thought to the mercy of God until this past weekend. “Lord, have mercy” has long been an expression of exasperation (as in, “Lord have mercy! What were you thinking?”) rather than a prayer. My first exposure to this was in sixth grade, when we moved to Columbus, Mississippi — my family’s first time in the South. My teacher that year — I can’t remember her name, but I clearly remember her face, her blue hair, and her rather unpleasant disposition — was a good Southern woman, and she used to exclaim, “Laaaw-zay mer-say may!” (translation: Lordy, mercy me!) when she was frustrated. Later, in high school, Sunday school teacher Dave Krebs suggested to us boys that “mercy” was a good word to say instead of a profanity. Not a bad idea, I suppose. The other place that I encountered “mercy” was in games of strength: you extend your arms upward, interlock fingers with the other guy, and try to push him down to his knees, making him cry for mercy.
The upshot of this, particularly using mercy as an exclamation, is that the word was emptied of meaning for me. I knew that it was a theologically important concept, as well as a potentially troubling one, linked as it always was to God’s sovereignty. God said to Moses, “I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy,” and I always wondered how He decided. Since I usually ended up scared when I pondered this, I decided not to think about it at all. So “mercy” didn’t enter much into my understanding of God or into my prayers.
call upon the name of the Lord
In his devotional for today, Oswald Chambers writes about Jesus as “master” and “teacher.” That got me thinking about the song “Made Me Glad,” from a Hillsong album several years ago. This song has been one of my favorites since first hearing it, and it’s one I often turn to when I feel the need […]
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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