It Will Be Worth It All

 ⁴O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?

 ⁵Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure.

 ⁶Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves.

 ⁷Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. 

(Psalm 80:4-7, King James Version)

It Will Be Worth It All

Is it worth it? When all of life seems to be sorrows and tears for us, but seems to be sunshine and blessings for others, is it worth it? If we spend our entire life poor and needy while others seem to skate through on beds of ease, is it worth it?

There seems to come a time in every Christian teen's life when we ask such questions. The truth is, rarely is our life all bad, but even if it were, what a small price to pay for eternity with Christ. Is it worth it? Oh, yes!

Asaph wrestles with this very thing. Seeing his people in captivity, it seems as though God has all but forgotten His people. God seems to be feeding them with the bread of tears, giving them tears to drink in great measures. On top of that, they are in strife with their neighbors and their enemies laugh and ridicule them and their God.

The world is not so very different today, is it? When Christians go through troublesome times, yet trust faithfully in  God, the world is quick to mock and ridicule their faith. The world believes that faith is just an empty set of promises that women and children cling to for sustenance. We should not be surprised when we consider those who ridiculed Christ while he hung on the cross, dying for us.

It is right for us to cry out to God in our times or trouble, and ask God to turn us and cause our face to shine. But no matter what the answer may be, it is good to remember that, through Christ, we shall be saved. In Him is all comfort, joy, and peace--a peace that will last for all eternity. So, no matter what this life brings, let us remember, it will be worth it all, when we see Jesus!

It will be worth it all
When we see Jesus!
Life's trials will seem so small
When we see Christ'
One glimpse of His dear face,
All sorrow will erase.
So, bravely run the race
Till we see Christ.

God Bless You,

Linda

We Shall Be Saved

 ¹Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.

 ²Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.

 ³Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

(Psalm 80:1-3, King James Version)

We Shall Be Saved

Psalm 80, which is actually a continuation of Psalm 79, is divided into three sections, all of which end with, "we shall be saved." The writer correctly understands that the only salvation which will come to his people will be from the hand of God, the Shepherd of Israel.

It is interesting that the writer, in verse 1, speaks of the Shepherd of Israel who led Joseph like a flock. Joseph, you will remember, was taken as a slave to the land of Egypt. His brothers thought that they had rid themselves of him forever, and Joseph must surely have felt that his life was over. Gone were the privileges he had experienced in his father's house.

However, we know the rest of the story. God used Joseph to preserve his people during seven years of famine, and made of them a great nation in the land of Egypt. No wonder Asaph could say with confidence,

Stir up thy strength, and come and save us. Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

If God could so miraculously work on behalf of His people as He did to Joseph, and then later when bringing the nation of Israel out of the land of Egypt, then surely He could work on behalf of His people again.

Do we, as Christian teens, have that same confidence in God? When difficulties arise do we go to God first, or do we treat Him as a last resort, going to Him when all else fails? Are we so tied to this earth that we cannot see God working on our behalf in the same way He worked among His people during the time Asaph penned Psalm 80?

Asaph's God is the same God we worship today; just as He worked wondrously on behalf of His people then, so does He work among His people today. Our world is filled with pop psychology and self-help guides, but, truthfully, our only hope lies in God. If He comes to us and turns us again to Him, then we shall be saved.

What an amazing God we serve. 

God Bless You,

Linda

We Thy People

 ¹¹Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;

 ¹²And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.

 ¹³So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations. 

(Psalm 79:11-13, King James Version)

We Thy People

 What picture comes to mind as you read the last verse of Psalm 79.

So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever; we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.

In this psalm, Asaph has laid out his complaints before God, recounting the sad state of the nation which has been overrun and conquered by heathen nations. In the end, he understands that all that has happened and that will happen is of God.

As Christian teens, we are the sheep of Christ's pasture. Though we may be overcome with troubles on all sides, it is not our duty to unravel our difficulties, but rather it is God, our Chief Shepherd who will bring us through the dark valleys and into His eternal habitation where we will live forever!

How are we to respond to God's wondrous care? We Thy people will give thanks forever; to Him we will show forth praise, not only now, but in the generations to come. In saying this, Asaph is showing that there is a future--indeed a glorious future--for the children of God.

What have we done to deserve such glorious treatment? Not a thing! Our salvation is none of us and all of Christ. Sin on us has left a crimson stain, but He washed us white as snow. This was penned beautifully in a hymn written by Elvina M. Hall.

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.” 

Refrain:
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim;
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.


And now complete in Him,
My robe, His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.


Lord, now indeed I find
Thy pow’r, and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.


When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.


And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down,
All down at Jesus’ feet.

God Bless You,

Linda

You Raise Me Up

 ⁸O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.

 ⁹Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake.

 ¹⁰Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed. 

(Psalm 79:8-10, King James Version)

You Raise Me Up

I am often amazed at how contemporary God's Word is. Who of us has not had a time when were brought very low?

That was how Asaph found himself when he wrote Psalm 79. Asaph had seen the glory days of Israel during the times of David and Solomon. How he longed for them to return. What happened to Israel?

When Rehoboam, King Solomon's son became king, the congregation of Israel came to him and spoke these words:

Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. (I Kings 12:4, KJV)

Here was Rehoboam's opportunity to establish himself as a wise, Godly king, but it was not to be. Taking the advice of his young peers, we find his response:

And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. (1 Kings 12:14)

The Bible tells us that this thing was from the Lord. Ten tribes, under the leadership of Jereboam, rebelled against the king that day, and formed the nation of Israel. The remaining tribes, under Rehoboam, were known as Judah.

Asaph, being a priest under the leadership of King Rehoboam, suffered the results of the king's foolish words. No wonder he penned such words of longing, asking God help return his people to their former days of glory.

As a teen, what do you do when you are brought low? How do you respond to God? Do you blame God for your desperate circumstances, or do you call out to Him to help, realizing that He allows your trials to come so that you might grow in your faith and understanding of Him. 

Asaph had learned a very important lesson. If help was to come, it would come at God's hand. No matter what His circumstances, He would give God the glory. The words to the song, "You Raise Me Up," by Josh Groban could well have been written by Asaph.

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
When troubles come and my heart burdened be
Then I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me

You raise me up so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be

 (Josh Groban lyrics)

As Christian teens, let us go then, today, and stand on God's shoulders, for it is God alone to whom we can say, "I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be."

God Bless You,

Linda

The Unthinkable

 ¹O god, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.

 ²The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.

 ³Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.

 ⁴We are become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

 ⁵How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

 ⁶Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

 ⁷For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place. 

(Psalm 79:1-7, King James Version)

 The Unthinkable

The Unthinkable had happened. God removed His hand of protection from Israel and allowed the surrounding heathen nations to defile Jerusalem. Their blood that was shed like water spilled round about Jerusalem giving food to the fowls of the heavens, but there was none left to bury them. The nation which once stood as a glorious testimony of God's help and protection, became a reproach to their neighbors. Astounded, the Israelites cried out, How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

It was a dark time for the nation of Israel. Why did God allow such a thing to happen to His chosen people? Why was His wrath not spent upon the heathen nations that did not know or worship God?

Life poses many difficult times when we, like Asaph, are prone to question God. Though the nation of Israel was certainly guilty of mixing the worship of foreign gods with their worship of God, why did God seem to favor those foreign nations? We are tempted, when we do not understand God's lack of help in our lives, to question His motives?

These questions become particularly pointed when a 16 year old boy, as happened in my town, dies in a car accident. Where was God?

Who is God, and who are we to question His actions? We tend to view God as One who should be there when we need Him, but One who does not require too much of us at other times. We do not want Him to interfere with our lives, but He must be there when difficult times come, and He must respond exactly as we think best.

However, when the difficulties come, it is time for us to fall before God and ask that His will be done. We are not God; we do not have His perspective or viewpoint on the circumstances of life. What may seem harsh treatment from our perspective, in reality, shows the great love God has for His people.

The chastisement of Israel was not pleasant for God, but it was necessary to cause His people to return to Him. God is not content to own just a small part of our hearts; He wants all of our hearts devoted to Him. He uses the trials and difficulties we face to keep us from loving this world so much that we forget Him.

So, when the unthinkable happens, as Christian teens, let us remember to look to God our Hope, our Justice, and our Truth, to guide us through the dark valleys and bring us back into His courts of light!

 ⁴Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
 ⁵For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:4-5, King James Version)

 God Bless You,

Linda

Is God Impressed?

 ⁶⁷Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim:

 ⁶⁸But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.

 ⁶⁹And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established for ever.

 ⁷⁰He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:

 ⁷¹From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.

 ⁷²So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands. 

(Psalm 78:67-72, King James Version)

Is God Impressed?

When He looks down from heaven upon us, is God impressed? It does not take a great knowledge of the Bible to come to the realization that the things which please us are not necessarily the things which please God. Even from the few verses shown above, we see that God does not "run His train on our tracks."

There are not many Bible men more impressive than Joseph. Sold into slavery by his brothers while still in his youth, and put into prison in Egypt for crimes he did not commit, Joseph did not forget God. No matter where he was, he maintained a faithful testimony. God blessed Joseph abundantly for his faithfulness, raising him up in Egypt until he was second in importance only to Pharaoh, himself. Yet, when his descendants were unfaithful, God did not choose the tribe of Ephraim (Joseph's son), but rather the tribe of Judah to be the ancestors of Jesus.

Why did God choose the tribe of Judah? Judah was the tribe of David. What do we know of David? When in his youth, he was but a shepherd boy; however, God did not look upon his lowly station in life, but looked upon his heart and liked what He saw. This shepherd boy had a heart for God, and though he sinned grievously upon occasion, he never forgot God, his first love. It is not hard, then, to understand why God told Samuel to anoint David as the next king of Israel.

As Christian teens, when we ponder the question, "Is God impressed?", what characteristics are important to God? Does God care about our riches, talents, good looks, or intelligence? These are things that easily impress men, but God does not look on the outward appearance to form His assessments of us, but rather, God looks upon our hearts.

It is time that we, as Christian teens, take the Lord our God seriously. As we look upon our fellow man, let us learn to value integrity of heart, first in ourselves, and then in others. God has the unique ability to know our hearts; all those secret sins which can be hidden from our friends and families are glaringly obvious to the Lord. 

When examining your own life, how will you answer the question, "Is God impressed?" Let us turn our hearts back to the Lord; His opinion is the only one that matters. 

What an amazing God we serve. He saves us, He keeps us, and He gives us the strength and power to live our lives for His glory. Go to Him; He, alone, is our strength and our Redeemer!

God Bless You,

Linda

God Awoke

 ⁶⁵Then the LORD awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.

 ⁶⁶And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts: he put them to a perpetual reproach. 

(Psalm 78:65-66, King James Version)

God Awoke

Does God sleep? Is there a time when God is not available to us because He is sleeping? No! Often, in the Bible, the writers will use a figure of speech to explain God's actions. By saying, "God Awoke," the Psalmist is illustrating the suddenness of God's response to His people.

Earlier in this Psalm, Asaph speaks of a time when Israel experienced the heavy hand of justice upon their nation when God chastised them for their sin and rejection of Him. Using the godless nations surrounding Israel to conquer them, God took Israel through a time of great suffering at the hands of their enemies.

From a human perspective, it seemed to the nation of Israel that God was sleeping. However, we know that God never sleeps, and even the chastisement He sends in the form of persecution, plagues, or natural catastrophes is measured. In other words, nothing is truly removed from God's control. Though He may allow a time of persecution or testing, He never truly leaves or forsakes His children.

As a matter of fact, times of testing are a part of God's plan to cause His children to return to Him. When our hearts stray from Him, He gently rebukes us and brings us back into fellowship with Him. Of course, if we ignore His gentle rebukes, He will bring stronger times of testing.

When we stop and consider what is occurring, we must marvel at what an amazing God we serve. He loves and cares so much for His children that He does not allow them to stray too far from Him. Like a father establishing a boundary or safety-net for his children, so God gently prods us to return to Him.

Admittedly, when we are in the middle of difficulties, nothing appears gentle to us, and we are often tempted to charge God foolishly. How can God allow such things to happen to His children? It is good, at such times, to remember that God is God, and we are not! Times such as this give us great opportunities to test our faith.

Does God answer the prayers of His suffering saints? Time after time, as we read through the Old Testament, we see God's interceding on behalf of His children. He is always ready to offer forgiveness to His straying children. As a matter of fact, His answers to prayer often come so suddenly, and are so unexpected that it seems as though God awoke! One minute our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling, and the next minute He has answered our prayers in the most unexpected manner.

As Christian teens, let us take some time today to pause and thank God for His wondrous works on our behalf. Let us not be afraid to cry out to Him even if it seems as though He is far removed from us.

1. Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
   Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
   Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
   Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
2. Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
   Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
   By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
   Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
3. Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
   And run not before Him, whatever betide.
   In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
   And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.
4. Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
   Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
   Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
   Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

God Bless You,

Linda