STUDYING IN THE PSALMS (07-29-10)

Last night's meeting was one of our best yet, I think. It was so touching and moving sharing our Psalms. I do not have liberty to share the other ladies' feelings, but I will share with you here the Psalm that God put on my heart to study and share. I used Anne Graham Lotz' technique from her Bible Study that I went through a few years ago - breaking it down verse by verse. I did a few verses each night and then yesterday, during my lunch hour, I took the questions that I had from each verse and started writing what God was saying to me.

PSALM 34:1-22

Psalm 34 reminds me that I need to praise Him at ALL times, no matter what my circumstances are. I must remember how much He has blessed me and let others know how good He has been and is being to me.

He is the only reason I can do anything. I must remember to lift up His name in praise. I must pray earnestly and seek Him so that I will know the direction He wants to take me. I must pray and seek Him so that He can set me free.

I have to quit looking to others for help or answers and quit trying to figure things out on my own. I am not in control and, as I was reminded last week, I am NOT God. I have to remember to look to Him for my help and my answers.

What am I afraid of? What do I fear? I need to take those things to Him and let Him have them so He can set me free from them. He is guarding me and wants to rescue me but He is a gentleman and will not force Himself on me.

When will I learn to truly trust Him? Why is that so hard for me? I will only be able to have true joy when I can trust Him with everything. HE is my provider. HE will take care of me; but, I must show Him reverence and honor Him. How do I do that? Reverence is not just sitting quietly – it is obeying Him. When I obey what He asks me to do, THAT is showing reverence and honor to Him.

If I do my best to do His will, then He will provide for me. He knows my heart and my intentions. He alone knows if I’m truly trying and if I’m doing things for the right reasons.

How do I go through my daily life? Am I careful of things that I say? Do I really do my best to get along with others and live in peace? I can not do these things in my strength but I can in His strength. (Philippians 4:13).

Have I intentionally done evil things before? Do I find myself still doing those things? He will have no part of it! He will turn His face away from me and “erase my memory from the earth”, (Psalm 34:16) if I don’t repent and stop doing evil things.

If I belong to Him, I will not want any part of evil. I will do my best to live for Him so that He will hear me when I cry out to Him and He will come and rescue me.

When I feel like everything is falling apart or falling in all around me, do I feel Him close? He is – as close as I will let Him be. If I allow my troubles to overtake me instead of calling out to Him, I render Him helpless. YES, He knows what I need but He will wait for me to ask Him for help. As I stated before, He is a gentleman and He will not force Himself on anyone.

He will not leave me or forsake me. He is always there just waiting for me to call to Him. He is in control and I can rest in the knowledge that He has redeemed and pardoned me.

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I found this neat little thing in my Bible about "Reasons to Read the Psalms" so I typed it up and gave one to each of the ladies in attendance.

Next week, we will be studying in Titus. I don't know that I've ever actually just read that book (all 3 chapters) and I'm looking forward to seeing what God shows me and the other ladies there :)

If you haven't attended a meeeting yet, please feel free to come any Thursday. We look forward to seeing you soon :)