Verse of the Day 12/23

Through the Bible - Habakkuk 3- Zephaniah 2, Revelation 15

 

Good morning,

This morning in my devotions I read Psalm 91.  I remember a message I had heard from Pastor Greg Laurie on this Psalm.  He said that when we are in trouble, when there is an emergency we are taught at a young age to "dial 911".  He said that for the Christian, in times of trouble we should also dial 911, turn to Psalm 91:1.

 

Ps 91:1-  He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust."   NKJV

For today's verses I'd like to go towards the end of the psalm:

Ps 91:14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.   NKJV

My Nelson Study Bible notes say that "the verb here for love is not the usual Hebrew word for love.  It is the idea of "holding close to" even "hugging tightly in love".  It is a picture of the psalmist holding tightly to his Saviour, his God, his Deliverer, trusting Him.

 

I'm sure that we can remember little children hugging us that way when they were scarred or, even if it was so long ago, hugging our parents the same way.  We did this because we knew they were there for us.  We can have the same assurance from God.  He will be there with us, to deliver us and honor those who love Him in this manner.

 

I was reminded of the Michael W. Smith song, "Draw Me Close to You".

 

Draw me close to you
Never let me go
I lay it all down again
To hear you say that I'm your friend
You are my desire
No one else will do
Cause nothing else can take your place
To feel the warmth of your embrace
Help me find the way
Bring me back to you

You're all I want
You're all I've ever needed
You're all I want
Help me know you are near

 

Most of us, at some point in our lives, have been disappointed in something we received, or didn't receive at Christmas.  We may have been disappointed in not receiving answers to prayers in our lives, at least not the answers we thought we wanted.  In holding close to God, as He draws us near, God sustains us by revealing Himself to us.  Trusting in Him leads to quiet hope instead of bitterness if things don't turn out quite like we expected, or we don't see the immediate results we want.

 

As we celebrate the time "when God came near" in the form of Jesus Christ, why don't we draw near to Him, hugging Him tightly in love, and trust that He will see you through.  Why not do the same to a loved one, hold them close, hold them tightly, let them know your love.  It's all I want for Christmas.

 

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Ps 91:1-3
You who sit down in the High God's presence,
spend the night in Shaddai's shadow,
Say this: "God, you're my refuge.
I trust in you and I'm safe!"

 

Ps 91:14-
"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,
"I'll get you out of any trouble.
I'll give you the best of care
if you'll only get to know and trust me.
Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I'll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I'll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!"

 

The Message