Ramesh C. Reddy
Managing Editor
Hi everyone :)
May you come to know the awesome mercies of the Lord and His everlasting grace for He has redeemed you and you are His precious child who will never be out of His love or reach! Amen!
Quiet Times (Psalm 81 & Proverbs 21)
“He says, “I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands from the basket. In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah.” (Psalm 81:6-7)
“Hear, O my people, and I will warn you—if you would but listen to me, O Israel! You shall have no foreign gods among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81:8-10)
“But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.” “If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!” (Psalm 81:11-13)
As I read the passage what stuck out to me was the number of times the Lord is speaking in the first person to reveal acts of the past.
There is a pattern here that the Lord wanted the Israelites to remember. While they were prisoners in Egypt working as slaves, the Lord first intervened to REMOVE their burdens. But, that was just the beginning as the Lord then RESCUED them. After rescuing them, the Lord did not leave them alone but followed up on them by ANSWERING them. But, then after RESCUING them and ANSWERING them, He TESTED them.
I saw an important analogy to my own life in this passage. Just as the Israelites were prisoners in Egypt being burdened by the yoke of slavery of the heavy load of work on their hands, I was a prisoner to sin being burdened by the yoke of slavery to the heavy load of sins that I was carrying on me. Even all the work I tried to do was to no avail because all my works are like filthy rags to the Lord.
In essence, just as the Israelites were in distress and called out to the Lord to be rescued, in my distress I called out to Jesus to be rescued and He removed the burden of the heavy load of sin from my back including the works of my hands trying to attain God’s favor by good works. So I was a prisoner to my own shortcomings until I called out to the Lord to be rescued.
Just as the Lord followed up on the Israelites after He rescued them, my Jesus and my Savior has followed up on me after rescuing me by answering my doubts and by answering my call for help from the Holy Spirit. More than anything, He has answered me in my walk of life.
But after answering the Israelites, the Lord did end there but later tested them. The testing did not come right away but at a time they should be ready after experiencing the mercies and goodness of the Lord already.
In the same way, just as the Israelites were seen as the chosen people of God, I have become a child of God because I accepted Jesus Christ by confessing my sins, asking God to remove them, and acknowledging what Jesus did for me at Calvary for my redemption. But, I am not left alone now after experiencing the mercies and grace of the Lord. I have been tested too.
What I found interesting is that when I became a Christian, I did not face testing right away. It came after I was rescued, the Lord answered a lot of my questions, and I experienced the mercies and goodness of the Lord. Now as I look back I realized why I did not face testing right away as a baby Christian because the Lord was first preparing me.
As I read along, I saw whether the Israelites passed or failed the tests evidenced by these verses:
“Hear, O my people, and I will warn you—if you would but listen to me, O Israel! You shall have no foreign gods among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” (Psalm 81:8-10)
“But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.” “If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!” (Psalm 81:11-13)
Even after God’s deliverance in their lives, they would not listen to God. They made foreign gods that their minds could comprehend and bowed down to idols. Anything we put above the Lord becomes a idol in our own lives too. The Lord reminded them that He brought them out of Egypt and can still help them during their times of testing but they did not listen. They did not open wide their mouth to be filled by God though God was willing to do that.
The outcome of the testing is revealed and the grade is a failing grade as evidenced by “But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.”
The significant phrase I noticed is “my people” which also has an analogy to my own life.
So the cause and effect relationship I saw here is because they would not listen and submit to Him, He gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.
Yet, the Lord also reminded them during their time of failure that it would not be a permanent thing which is evidenced by “If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!” Again the phrase ‘If my people’ is used and has significance.
During times of testing though the Israelites failed, God still considered them His people yet that did not take away the consequences of their actions when they did not pass the tests that came their way.
In the same way, as a follower of Christ, I know I am still His child even during times of testing that I fail. I have failed because there are times I just did not want to submit to the Lord’s ways but do things my own way. You would think after the Lord’s grace and mercies that have been shown I would put my faith completely on Him without wavering but that did not happen. I would not listen and paid the consequences. The good thing is that Jesus did not abandon me as His child even though I followed my own ways because when I learned of my mistakes and turned back to listen to the Lord and lean on Him, He welcomed me into His loving arms and has delivered me from so many foes.
I ask you now friend, where are you at your walk with the Lord?
Dear friend, I do not know about you but what I do know is that I was lost and carried a heavy load and the Lord rescued me. After rescuing me, He did not leave me by myself but answered me by provided wonderful help through my mom and mostly through His Word. I experienced His grace and mercies but during times of testing, I went my own way and did not submit to Him unconditionally and I reaped the consequences but when I turned back to the Lord, He helped me so wonderfully by using my former mentors and staff workers Elizabeth Leibach, Kevin Leibach, and Kent Walley in my life in addition to my mommy. As the years went by, I was growing in the Lord but times of testing came and in my flesh I messed up again and again. Recently, as the Lord has been pruning me, He has used Kent Walley, now a pastor, my mommy, and especially my pastor Andrew Gill to help me.
Why do I share this with you? To let you know as a believer in the Lord, it is possible that we can go our own way and not submit to the Lord as we used to and depend on Him. But God in His grace and mercy can once again rescue us and answer us if we turn back to Him and listen. So no matter where you are in your walk with God, know that He loves you and considers you still His child. You are never out of His love and never out of His reach. He will meet you where you are at as He is reaching me where I am at even now.
Walk Along Lord’s Kingdom! (W.A.L.K)/”How is your Walk with the Lord?”
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you so much for the love you show us. Thank you for rescuing us and answering us, for not leaving us by ourselves but bringing us into your community. Oh Lord, you know the times we have been tested and have failed miserably. I am sorry Lord. Please forgive us and help us to submit to you and have no others gods but you. I am so thankful to the cross and what you accomplished for me and my rescue was based on your pain. Thank you for the nails of excruciating pain you took for me, the beatings you took, and the thorns you took for my redemption. Even after all this, we are sorry we have not be grateful to you when we go our own way. Forgive us Oh Lord and please deliver us for your Name’s sake. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy for we have not always lived our lives the way you wanted us too, we have not loved you with our whole heart, and we have not loved our neighbors as we should, for the sake of your glory deliver us and thank you for atoning for our sins. Thank you for answering our prayers. Thank you for the power of your love and we are never out of your love no matter how far we have gone. Lord, hold me close, let your love surround me, and bring me near drawing me to your side and as I wait upon you I will mount with wings as eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint. Thank you so much Jesus. I love you. Thank you answering my prayers and being my Lord and Personal Savior. I acknowledge you as my Lord and Personal Savior! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!
Love in Christ,
Ramesh