I got a guy for that

It’s safe to say that the first “guy” in most people’s lives is their father.  If you have a question or a problem – especially if it’s a “How do I do this?” situation – you go to dad, expecting him to have the answer.  If, for whatever reason, dad’s not around, then sometimes mom or another guy will be able to help.  We’ll go searching all over the place for someone to help us.  Even to the internet.  

Perhaps that explains the immense popularity of the “Dad, how do I?” channel on YouTube.  Four years ago, a father started creating videos to help his adult children, and now he has almost 5 million followers.  He has videos on everything from how to tie a tie to explanations of power tools.  Many people comment that he’s the dad (and resource) they wish they had while growing up.

When you can’t do something for yourself…you need “a guy” (or “a gal”) who knows what they’re doing.  As we move through adulthood, we gather skills from our vocation or out of necessity – we learn to how to trim bushes or fix a dishwasher or build a retaining wall.  But we can’t learn to do everything.  Eventually, we need to hire out for some work.  There’s just not enough time to be our own electrician and a good plumber and build our own cabinets and know how to repair everything for our cars.

So, at some point…we need a guy.

If we don’t develop the skills ourselves, we will collect the names and contact info of those who have.

Need a plumber?  I got a guy for that.
Need  someone to take out a tree stump?  I got a guy for that.
Need a trustworthy mechanic?  I got a shop full of guys for that.
Need a new kitchen?  I don’t know a guy for that.

When I run into a situation where I don’t “know a guy” who can do what I need, what do I do?  I ask other guys I know.  Eventually, I’ll find someone else who has “got a guy” that can help me.

Making sure you “got a guy” for these kinds of physical life issues is perfectly normal, and so is seeking “a guy” out if I don’t have support in any physical area I need.  But…it’s much less common for us men to have “a guy” or seek out “a guy” when we’re feeling unsteady mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.  Any recent study on loneliness bears this out.  Generally speaking, men don’t feel like they have many friends…or any friends at all, for that matter.

Outside of the transactional side of work (I do this job to help you, you do your job to help me) or your spouse, is there anyone actively present in your life that you can talk through your worries, questions, wins, fears, struggles, or dreams with?  If the loneliness studies are accurate, not many of us do.  And yet, we read this opening line to a psalm by David:

Psalm 133:1
How delightfully good when brothers live together in harmony!

It’s hard to have a delightfully good experience if we’re not connecting with others.  For several years now, I have been meeting every Thursday morning on a men’s Zoom call.  We also have a chat all 14 of us belong to, so we can stay in touch throughout the week.  With everyone’s busy schedules, it’s rare that more than half of us are on each Thursday, but we also schedule a monthly lunch for those of us that can make it.  The purpose of the group is to support each other, by either studying Scripture and finding ways to apply it to life or by talking about life events and then taking them back to God’s Word.  We’ve read through books and studied books of the Bible; discussed podcasts, articles, or current events; checked in with each other; asked for help on topics like parenting, porn, work, and anger; and generally provided a forum where guys can connect with other guys.  And yes, questions like “Does anyone got a guy who is a trustworthy mechanic?” do get asked – and at least one good option is often suggested by the group.

What we experience together matches up well with the directions Paul gave to the church in Thessalonica:

1 Thessalonians 5:14-18
And we exhort you, brothers and sisters:
warn those who are idle,
comfort the discouraged,
help the weak,
be patient with everyone.
See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone,
but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.
Rejoice always,
pray constantly,
give thanks in everything;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Because I have brothers that do these things for me, and I for them, life has more delightfully good moments to it…and life’s hard parts are easier to cope with.  Because I know when I need support in the real issues of life – I got a guy for that.

If you have a group a guys like this, great!  Keep on keeping on. 

If you have just one guy like this in your life, that’s also great – but you both should be on the lookout for someone to include.  There are plenty of guys who need what you got.

And of course, ladies need to have “a gal” for these kinds of connections, too.  Y’all are just generally better at making them than us guys are.  Truth is, we all need these real connections.  Life really does become delightfully good with them.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Real intimacy

Whether we admit it or not, we all desire to be intimately known and cared for.

Real intimacy
Originally posted on June 29, 2017

I really don’t like talking on the phone.  It’s too impersonal.  I don’t get to see the other person’s facial expressions and reactions, which makes communicating more difficult than it should be.  Whether I’m calling for work or personal reasons, I do my best to keep the conversation short and to the point. 

I like instant message, texting, and email even less.  I consider them to be even lower forms of communication.  I recognize that all three can be useful, but will only use them for short, brief transfers of information.  If it takes more than two sentences to type out my question or answer, I’d rather call the person.  At least I can hear their voice and quickly deal with issues and questions. However, if at all possible, I’ll go directly to them.  I’ve never understood the people at work who sit close to each other and communicate everything via IM.  There’s so much lost when we don’t speak face-to-face.

Beyond the efficiency of talking face-to-face, there’s something else happening in the moment that not even Skype or FaceTime can replicate.  There is a connectedness among those involved in the discussion…and together, the individuals dialoging face-to-face nearly create a separate persona as a byproduct of their conversation.  We have all felt this before, both as someone who is connecting with another person, or as someone who walks into a new room and can instantly tell the “mood” without anyone saying anything.

Our most intimate, intense conversations happen face-to-face.  The obvious example is the intimacy between lovers, but we also “get in someone’s face” when expressing our most intense displeasures.  The closer we get our face to another person’s face, the more our focus narrows and the stuff of the outside world is pushed aside.

Drawing on this powerful human-interaction experience, David writes the next stanza of Psalm 27.  Watch for his desire to seek God’s face, but also his concern if he is unable to do so:

Psalm 27:7-10
Lord, hear my voice when I call;
be gracious to me and answer me.
In Your behalf my heart says, “Seek My face.”
Lord, I will seek your face.
Do not hide Your face from me;
do not turn Your servant away in anger.
You have been my help;
do not leave me or abandon me, God of my salvation
Even if my father and mother abandon me,
the Lord cares for me.

Without God’s presence in his life, David would feel left behind and alone, with a huge, empty void inside.  In a word, he would feel abandoned.  David knows that if his own merits were the criteria for meeting with God, he doesn’t deserve to see God face-to-face.  However, the last sentence of this stanza is the key to understanding their relationship:

Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me.

Even if the people who are most expected to care and love him end up leaving him, David knows that being cared for by the Lord will sustain him.  This knowledge is what drives him to seek out God’s direct presence. 

The same intimate and intense relationship is available to each of us also.  Even if we’ve been abandoned by those closest to us, the Lord still cares for us.  Seek His face.  Seek his presence.  The closer we draw to Him, we’ll see what’s most important as the stuff of the outside world is pushed aside.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

It was just a simple wave

We don’t have a fenced-in yard, so for our dog to get his energy out, we need to walk him twice a day.  We don’t mind doing so, because it gets us out of the house and moving, too.  Our neighborhood doesn’t have any sidewalks, but it’s safe enough to walk along the outer edge of the street.  Generally speaking, when cars approach us, they slow down and give us space…but there have been times when people are going too fast and not paying close attention, and I get a little nervous about potentially jumping up into someone’s yard to avoid being hit.

So about a year ago, I came up with a simple step to help the drivers notice us as we walk along the road – as they got close, I’d raise my hand and give a little wave.  Honestly, my initial thought was that the movement would help them see us and give a little extra room, as if my wave was saying “hey…we’re walking here…please don’t hit us!” I typically mouth the words “Thank you” as they pass by, because, well…I appreciate not being hit.

But after a while, something unexpected happened – people started waving back.  And now it’s kinda become a thing.  We smile and wave at the cars that pass by…and I can see a lot of people smiling and waving back, especially kids and passengers.  There’s a pond near our home with a short walking path around it, and there have been times when people in cars would spot us on the pond path and still wave at us, even though we weren’t on the road.  Which means…if you think about it…they’re actively looking for us, and they’re happy to see us.

I don’t think I’m over-stating or embellishing to say that our waving has made an impact for some people.  I can see the look on their faces when they wave at us – maybe we’re the only friendly face they saw today, maybe they find it comforting to know that they always get a smile and wave from us, or maybe they haven’t heard someone tell them “Thank you” in a while. 

While the vast majority of the New Testament was written to believers, telling them how to live in light of their new identity in Christ, many of the authors also addressed how we should act toward those who are not Christians.  Here are just two examples from the Apostle Paul’s writings:

Galatians 6:10
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.

Colossians 4:5-6
Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

Whatever good our neighbors are receiving from us while we walk, we’re happy to keep giving it.  We have met a number of people in our neighborhood simply because of our dog.  He’s super friendly and an easy connection point to help bridge the conversation gap between strangers. 

As we go about the busyness of our day – gotta go to work, gotta run the errands, gotta walk the dog – let’s not get so hyper-focused on our own agenda that we forget to do work for the good of all around us and make the most of our time.  Doing good work doesn’t have to be some massive community project, it can be a simple “Thank you” and a smile.  People are desperate for warmth in this cold world, so let’s be the ones to show them the warmth that comes from the Light of the World that lives inside us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: If you could ask God for just one thing

What’s the most important request on your heart right now?

If you could ask God for just one thing

Originally posted on June 22, 2017

When I was a child, I would sometimes think about what Heaven would be like.  All I really understood was that Heaven was this great place where we would “be with God forever” and everyone would be happy.  Well, to my little mind, the greatest place I would want to spend long lengths of time in would obviously be chock full of my favorite Saturday morning cartoon toys.  I had it all planned…when I got to Heaven, I was going to ask God for the ENTIRE COLLECTION of He-Man action figures and playsets.  Pure bliss, as far as I was concerned, required a large amount of the best toys I could imagine.

Even as I’ve grown and matured in my understanding of God, Heaven, and Eternity Future, my desire to ask God for “just one thing” hasn’t subsided, but the “one thing” I would ask for has changed.  At various stages of my life, it’s been financial assistance, romantic love, new friends, a new job, a healthy baby, my own health, the health of someone else, a reasonably-comfortable life, and many other things. 

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but if I’m feeling very spiritually mature, I tell people that when I get to Heaven, the only thing I plan on asking God for is a blue-ray history lesson narrated by Him.  I just want to know why stuff happened like it did and how He worked through it all.

But when you look closely at my progressing list of “just one thing” requests, not much has changed since I was fully enamored by plastic toys.  Even though I’m asking Him about good things for myself or others, I’m still treating God like a cosmic vending machine.  Even if God actually gave me the toys, the money, and the good health…each “one thing” item is still something that I could lose, something that could be taken away from me.

In the second stanza of Psalm 27, David asks God for “one thing”.  His ask puts his life and God in the proper perspective:

Psalm 27:4-6
I have asked one thing from the Lord;
it is what I desire:
to dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
gazing on the beauty of the Lord
and seeking Him in His temple.
For He will conceal me in His shelter
in the day of adversity;
He will hide me under the cover of His tent;
He will set me high on a rock.
Then my head will be high
above my enemies around me;
I will offer sacrifices in His tent with shouts of joy.
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Relationship.  Created Being relating back to his Creator.  That is the most important “one thing” we could ask for, and it will not be taken away from us, not even in the day of adversity.  However, we often let life’s issues and detours distract us from the true aim of our lives – to know God and to be known by Him. 

I think C.S. Lewis summed us up rather well, even if it does sting a little:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

It’s good to pray about all our requests, cares, and concerns, for God has instructed us to do so (Philippians 4:6).  However, the next time you do ask for something, go for the biggest thing you can ask Him for.  Ask God to give you Himself.  Seek a deeper relationship with Him.  Ask for even a glimpse at His glory.  Ask to be closer to Him, even if that means dealing with enemies and adversity.  God’s beauty and splendor exceeds everything we can see on this earth.

Ask for Him.  He will not disappoint.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Our foolish dog

Our previous dog died in 2016 due to old age/kidney failure.  For three years, we enjoyed the dog-free life of no hair to clean up, no extra food to buy, and going on a trip without having to plan (and pay) for someone to feed the dog.

That all changed in 2019, when we met a rescue puppy named Blue.  He suckered us in with his big blue eyes, super soft fur, playful hops, and cuddles.  He immediately bonded with each of us, and we found that he shows his love by licking.  And licking.  And licking some more.  But at least the drools only happen when he smells peanut butter in the air.

He is a dog who needs his exercise, so we take him on walks twice a day.  He loves to sniff everything and, when he was little, taste-test most things.  Goose poop and cigarette butts were especially tempting, for whatever reason.  It took a lot to teach him to not go after those things, but eventually he learned to ignore them.  However, we still have to keep an eye out, just in case there is some people-food on the road, perhaps dropped by a kid at their bus stop or by a contractor crew during their lunch break.

One evening recently, we were walking and Blue started to quickly munch something.  I got him to drop it, discovering it was the top of a chicken leg bone.  He didn’t have it in his mouth for more than 15 seconds, and we quickly moved along to continue our walk.  We turned on to a new street and a couple houses down, he started to heave.  Not just little burps, but the gut-pumping kind…and what he brought back up was nasty looking.  Of course, he wanted to check out what he just vomited and had to be pulled away.  I’ll spare you the detailed description, but after he finished, I took him home to get some water.

The next day during our morning walk, he went after the same chicken bone piece again.  I was better prepared to stop him this time, and he had it for only a few seconds before spitting it out.  However, within minutes, he was heaving again.  After clearing his stomach for a second time in about 12 hours, I took him back home.

For the next two or three walks, I was hyper-vigilant when we would pass by the spot where he found the chicken bone.  Fortunately, the bone was gone – presumably because another animal took it.  However, Blue would still get excited each time we passed there and aggressively sniffed around, looking for it.  Even though this nasty food had caused him to throw up twice, there he was, still hoping to find more of it to eat.  As I quickly guided him past this spot each time, I was reminded of this oft-quoted proverb:

Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returns to its vomit,
so also a fool repeats his foolishness.

Typically when I hear this proverb, the one quoting it is talking about their frustrations with someone else.  “Oh we tried to help them, but you know, as a dog returns to its vomit…” Any continued struggle someone else has with relationships, addictions, or bad habits can have this proverb thrown their direction.  

But after dealing with my dog and thinking of the proverb, I had another realization: Not only did I need to steer Blue away from eating what he had regurgitated, but I also had to pull him away from the thing that was causing him to get sick.  Since his vomiting did not occur immediately after eating the chicken bone, it’s entirely possible that his doggie-mind wasn’t making the correlation.  To him, the enticing chicken and the delayed vomiting were not related.

So I began to wonder if there’s anything in my own life where I’m missing the connection.  Is there anything I’m doing – a repeated action or thought process – that impacts my health or my relationships with others, and I’m simply not aware of it?  Nothing immediately came to mind, so I prayed a dangerous prayer:

God, show me where I’m wrong or have a habit that is negatively impacting my life.  I don’t want my foolishness to impact other people or reflect badly on You.  Please show me what needs to change and what steps I can take next.

I call it a “dangerous prayer” because I don’t know what God will show me.  He might reveal something that seems small and easy to manage…but it could also be something I’m not expecting that I will have to reframe my thinking on.  Vulnerability before God can feel “dangerous” and “scary,” but there is precedent for praying this way.  David once prayed:

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.

I challenge you to pray the same way.  Ask God to show you what needs correcting in your life.  Maybe you can easily identify what vomit you keep coming back to.  Or maybe you don’t see what is causing the vomit spots in your life.  Talk to God about it…and when He shows you the way out, trust Him to lead you through those next steps.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Choosing our focus

The ins, outs, ups, and downs of life can cause us to lose sight of what’s truly important. Especially when it feels like bad, scary things just keep happening over and over. However, regardless of what we’re facing, we can choose what we focus on.

Choosing our focus
Originally posted on April 29, 2015

There are many things to be afraid of in this life.

Every day, the morning newspaper is full of stories about dangerous situations, unsafe people, riots, and natural disasters.  Stories about people from all walks of life with hidden agendas, corruption, and greed shaping the decisions they make.  Some days, it just feels like the whole world is closing in with evil people and bad situations. 

By his choice of words, we can see that David felt that way often…especially when he was on the run from King Saul.  Saul wanted David dead, so that he could continue being king.  Since David’s adversary was the most powerful man in the country, it seemed that everywhere David turned, he was in danger.

Here’s how David describes his situation:

Psalm 57:4
I am in the midst of lions;
I lie down with those who devour me.
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongues are sharp swords.

Don’t just glaze over this description.  Let’s try and picture what David’s describing here.

You’re out in the open.  Not just in proximity to wild animals, rather there are lions who freely roam around the area where you’re standing.  You look for shelter, for cover…anything that will help you avoid an attack.  Even where you sleep at night is not entirely safe.  And you don’t have to guess as to how the lions will treat you if they find you.  There will be blood, and certainly no mercy.

How do you feel?  Where’s your focus?

In moments like these, our real priorities come into a much sharper focus.  We clearly recognize what’s important and what is not.  Survival normally becomes the driving influence in all our decisions.  We may even select a few people we trust, and then we would make our next move. 

However, David’s next move is to look up

Psalm 57:5
God, be exalted above the heavens;
let Your glory be above the whole earth.

Previously in this psalm, David has approached God for refuge and protection.  However, when the danger arrives…when Saul comes close to where David is hiding…David’s request turns away from himself and focuses solely on God’s reputation.

That is the true challenge for us.  When we find ourselves in the crucible of life, when the corruption of the world is pressing in…are we looking to merely survive the evil around us, or are we looking to advance God’s reputation in this world?  Which do we desire more? 

If we choose the focus that David did, then the scary things in life won’t be so overwhelming. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Singing Out

I may not have the perfect voice, but I’ll still sing, at the top of my lungs, until my days are done.
(A Perfect Voice, by The Classic Crime)

And so should we all…

Singing out

Originally posted December 02, 2015

Singing is a common, but odd part of life.  What is it about stretching out vowel sounds that brings so much of our inner-selves out into the open?

From the earliest of ages, we are prone to sing.  Regardless of the tone quality, we readily belt out whatever is on our minds.  Our favorite songs help us emotionally identify with another person or situation – oftentimes the song will be able to put what we feel into words, even though don’t quite know how to say them.

We sing for a variety of reasons, too.  We sing because we feel good.  We sing because we feel bad.  We sing because we’re hurt.  We sing the praises of others.  We may sing alone, but the moments when we sing together are very precious.

All throughout the pages of Scripture, we find people singing.  Even some books of the Bible are composed entirely of songs.  There are songs about the past, songs about the present, and there is the prophecies of us singing “new songs” in eternity future.  Clearly, singing is an important part of the human experience.  God made us, and one of the things he made for us to do, is to sing.

While giving the believers in Colossae basic directions for living a Christ-focused life, Paul included a note about singing:

Colossians 3:16
Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.

The psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs covers the range of styles that the Colossian Jewish and Gentile believers would have been familiar with.  Notice that Paul isn’t commenting on music style or preference…but he does give direction for their motivation to sing.  The root of their songs will come from their gratitude…to God. 

This direction, however, doesn’t mean that all of our songs are of a “thank-you-thank-you-thank-you” tone.  It is ok to sing about difficulties and failures, for they are part of our experience.  In this verse, Paul is telling them that their inspiration to sing is in their position of thankfulness toward God.

Their inspiration will come from practicing the direction Paul writes at the beginning of the sentence – let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you.  Paul knows that the Colossian believers need to dwell richly – or intimately live with – the depth of Jesus’ love for us.  As they are continually taught and encouraged with the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, gratitude will begin to motivate their lives, including the songs they sing.

But what topics, specifically, would they sing about?  How would they know if they’re singing the right things?

I’m certain that as the message about the Messiah was dwelling richly among them, they had plenty to sing about.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: How to stay focused while praying

Been struggling with focus during prayer recently. Sometime we need to be reminded of something we’ve previously learned.

How to stay focused while praying
Originally posted on December 23, 2015

About a year ago, I started a series exploring the way Jesus prayed.  My theory was that if God’s goal is to make me more Christ-like, then I should probably take a look at how, when, and where Jesus prayed.  Out of the numerous things I learned, two observations of Jesus’ prayer life stuck out:

First, that He frequently went off to quiet places to spend time with the Father in prayer.  Out of a variety of circumstances, Jesus was constantly devoting chunks of alone time to talking with His Father in Heaven.

Second, Jesus’ main concern in His prayers was the Father.  Jesus was primarily focused on the Father’s plan and the Father’s glory.  His aim was to increase the Father’s glory – which means to enhance the Father’s reputation and honor in the world, and this was primarily achieved as Jesus completed the mission that the Father gave Him to accomplish.

As rich as that study was, as I moved on to other parts of Scripture I didn’t always remember these main lessons.  Looking back, my prayer life has both ebbed and flowed…tossed about by circumstance and my mental state of the moment.  One particular item I’ve struggled with is staying focused while praying. 

When I pray, I’m usually sitting in a quiet room with my eyes closed to avoid visual distractions.  My conversation with the Father starts out alright, but about half way through the fourth sentence…my mind jumps to something that needs my attention later on in the day, or I remember what I had forgotten to buy at the store, or I start to process a relationship problem that needs addressed at work or with a friend or in my family. 

It never fails…my mind picks the worst possible moment to leave the deep waters of relationship with the Father, and I starting splashing around in shallow thoughts of the smaller parts of life.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve apologized to God for mentally abandoning our quiet time together.

I don’t think my struggle is all that unique, either.  In various forms, I’ve heard other Christians voice similar difficulties.  I suspect that ancient believers also dealt with this, because towards the end of his letter to the believers in Colossae, Paul wrote

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.

Since Jesus’ death and resurrection bridged the gap between us and God, we know that as a child of God, we can pray at any time to our Father.  However, I think we tend to take advantage of that freedom and we get comfortable with sporadic communication.  Paul’s instruction here is to make prayer a priority, something we are devoted to.  Just like Jesus purposely setting aside chunks of time, we should as well.  Early morning, late night, commuting to work, or wherever we can consistently get time for just us and the Father; we need to make the time and protect that time from other things that will try to distract us.

This is where I’m so grateful for the second half of Paul’s instruction – stay alert in it with thanksgiving.  When my mind drifts off, I can immediately refocus my attention by thanking God for something, anything.  Giving thanks takes the focus off of me and my agenda because it makes me look toward the person I’m saying “Thank you” to.

As I have been applying Paul’s instruction, I’m realizing how a lack of thanksgiving has kept me unfocused…and being unfocused has prevented me from growing deeper with the Father.  So I need to make sure I’m purposely scheduling chunks of time with the most important Person in my life, and also telling Him about all the parts of my life that I am thankful for.  I’m certain that as I do this, my concern for the Father’s plan and the Father’s glory will increase.  Then I will begin praying like Jesus did, because my relationship with the Father will be a lot like Jesus’ relationship with the Father.

Maturity, growth, and deep relationship will not happen if we give God some sporadic moments of talk during our week.  The richness of a relationship with our Creator will only happen as we devote time to Him.  Will you make that choice?  The first step is simply saying “Thank you”.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Why would God repay you?

As we’ve walked with David and Jeduthun through Psalm 62, they have instructed us to seek God when life gets rough.  When we are attacked, lied to, or in need of a refuge – they have pointed us to God each time.

The words of the psalm have been both challenging and eye-opening.  However, the first time I read through the psalm, the last line threw me a little bit.  It honestly seemed out of place. 

Psalm 62:11-12
God has spoken once; I have heard this twice:
strength belongs to God,
and faithful love belongs to You, Lord.
For You repay each according to his works.

While justice is a natural conclusion from His qualities of strength and love, why does the psalm end with:

For You repay each according to his works.

The general concept that “God is a God of justice”, I understand.  But why say it like this? 

As a church-age believer, I know that at the Bema seat judgment, all I have done – both good and bad – will be evaluated by God and I will be justly rewarded (or not) for my thoughts/choices/actions as a Christian (2 Corinthians 5:10).  HOWEVER, this psalm was written 1000 years before Christ’s birth, which means that David doesn’t know about the future Bema seat judgment.

The whole psalm has been about trusting God right now, for the relationship and the relational benefits in this life.  Does God reward us in this life?  Yes, He does…but we also know that monetary blessing or reward isn’t necessarily an indication of how good or bad my walk with God is at the moment. 

So how can we reconcile David’s last statement with the context of the previous verses?

Here’s what I discovered:

The Hebrew word for repay also means to make peace, or to be at peace. 

Now that we know the definition, this ending phrase makes sense in light of the entirety of the psalm…David and Jeduthun have been challenging us about where we find rest, where we find our security, and, ultimately, where we find our peace.

To the degree that we do the things that David has pointed out as our responsibility:

trusting in God alone
pouring out our heart to Him
not setting our heart on riches

Then all of David’s descriptions of God being our shelter/refuge/strength will become a reality.

And our soul will find rest because God will repay us…not necessarily with riches or material comfort…but with His peace as our refuge from everything the world throws at us.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

The best kind of love

Is there any more abused word in the English language than the word “love”?

We positively “love” all sorts of things: sunsets, chocolate, coffee, our spouse, the dog, our favorite movie, etc.

We negatively (or sarcastically) “love” lots of things, too: our jobs, glitter, rained out plans, having the whole family sick at once, being inconvenienced, etc.

It’s common to hear – both in church and outside of church – that “God is love”.  But what does that mean?  Some people seem to get it backwards and treat it more like “Love is god”, and in this way of thinking, the warm, fuzzy feeling we all associate with love is the supreme characteristic over everything else.

Instead, love is a characteristic of God – so much so that we can aptly say that “Love belongs to God”.  And if God “owns” love, it’s best for us to define it the way that He does.  David brings this up as he concludes Psalm 62:

Psalm 62:11-12
God has spoken once; I have heard this twice:
strength belongs to God,
and faithful love belongs to You, Lord.
For You repay each according to his works.

God has a reputation that He is loving.

But this type of love isn’t the kind that’s just a nice, warm feeling…

The Hebrew word hesed indicates an unfailing love, a loyal love, a love filled with devotion and unlimited kindness…a covenant love that is both promised and upheld – no matter what happens.

Just as David has identified throughout Psalm 62, throughout life, we find malicious liars (some of them we don’t recognize at first), people at all different status levels, and opportunities for wealth (both legitimate and not)…but none of these things ultimately satisfy our need for security.  We desire to be safe.  If we don’t feel safe, it is impossible to rest and function to the full potential that God created us to have.

In the last two verses of this psalm, David’s point is clear: God is the only one that I can trust completely and feel safe and secure.  He won’t leave me.  I cannot guarantee anything will or will not happen in my day – because I can’t control everything – but I can rely on God’s unfailing hesed love to always be there.

Throughout the psalm we feel David’s confidence.  He’s putting everything on the LORD – and he’s determined to keep it that way.  Think of the words David has chosen:  He alone is my rock… my hope comes from him…salvation/glory depend on God…

When we recognize that God’s reputation of strength and hesed love is true, then we are able to confidently live like David lived. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken