Tag: Psalm 137

Does God Care About My Feelings? Psalm 137

At times, you may feel too alone, and think that you have no one to care for you.

Know that all of us are God’s children, and he never allows us to stay alone.

There’s no point in keeping yourself aloof from the rest of the world, for God is always there even when we are too emotional to acknowledge it, to help guide and move you out into the light from your entire struggle.

You may feel that you have not got anyone to be there for you, and support for you.

Although it is easier said than done, we often tend to suffer from such kinds of frustrations and suppressing thoughts.

However, you need to understand that you are not alone. You are never alone, for God is always there with you and you have your guardian angels to pave your ways, no matter how tough the situations get! Just be humble, have patience and get going!

Nothing is hidden from the Almighty, and he has been keeping an eye upon you all the time. He is there to guide you in all your odds, and even when life has been making you walk through the hurdles, you have Him.

Believe me, God is always there for you and he has been working behind the scenes of your life. You may find it difficult to get going, but if you have faith, things will surely start falling in their places all by themselves.

God is always there to talk care of you, even when you aren’t aware of it. He is going to take over when things go out of your hand. In any case, if situations seem to be pushing you to the last extent, keep your trust upon God’s powers and God’s promises and in time, by God’s grace, things are going to work out all by themselves, sooner or later.

Psalm 137 GOD’S WORD Translation

137 By the rivers of Babylon, we sat down and cried
as we remembered Zion.
2 We hung our lyres on willow trees.
3 It was there that those who had captured us demanded that we sing.
Those who guarded us wanted us to entertain them.
⌞They said,⌟ “Sing a song from Zion for us!”

4 How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget ⌞how to play the lyre⌟.
6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I don’t remember you,
if I don’t consider Jerusalem my highest joy.

7 O Lord, remember the people of Edom.
Remember what they did the day Jerusalem ⌞was captured⌟.
They said, “Tear it down! Tear it down to its foundation.”
8 You destructive people of Babylon,
blessed is the one who pays you back
with the same treatment you gave us.
9 Blessed is the one who grabs your little children
and smashes them against a rock.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

The book of Psalms is a book of poetry; most often each Psalm is a song written for a specific purpose.

These songs and poems consist of praises to God, sorrowful lamentations, and joyous celebrations. 

Psalm 137 falls into the sorrowful lamentation category.

The Psalmist here is speaking of Israel’s captivity in Babylon (vs. 1).

The southern tribes of Israel, the land of Judah, were all that remained of Israel after the Assyrians had captured the northern tribes (2 Kings 15-17).

Later, the southern kingdom was taken captive by Babylon (2 Kings 24-25).

In this Psalm, the psalmist is lamenting that the captors of the Jews, the Babylonians, are asking them to sing songs about Jerusalem, or Zion.

Because these were songs of worship and praise to God, they would remind the people of their sin against God, the thing which led to their painful captivity.

These songs would also remind them of their longing to be back in Jerusalem.

The second stanza of the Psalm is a self-reflection of what the author would wish upon himself if he were to ever forget Jerusalem.

The final stanza is what revenge the Psalmist wishes upon his captors.

While the picture is disturbing and graphic, it gives us a real portrait of how desperate the Jews were and how badly they wished to be freed from captivity.

It also reveals to us the incredible depth of emotions these exiles were feeling.

The depths of rage, anger and of depressive sadness is quite palpable and for us who would come to read those hard words, quite emotionally provocative also.

God had sent His chosen people into a seventy year exile for their sins against Him – and the beginning of that exilic road to Babylon was exceedingly brutal and one could easily use the word merciless unto the very absolute maximum.

But God is a God of Mercy, of Grace, Slow to Anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving of transgressions, remembering them no more, casting them into the sea of forgetfulness, as far as the east is to the west – just max gone!

So, it leaves open to the reader of such scriptures the very significant question;

Does God Authentically Care About Our Feelings?

Ever feel like God gave up on you, does not care about your feelings?

You are absolutely not alone.

This assumption is one that can promote a sense of invalidation within our relationship with God.

In many ways, this belief can frame our faith in such a way that it leaves us quick to mask the messiness of our emotions for the sake of spiritual maturity.

If we authentically feel our feelings, does that mean our faith is fragile?

When our emotions overwhelm us, is God actually 100% for us or against us? 

This disconnect between emotional health and Christian theology has been at odds for some time.

The common Christian response to uncomfortable emotions is phrases like “You just need to pray more” and “trust the Lord in all circumstances,” which risks adding to the distortion that our distress impairs our spiritual maturity.

I whole-heartedly believe that the spiritual disciplines found in Scripture were never meant to invalidate our pain and problems, but rather not so subtly invite us into expressing our feelings openly and freely unto a loving and caring God. 

Here is the truth: You absolutely matter to God, feelings and all.

Never in Scripture do we see Jesus dismiss the feelings of others or invalidate those in distress.

On the contrary, God’s Word repeatedly reiterates the safety found in seeking God as our refuge when we are weak (Psalm 46:1–3), and as a shelter when we are suffering (Psalm 62:8). 

When we are faced with a depth of feelings that shake our faith to the core of our being, we must go back to Scripture and be reminded that our emotions, created by God, are meant to bring us closer to Him, not pull us farther away.

In my frequent exploration of this concept, I have found 4 ways God responds to my feelings which have ultimately strengthened my faith, comforted my soul.

1. God Is Present in My Feelings 

  In Psalm 34:18-19, David speaks of how God is attentive in our distress saying: 

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

    and saves the crushed in spirit. 

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

    but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” 

God does not leave us in our distress or dismiss the weight of our worries, but graciously and mercifully comes near to us as a father comforts his dear child.

His awareness of all things at all times is absolutely active 100% of the time.

The passage states God saves the crushed in spirit, delivering them out of pain.

What is even more powerful about this passage is that in the original Hebrew, the term for saves is translated as “to be safe.”

God is not simply standing with us, around us, by us, but He actively provides absolute safety for us in His presence. 

2. God Values My Feelings 

In addition to God’s attentiveness, He also values emotions.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry, we see His expression of emotion and how He values caring for those who were suffering.

Jesus wept with those who experienced loss (John 11:34-36) and comforted many with compassion and consideration (Mark 6:50). 

The intersection of emotional expression and feelings validation was first modeled for us by God throughout the Old Testament, and then again by Jesus throughout the narratives of the 4 gospels and Paul’s letters to the followers.

We see how God so gently guided the Israelites to their promised land flowing with milk and honey and manna and quail and water and shelter against the sun despite all of their rebellion and complaining throughout the book of Exodus.

Similarly, Jesus speaks to many emotions in his Sermon on the Mount saying, 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

    for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:3-4).

The apostle Paul in Romans speaks on this same value of emotional expression, encouraging believers to, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:15).

I wonder what it would look like if we too were to authentically begin to value the emotions we experience and authentically own all the freedom to express them, knowing our God is near and desires to comfort us with His compassion.  

3. God Challenges My Feelings  

Within God’s attentiveness and compassion for His children, He challenges the feelings that no longer have a place in our lives and hearts.

Paul writes on this disputation of futile feelings, encouraging his young protégé Timothy to not be overcome by the spirit of fear but to remember his faith first. 

He says, “For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit, not a spirit of fear but power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

This very Pauline response to my own feelings is one that helps me identify the foundation of my emotions.

As I seek to understand God’s Word and His truth, I am reminded to focus upon my aligning my feelings with the myriad of God’s promises found in Scripture.

This passage reminds me of the truth of the Holy Spirit of God at work in me. 

4. God Reframes My Feelings  

Finally, I believe that God’s Word so beautifully helps us to reframe and to refocus our emotions by placing our focus and intention back on God’s power, God’s provision, God’s strength, and God’s ability to meet us in our emotions. 

One of my favorite passages that help reframe my feelings and focus on my faith is found in Paul’s prison letter of Philippians 4:8-9 where Paul writes, 

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” 

Then further bolstered by these words of God assurance, Christ like confidence;

Philippians 4:10-14 GOD’S WORD Translation

Thanks for Your Gifts

10 The Lord has filled me with joy because you again showed interest in me. You were interested but did not have an opportunity to show it. 11 I’m not saying this because I’m in any need. I’ve learned to be content in whatever situation I’m in. 12 I know how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I’ve learned the secret of how to live when I’m full or when I’m hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little. 13 I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me. 14 Nevertheless, it was kind of you to share my troubles.

Paul’s thoughtful and timely words subtly remind me how to slow down and replace my thoughts that have led to distress and distortions within my heart.

When feelings flood our minds and muddy the truth of God’s goodness and grace, we are invited to renew our minds in the truths found in His Word. 

Romans 12:1-3 GOD’S WORD Translation

Dedicate Your Lives to God

12 Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God’s compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you. 2 Don’t become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.

3 Because of the kindness [a] that God has shown me, I ask you not to think of yourselves more highly than you should. Instead, your thoughts should lead you to use good judgment based on what God has given each of you as believers.

So, whatever you may be feeling, acknowledge them, just remember that God is near and desires to be involved in the fears and failures, the loss and laughter.

His Living and Active Word continually reminds us to always feel and to be free from the false kind of faith negating the weight of legitimately raw emotions.

Let us continue to seek after God, training our hearts, tuning our hearts, to find rest in the absolute truth (Matthew 11:28-30, John 5:1-9, John 11:35, John 14:1-6), knowing God authentically cares about all of our feelings no matter how deep.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 23 King James Version

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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God Will Make A Way When There Seems To Be No Way Though Your Dreams are Shattered and Your Faith Is Being Shaken Down to its Very Roots. Matthew 11:2-3

Right now, I can hear John the Baptist having a conversation with himself;

“There were still going to be things in life that were out of my control and things that I could not anticipate that would cause me to feel shaken in my faith from the inside out.

And let’s be honest, how I hated that! ever growing feeling of doubt!”

It doesn’t matter if you are a new Christian or mature believer; we are all subject to the potential of having our faith shaken from time to time. But let it be known that even when your faith is going through a shaky season, this doesn’t mean that God is any less sovereign or any less loving. Our God has the ability to bless even those going through a season of lukewarm faith, use those who doubt and bring comfort and reassurance to those whose faith is wavering…

Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice his son Isaac, Moses and the burning bush, Peter the apostle who denied Jesus three times and the Temple Priest Zechariah who did not believe that God could give him a son… just to name a few!

But for today, let’s dive into the shaken faith of John of Baptist.

Matthew 11:2-3 GOD’S WORD Translation

John Sends Two Disciples

2 When John was in prison, he heard about the things Christ had done. So he sent his disciples 3 to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we all now look for someone else?”

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

My Faith Has Been Shaken, My Life Fully Stirred Up

Sometimes my faith is severely shaken when the course of my life is altered, the course of my wife or my children’s life is altered and my dreams are shattered.

I wonder where God is in the midst of my doubts about God, my suffering soul.

I cannot always sense His presence as I have when things we going fairly well.

I will feel alone and afraid, wondering about my future and my wife’s.

I set my thoughts to the ways the world presents itself in the media and what my son must contend with raising my grandson to be someone of faith, truth.

Truthfully, my soul gets all stirred up, my faith in my Savior wavers sometimes.

I question what I have long believed.

I wonder what is prophetic, what is real and truthful and faithful from the Word of God especially when my personal experience doesn’t match my expectations.

This wavering deeply troubles me.

I have tasted and felt the winds of the vanity of man, man’s inhumanity of man, I have tasted bitterness I would never wish even upon my very worst enemies.

I have tasted God’s goodness, enjoyed close fellowship with him, rested in his tender care, known His grace and been blessed beyond what I know I deserved.

I can say that I have known both His power, His healing and his love.

Yet in the midst of such profound struggles, I have no answers, just questions.

Answers which I’m not entirely sure I’ll receive with more faith than with more doubt that I know somewhere deep inside me is sourced from an irrational fear.

The question of having any hope for a prosperous future?

Mine, and for generations of my family yet to come?

I will only scratch my head and shrug my shoulders and maybe I might just get around to actually and authentically fervently and ceaselessly praying to God.

But, I guess right now, I kind of feel like John the Baptist, sitting in a Prison cell.

Matthew 11:2-3 Amplified Bible

2 Now when [a]John [the Baptist] in prison heard about the activities of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and asked Him, “Are You the Expected One (the Messiah), or should we look for someone else [who will be the promised One]?”

I am wise enough to know there are still going to be things in life that were out of my control, myriads of things which I could never hope to anticipate, would cause me to acknowledge my raising doubts, feel shaken from the inside out.

And let’s be honest, however wise I believe myself to be, and God knows me to be on any given day and in any given moment of time, I say, how I hated that!

It doesn’t matter if you are a new Christian or a maturing or mature believer; we are all subject to the potential of having our faith shaken up from time to time.

But let it be known that even when our faith is going through a shaky season, this doesn’t mean that our Savior God is any less sovereign or any less loving.

Our God has the continuous ability to bless even those going through a season of abandoned, back-sliding, fractured, wavering, doubtful and lukewarm faith, to use those seasons of those who doubt and bring comfort and reassurance to those whose faith is wavering… Gospel Narratives are replete with such stories.

The Samaritan Woman in the heat of the day at the Well in John Chapter 4

The Woman with the Issue of Blood whom even the smartest of those ancient Doctors and Priests could not find a reason or cure – whose faith in God told her that if she could just “get close enough to his tunic – she would then be healed.” (Luke 8:43-48)

The Good Samaritan.

The Prodigal Son.

Blind Bartimaeus

The Lepers.

The long disabled Man who spent over 38 years waiting for someone to help him into the angel stirred healing waters at the Pool of Bethesda. (John 5:1-9)

The 100+ year old Patriarch Abraham who was commanded by God to sacrifice the greatest gift he had ever received – his own son, Isaac.

The Israelite slaves in Egypt.

Moses and the burning bush,

Peter the apostle who denied Jesus three times and Zechariah who did not believe that God could give him a son… just to name a few of the hundreds!

The Wailing Lament of the Song of the Exiles from Psalm 137.

I hope we get the idea that a shaken faith is nothing new to God’s ears or to the compassionate and sometimes tearful eyes and heart and soul of Jesus Christ.

But for today, let’s try to take a drive into the shaken faith of John of Baptist.  

The Shaken Faith of John the Baptist

The whole gospel of John is one that clearly tells its readers from the beginning of chapter one verse one to the very last full stop that Jesus was the Messiah… the Lamb of God who was to take away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

He knew who Jesus was while he was still in his mother Elizabeth’s womb and leapt for joy in the womb when a pregnant Mary approached them (Luke 1:44).

John the Baptist witnessed the Spirit of God descend and remain on Jesus with God declaring Christ as His Son. (Matthew 3:16-17). 

But even John the Baptist who knew through divine revelation and firsthand experience Jesus was the Messiah, had his faith shaken while he was in prison.

While it is not explicitly said why John the Baptist was having second thoughts and doubts about Jesus,  it makes sense that John the Baptist in the midst of his suffering sought real reassurance from Jesus that He was indeed the Messiah.

Matthew 11:2-6 GOD’S WORD Translation

John Sends Two Disciples

2 When John was in prison, he heard about the things Christ had done. So he sent his disciples 3 to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we all now look for someone else?”

4 Jesus answered John’s disciples, “Go back, and tell John what you hear and see: 5  Blind people see again, lame people are walking, those with skin diseases are made clean, deaf people hear again, dead people are brought back to life, and poor people hear the Good News. 6 Whoever doesn’t lose his faith in me is indeed blessed.”

While John the Baptist was a hardcore preaching believer, one of the few who had been able to experience so many confirmations from God Himself that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, he still experienced a season of shaken faith.

And yet, Jesus still felt so much love and mercy towards John and his shaken faith because instead of getting angry and cynical for his lack of faith, instead, sent word back to John to confirm to him He was exactly who He said He was.  

What Does This Mean for Us in Our Present Context?

Has your faith ever been shaken?

Is your faith being shaken right now?

How about the faith of your spouse?

How about the faith of your young children?

How about the faith of your teenage children?

How about the faith of your adult children raising their own young or teenage or adult children or even their grandchildren?

How about the faith of your best friend?

How about the faith of your church and church community?

How about the faith of your Pastor leading your church?

How about the faith of the Laity of the church who make the decisions?

How about the faith of the laity who sit in the pews or watch on Social Media?

I guess you get the idea – people with a shaken faith are definitely an issue!

John’s and Our Own Unfulfilled Expectations

John knew from Scripture that he who gave the blind sight, made the lame walk, and preached good news to the poor could surely open “the prison to those who are bound” as prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-3 God’s Word Translation.

The Lord Will Anoint His Servant with His Spirit

61 The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me
because the Lord has anointed me
to deliver good news to humble people.
He has sent me
to heal those who are brokenhearted,
to announce that captives will be set free
and prisoners will be released.
2 ⌞He has sent me⌟
to announce the year of the Lord’s good will
and the day of our God’s vengeance,
to comfort all those who grieve.
3 ⌞He has sent me⌟
to provide for all those who grieve in Zion,
to give them crowns instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of ⌞tears of⌟ grief,
and clothes of praise instead of a spirit of weakness.

They will be called Oaks of Righteousness,
the Plantings of the Lord,
so that he might display his glory.

But Jesus didn’t do that for John.

Jesus did not directly affirm John’s future and the future of John’s calling.

So perhaps at this point, staunch believer John doubted what he knew.

If Jesus was indeed the Messiah, John probably expected to have a role in his earthly kingdom beyond his extended stay in Herod’s prison cell.

He wouldn’t have expected to start with such a high calling, preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness, only to have end his life and his ministry end in a small prison cell with his head quite literally on someone else’s silver platter.

Besides, John preached that the Messiah would come with an unquenchable fire. With judgment. With power. He likely expected that to be in his lifetime.

None of those human expectations coincided with God’s reality.

And that may have caused John to doubt.

Unfulfilled expectations often elicit that response in me.

Especially when I have tried very hard to be faithful and true to God my Savior.

Jesus doesn’t condemn John for his doubts.

He even says that no one greater than John has ever lived.

He understands why John is asking the question.

And Jesus’s response to him reinforces what John already knows: that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.

At the same time, Jesus knows that John’s public ministry is over.

Just like the saints in Hebrews 11, John wouldn’t receive all God’s promises but could only greet them from afar.

He would not serve with Jesus or see the fulfillment of God’s kingdom or see the crucifixion or be an eye witness to the empty tomb and Christ’s Resurrection.

But one day he would.

One day he would see his glorious part in God’s magnificent plan.

He, the last of the old covenant prophets, would see how God used him to prepare the world to receive Jesus.

And John would rejoice.

But for now, John has to accept the Messiah’s plans for his life.

Plans that are different than what he envisioned.

He has to dwell on what he knows to be true rather than fixate on his own circumstances.

He has to remember who God is and trust him from a dark prison.

And so it is with me.

When all our best laid hopes crumble all around us

When my plans crumble and God takes me away from my dreams, I must over a period of time come back to the place where I will again renew and refresh my trust in God’s infinite wisdom over my own current failing and faulty displays.

When my cup of suffering enters into those moments when it seems too much for me to bear, I know I will need my Shabbat rest in His immeasurable love.

When my personal efforts at self control enters into the realm of “Oh No!” my life turns, spins out of control, I need to remember God’s absolute sovereignty.

I may not, probably will not, understand what is happening.

But I cannot stop talking to him.

Or turn away in fear.

I must simply go to Jesus, tell him my doubts, desire for a stronger faith.

Ask him to help me see.

Psalm 13 The Message

13 1-2 Long enough, God—
    you’ve ignored me long enough.
I’ve looked at the back of your head
    long enough. Long enough
I’ve carried this ton of trouble,
    lived with a stomach full of pain.
Long enough my arrogant enemies
    have looked down their noses at me.

3-4 Take a good look at me, God, my God;
    I want to look life in the eye,
So no enemy can get the best of me
    or laugh when I fall on my face.

5-6 I’ve thrown myself headlong into your arms—
    I’m celebrating your rescue.
I’m singing at the top of my lungs,
    I’m so full of answered prayers.

John’s doubts are the same as mine and maybe the same as your own or your spouses, your children’s, your co-workers, best friend, even your churches.

I will wonder if God is who He says He is.

And if everything is indeed under his control. And if he authentically loves me.

And when I doubt, God calls me, as he did John, to trust what I know to be true.

To trust the bedrock principles that I know from Scripture and from experience.

That God is completely sovereign.

And loving.

And wise.

Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from his knowing everything about it.

In this life, I may never see or know how God is using my trials.

In this life you may never see or know how God is using your trials.

But one day you and I will certainly be grateful for them.

All you and I can do now is trust that God who made the lame walk and the blind see, who died on a cross so I could spend eternity with him, is 100% going to do absolutely the very best thing for me, the absolute very best thing for you also.

It all comes down to coming back to our obedience, faith, and our trust in God.

Will we trust our understanding of our circumstances that constantly change?

Or will we trust in an understanding and much wiser God who is unchanging?

For the believer or even the non-believer or the sceptic or the cynic who has been met with the unexpected or thrown into a situation that makes no sense,

We can all, in the course of time be reassured that God is exactly who He is.

His promises have always been fulfilled (Joshua 21:45) and He isn’t a God that will leave you on your own or anyone else on their own.

His promises have always been punctuated with His Alleluia and His Amen.

He is ready to answer our prayers when we cast our anxieties and cares on Him (Philippians 4:5-6) and as we come to Him, He promises to carry our burdens.

Key Final Thoughts

As John faced the struggle of his life, he maintained his integrity and his faithfulness.

His motivation was simply to know for sure that Jesus was who John believed him to be.

He was not afraid to face death or doubt as he sought God’s truth and lived God’s life with commitment.

Nearly all of us go through periods of doubt or struggle with difficult questions about our faith.

Struggle with difficult questions, in and of itself, is not wrong or is it something to be feared.

Christianity has withstood the criticisms, scrutiny, accusations, and doubt of centuries of our world’s best thinkers and harshest skeptics.

The issue with these kinds of struggles is whether we maintain Godly character with faithfulness in our ministry, holiness in our lifestyle, and honesty in our motives, speech, and actions.

As we work through our struggles, if we are true to these Godly characteristics, we will find that our doubts and questions move us toward faith rather than toward disbelief.

The biggest problem with struggles and doubts will occur when we break faithfulness and Satan can unleash a chain of consequences that weaken us spiritually.

So in struggle and doubt, remember these three things:

faithfulness in our ministry,

holiness in our lifestyle, and

honesty and Integrity and God in our motives, speech, and actions.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

O Lord, God of the great expanse and my Abba Father who adopted me in grace, please help me face myself when I look into a mirror. Please give me courage to face my doubts. Empower me with strength to face my struggles. Give me a heart that depends on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. O God, I want to honor you with my behavior and my choices. More than just knowing the truth, dear God, I want to know you and to display your truth in my life. In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Could Jeremiah 29:11 Have A Far, Far Deeper Meaning, Truth for Us Today? Jeremiah 29:8-14

Jeremiah 29:8-14 The Message

8-9 Yes. Believe it or not, this is the Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, Israel’s God: “Don’t let all those so-called preachers and know-it-alls who are all over the place there take you in with their lies. Don’t pay any attention to the fantasies they keep coming up with to please you. They’re a bunch of liars preaching lies—and claiming I sent them! I never sent them, believe me.” God’s Decree!

10-11 This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

12 “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

How rare is the Word of God today?

How rare is the genuine understanding of the Word of God today?

How rare is the genuine truth of the Word of God sought after today?

How rare is the person who seeks after the genuine truth of God’s Word?

How rare is the person who actually, diligently, genuinely, seeks to apply the wisdom and the genuine truth of the Word of God to their lives?

How rare is the person who actually, diligently, genuinely applies the genuine truth of the Word of God to their lives?

How rare is the person who then actually, diligently, genuinely, seeks with all of their heart, souls, minds and strength, to diligently, genuinely teach all others? (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Do we genuinely want to know, love, experience God through His Word alone?

Do we really and genuinely want to surprise ourselves by seeking His Kingdom?

The True Deeper Meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 Might Surprise You

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most well-known and quoted verses in the Bible.

It’s promise is held dearly by Christians all over the world.

But despite it’s popularity the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 is often misused and misapplied.

It’s one of the most misquoted verses in the entire Bible. 

While many Christians have this verse memorized and hanging on their walls, the context in which it’s written is often ignored.

The Bible passage of Jeremiah 29:11 is a popular verse that we, as Christians, cling to in times of trials and hardships.

Whenever problems occur in our earthly lives, we always find safe refuge in the Word of God and one of those verses is Jeremiah 29:11.

Because of this,

it is essential to understand the historical as well as the literary context of the verse to give us a deeper understanding as to why Jeremiah wrote it.

When we ignore the context in which the Bible is written we can quite literally make it say anything we want. 

What We Commonly Get Wrong About Jeremiah 29:11 Meaning

Jeremiah 29:11 is everywhere.

From coffee mugs to graduation speeches this verse is plastered everywhere.

Yet despite the popularity the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 is often misapplied. 

Most commonly the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 is applied as a personal promise.

That God has a wonderful and perfect plan for ME.

Many take this verse and apply it specifically to them, that God has their life perfectly mapped out, and that they only have to walk in obedience to God. 

Others take this verse a step further claiming this verse is a continuous promise of health and wealth.

Since we are children of the King we would, could, should only hope to expect the best from God.

With this view, anything less than that view, pain and suffering are interpreted as a sign of disobedience, being disciplined by our God for our true lack of faith. 

The main problem with these interpretations of Jeremiah 29:11 is that they are very ME centered.

It’s all about what God can and is going to do for ME.

And that’s not the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11.

Or the Bible for that matter. 

Where do we begin to more deeply, genuinely acknowledge, the grace of God?

When do we acknowledge the genuine authority, sovereignty, power, of God’s exclusive to God truth behind Psalm 46:10-11?

Psalm 46:10-11 The Message

8-10 Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
    He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,
Bans war from pole to pole,
    breaks all the weapons across his knee.
“Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
    loving look at me, your High God,
    above politics, above everything.”

11     Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
    God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

See all of the marvels of God and God alone!

The alleged marvels of humanity are not even mentioned by the Psalmist!

The sovereignty of God and God alone is where everything remains the same.

Psalm 46:10-11 Amplified Bible

10 
“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold [our refuge, our high tower]. Selah.

So, accounting for it being about God alone, what does Jeremiah 29:11 mean?

Let’s dive into the context and find out. 

The Meaning Of Jeremiah 29:11 In Context Historically

Context matters. In fact, I would say context is king.

When we are reading the Bible we cannot ignore the context in which what we are reading is written in. 

That means we should do three things when reading the Bible: 

  1. Look at the surrounding verses
  2. Consider the original audience 
  3. Look at the larger narrative of the Bible

What is the history behind his words and what is the reasoning?

What is its literal meaning and how can we apply it to our daily lives, not just during tribulations, but rather, as followers of Jesus Christ and children of God?

To help us understand the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11 we will focus primarily on the first two in the list above.

Let me just say this, the common ways this passage is interpreted does not fit the Biblical narrative – the Bible teaches selflessness not a ME centered faith. 

When you rewind a little bit from Jeremiah 29:11 what you see is God talking to the nation of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah.

What Does ‘For I Know the Plans I Have for You’ Mean in Jeremiah 29:11 

Based on the historical context of the verse and the major events that happened in the past, we can understand why Jeremiah said the words in Jeremiah 29:11.

His primary goal was to speak to God’s people amidst hardships and suffering.

The people on the long march into Babylonian captivity needed to know there was some kind of hope they could latch themselves onto to face down reality.

The people were ready to grasp onto any smidgen of reality that would reveal for them that somewhere in this national tragedy befalling them, there is hope.

The unfolding breadth, unrelenting scope of trauma in every which direction of recent events of Babylonian siege, and plunder and war, of this disaster abound.

No one was immune from the impossible to measure effects of its devastation.

National identity was being systematically, violently stripped away from them.

Even their beloved Temple, where God was always to be found – was destroyed.

The Temple where God resided, was desecrated beyond repair – God was gone.

No God in residence…the spiritual trauma behind that thought – unfathomable.

Can anyone of us identify with this feeling?

Their lifeline to God and His divine protection – violently, visibly, severed.

Can anyone of us identify with this feeling?

No lifeline to God was equated with having no Hope of seeing Hope ever again.

Can anyone of us identify ourselves with this feeling?

The people of God were asking for an immediate rescue from the suffering that they were experiencing, and the counter-cultural, against the grain, prophet Jeremiah had a huge responsibility to tell them the truth about God’s promise.

He was also tasked to rebuke a very huge and ultra convincing lie that the false prophet Hananiah had widely circulated, which was not a very easy task to do.

This verse was his message, inspired by God’s guidance, to tell the people that God’s response is not an immediate answer, rather, God has a plan to prosper His people amidst hardships, God has a promise for the future of His people.

The needed caveat to these words – being after seventy years of exile is done.

The duration of the exile would continue until God had designed it to be over.

There would be no avoiding it or getting away from its experience or its effects.

The exile was a done deal.

Praying would not end it before its anointed and appointed time.

The exile was going to have to be fully, inescapably, endured. (Psalm 137)

Considering the coming tragedy of that march to Babylon, and what the people already had to endure and bear witness to (Psalm 137:8-9), it was a bitter time!

If we reflect on the words of Jeremiah, we can see the wisdom that God gave him during those trying times.

He starts with a clear, direct message, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,”

These words can be interpreted as a direct message and an assurance that God knows their plans.

And then, the verse continues with a more profound explanation of God’s plan, “‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

These words give more detail of His plan — to inspire His people to continue on, to persevere through the very harshest of seasons, times and circumstances.

The Historical Context of ‘For I Know the Plans I Have for You’ in Jeremiah 29:11

In its context, Jeremiah is speaking to his fellow people as they were forced to exile from their home in Jerusalem to Babylon and, now, under enemy rule.

There was too much turmoil in terms of emotional and physical stress among the believers of God during this time.

To add to this, there was also a false prophet named Hananiah who gave false hope to the Jews regarding the prophecy of God.

According to Hananiah, God promises to relieve the Jews of their suffering after two years and would come back to their home.

This was a false prophecy that Jeremiah heard and rebuked. We can read this verse further in Jeremiah 28:15-17;

Jeremiah 28:15-17 Amplified Bible

15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am about to send you away from the face of the earth. This year you will die, because you have spoken  and have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’”

17 So Hananiah the [false] prophet died [two months later], the same year, in the seventh month.

Imagine Jeremiah having to tell the Jews that instead of two years, they would live in Babylon for 70 years and endure it as it is written in Jeremiah 29:4-10,

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.”

Jeremiah was tasked to deliver a message that God’s people would have to live, build houses, marry, pray for peace, and prosper in a city that was not theirs.

It was an arduous, difficult task, and Jeremiah had to give the people an inspirational message and thus the words in Jeremiah 29:11 were written.

What Deeper Meaning Would, What Could, What Should, ‘For I Know the Plans I Have for You’ Genuinely Mean for Us Today?

Indeed, Jeremiah 29:11 is a great reminder amidst the longevity of suffering, God alone has a boundless God sized plan for us to prosper and hope for our future.

We should not give up. We may be experiencing different situations such as the severe health or a financial crisis or a family relationship on the brink of being torn apart, the verse tells us that these things are in passing and God has a plan.

Just as what happened in the past with the Jews in Babylon, we may experience “lets grasp for human straws” hopeful words of false prophets like Hananiah.

The much beloved verse also reminds us not to believe in human things that are too good to be true and instead, trust God alone, His Grace, His processes alone.

For it is only in trusting His process we can all be assured of hope for the future.

Lastly, this much cherished verse also reminds us that if we seek God in our hearts, we will never be weary even if we experience suffering in our lives.

Let God alone transform our mindsets of unrelenting suffering to unrelenting joy in the Lord and the Lord alone who is our strength. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

More Bible Verses about Hope

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.  ~ Isaiah 40:31

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. ~ Romans 8:24-25

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ~ 1 Peter 1:3

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ~ Romans 15:4

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. ~ Romans 15:13

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ~ Romans 12:12

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ~ Hebrews 11:1

2 Timothy 3:14-17 Amplified Bible

14 But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned  them,  15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the [a]man of God may be complete  and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Seek out the deeper meanings, immeasurable truths of the Word of God.

The entirety of our lives is a Tapestry weaved by the Grace of God by God.

In Christ Jesus, our Savior, in Him alone our hope is found (Acts 4:8-12)

Give God 100% of the Glory – saving or hoarding none of it for yourselves.

Give God 100% of the Praise – saving or hoarding none of it for yourselves.

Give God 100% of the Honor – saving or hoarding none of it for yourselves.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Majesty, worship His majesty
Unto Jesus be all glory, honor and praise,
Majesty, kingdom authority
Flow from His throne, unto His own
His Anthem raise
Majesty, worship His majesty

Unto Jesus be all glory, honor and praise,
Majesty, kingdom authority
Flow from His throne, unto His own
His Anthem raise

So exalt, lift up on high, the name of Jesus
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King
Majesty, worship His majesty

Jesus who died, now glorified
King of all kings

Copyright: 

1981 New Spring (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

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Whether We Believe It or Not, God Does Have Incredible Plans for Us! Jeremiah 29:10-14

Jeremiah 29:10-14 Amplified Bible

10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years [of exile] have been completed for Babylon, I will visit (inspect) you and keep My good promise to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. 13 Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and I will [free you and] gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

Some years ago the well-known author James Michener wrote a book called The Drifters.

It’s a story about young students traveling aimlessly through Asia and Europe, drifting from one day into the next, without either a plan or even any purpose.

Lots of people today are drifters too.

Even if you have everything life has to offer, you can feel unfulfilled and without purpose, drifting from one day to the next.

Or maybe you feel as if you’ve been cut adrift.

For example, maybe you’ve lost your job and you don’t see much of a future.

Or maybe you’ve lost your spouse through death, separation or divorce, and you feel as if you’ve reached the end of the road.

Perhaps you are in that place in life where you are feeling unfulfilled, at an age where perhaps you are considering a career change but you are unsure what the next career might be or you are struggling with how you are going to finance it.

Or maybe you just retired and you feel as if you’ve been put on a shelf.

Or perhaps you’re permanently disabled and you’re not sure how you can go on.

If you’re feeling adrift for one reason or another, take heart from God’s words to us through His Prophet Jeremiah: “I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and … to give you hope and a future.”

God does not want us to drift through life.

He assuredly, definitely has a purpose and plan for each one of us.

Whoever you are reading this, ask yourself, “What does God have in mind for me? And how does God want to use me today so I can have hope and a future?”

God’s Presence in Our Plans

Jeremiah 29:10-11 The Message

10-11 This is God’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

This quote was part of a letter God had Jeremiah write to the Jews whom King Nebuchadnezzar had been forcibly taken captive to Babylon from Jerusalem.

They had been ripped from their homeland, marched, walked, taken to a land where they were aliens and strangers.

I cannot imagine how hopeless they felt. (Psalm 137)

But God had already told them what to do when they arrived there.

What we do not know is how receptive this first generation of exiles were to the message of God, through Jeremiah, of a hope not manifesting itself for 70 years.

Jeremiah 29:4-8 Amplified Bible

4 “So says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5 ‘Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there and do not decrease [in number]. 7 Seek peace and well-being for the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its peace (well-being) you will have peace.’ 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your [false] prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you; pay no attention and attach no significance to the dreams which they dream or to yours,

He told them to build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce.

To get married and have children, then give their children in marriage to have more children, to multiply there, to not decrease in their population numbers.

And incredibly, God told them to seek the peace and well-being of Babylon where ultimately he had sent them into exile.

God even told them to pray for Babylon’s welfare.

For in Babylon’s peace and well-being, the Israelite’s would have their peace.

Then God promised that after 70 years he would bring them back to Jerusalem.

He essentially told them to take heart, a measure of solace, He had plans for them, plans for their good, plans for their future, plans to give them hope.

This is a good reminder for us.

We need to regularly remember that this world is not our home.

As the Apostle Peter would later remind his congregations of readers;

1 Peter 2:9-12 Amplified Bible

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are  God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges [those dishonorable desires] that wage war against the soul.  12  Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that [a]for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God [b]in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy].

Just as Babylon was not the Jews’ final home, neither is this our final home.

Our home is heaven.

But like the ancient Israelite’s, we are to build our lives here for now.

We’re to seek the good of our nation, our churches, our friends and neighbors.

John 14:1-6 Amplified Bible

Jesus Comforts His Disciples

14 “Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 And [to the place]  where I am going, you know the way.” 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him,  “[a]I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

We are to settle in, have generations of family, and build homes – temporarily.

We are to pray for the welfare, the well-being of where God will settle us down.

But we mustn’t forget that after “70 years” – sooner or later – God will come back, His Son, our Savior Jesus will take us unto our ultimate home – heaven.

Those are God’s plans for us.

But he has plans for us now too.

More on this tomorrow ….

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Psalm 8 The Message

8 God, brilliant Lord,
    yours is a household name.

2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
    toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
    and silence atheist babble.

3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
    your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
    Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
    Why take a second look our way?

5-8 Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,
    bright with Eden’s dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
    repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us stewards of sheep and cattle,
    even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
    whales singing in the ocean deeps.

9 God, brilliant Lord,
    your name echoes around the world.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Getting Gut-Level Honest with God. Giving God our Bitterness. Psalm 137

Psalm 137Complete Jewish Bible

137 By the rivers of Bavel we sat down and wept
as we remembered Tziyon.
2 We had hung up our lyres
on the willows that were there,
3 when those who had taken us captive
asked us to sing them a song;
our tormentors demanded joy from us —
“Sing us one of the songs from Tziyon!”

4 How can we sing a song about Adonai
here on foreign soil?
5 If I forget you, Yerushalayim,
may my right hand wither away!
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I fail to count Yerushalayim
the greatest of all my joys.

7 Remember, Adonai, against the people of Edom
the day of Yerushalayim’s fall,
how they cried, “Tear it down! Tear it down!
Raze it to the ground!”

8 Daughter of Bavel, you will be destroyed!
A blessing on anyone who pays you back
for the way you treated us!
9 A blessing on anyone who seizes your babies
and smashes them against a rock!

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Repentance and Forgiveness ….

Deuteronomy 30:1-3 English Standard Version

Repentance and Forgiveness

30 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.

And when all of these things have come upon you, the blessings and the curses which God had set before His Children in those ancient of Days – their Exile.

And the people call them to mind (thank you Holy Spirit) among all the nations where the Lord their God has unceremoniously driven them – into their exile, to the rivers of Babylon where they now sit defeated, angry and bitter. Psalm 137.

And when all of these things have come upon us, the blessings and the curses which God has set before His beloved Children in these most modern of days – (I will leave it to the reader to fill in their own personal “blessings an curses.”)

And when we the Children of God call them to their own minds (thank you Holy Spirit) among all of the places among the nations, where the Lord our God has unceremoniously driven us – where we now sit (wherever our backsides are), where we contemplate our own senses of deep defeat and anger and bitterness. (However any of us today, God’s children identify themselves with Psalm 137)

Those exiled Children of God in those ancient of days now long gone, were called by God to return to Him with all of their hearts, with all of their souls.

Today, from where ever it is we ourselves feel we are about to forever languish in our extended, indeterminate periods of personal exiles, God is calling us too.

You, the reader, might now have the very distinct impression this devotional is about our entering into a time and season of repentance – true, but not exactly.

There is something critically important which needs to be addressed first before we get to God’s call upon our lives to enter into an extended time of repentance.

That critically important something is – our getting gut level of God – to beyond the one place where our anger, our bitterness and our defeats keep us all prisoners.

Psalm 137, this song of the embittered exiles, this prayer comes to us white hot.

Its raw, open, and continuously salted wound forbids our tendency to ask the questions we so desperately to have answered but are simply far too bitter to ask, give smooth answers in the face of impossible to conceive personal cruelty.

The personal injuries go indescribably, undeniably deep – deeper than we dare to even minimally make even a minimal effort to conceive, try to identify with.

As you read, sing, this song, dare to imagine the scene that birthed this psalm.

The Babylonian guards taunted Jewish slaves, saying, “Hey, sing us a song about how your God is the greatest!” Though the slaves refused to sing, they also refused to forget. They stayed angry and bitter about Babylon’s injustice.

Maybe you know a person who was victimized.

Maybe you were the one whose trust was being abused, victimized or violated.

Maybe you are the one who can so quickly and painfully and bitterly identify with the absolute rawness of the emotions being expressed in these few verses.

Something at work or about your work …

Something about your marriage …

Something about your relationship with your children …

Something about your relationship with someone who thought had your best interests in mind, but then, when the iron sharpened the iron – it was betrayal.

Maybe you are the one whose wondering – Why God? or Where is our God now?

Maybe someone is right now bullying, mocking or has mocked your outrage.

Kicking sand in your face and refuses stop despite your most tearful pleas.

Maybe we are among the many who were raised to think that there are not too many real and actual victims in our world, we suspect most sufferers “by their own behaviors, asked for it” or “brutally deserved, got what they had coming.”

But the psalms do not tolerate keeping such a distance from human suffering.

They make us grapple with the depths of our own personal knowledge and our own pained up experiences of “man’s inhumanity towards man,” bitterness.

They make us grapple with ourselves where we ourselves simply refuse to go.

The Pandora’s boxes of our hearts and souls for which we long trashed the key.

They make us grapple with evil’s reality, demanding that we hate injustice and oppression. They experience, and express, anger on behalf of we, the oppressed.

Psalm 137 stuns, us with the depths of its emotional impact on our entire souls.

And the question needs to be asked before we get to anything called repentance,

Can we ourselves be that gut level brutally honest with ourselves, with God?

Bitterness is a pill no one wants to swallow, forcibly shoved down their throats.

Being bullied or mocked and scorned is nowhere anyone wants to live for long.

Living with the bitterness of betrayal constantly in your mouth is no way to eat, the constant reminder of its taste is definitely no way for anyone to enjoy a life.

But, there it was for those exiles – the reality and all of its excruciating tastes.

Blessings and curses…the bitter taste of God’s blessings, daily eating the curses.

The desire for exacting revenge at all costs, and chewing and swallowing on the chance to bless your enemies with every imaginable curse at every opportunity.

Hating evil is critical for a healthy spiritual life.

Feeling like you are eating, digesting the evil is quite another matter entirely.

Feeling like we need to vomit evil onto someone, if not everyone else, in our sphere of influence, including ourselves, is a feeling we need to acknowledge.

We need to acknowledge before God the depths of exactly where we are in life.

As the Psalmist who wrote Psalm 137, as the ancient editors left it there for us,

There is a definite need for us to be brutally honest with ourselves and with our God, acknowledging and affirming the correctness, necessity of true honesty.

It is absolutely Okay with being brutally honest with yourself and with God too.

Psalm 137 is clearly meant to completely, utterly bust up our sin hardened soul.

To boldly go where no one would dare to go before – the depths of their souls.

To bust up every last vestige of ourselves so, God and God alone can, piece by painful piece, reshape it, reshape us, put our souls and ourselves back together.

Being Honest With Ourselves and Being Honest with God

The best thing we can do for ourselves, our connection and our relationship with God is to be hyper-zealous in expressing our vulnerability before Him.

This means being brutally honest with our selves (Psalm 51, then Psalm 32) and being even more brutally honest with Him.

Please tell me, what relationship is healthy without being brutally honest?

If we absolutely value them as much as God absolutely does, there are none and yet we still seem to think we can’t or shouldn’t be as honest with God as is with us and therefore we also absolutely need to be with the entirety of ourselves.

Our honesty solves a million hurts before they can even be formed and it is the beginning of breaking walls already created.

I can hear you right now,

“But God knows everything, so why do I need to be honest with Him?”

It is about the relationship.

It is two sided.

He knows but He wants your whole heart.

This means when we take a step of faith, as being absolutely vulnerable requires, He knows we heard Him, He know we listened, He delights in us.

“But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 9:24

He delights in us as we see Him for who He is – that He is absolutely loving, kind, merciful, forgiving and righteous and just.

This means unhesitatingly taking all of your heartaches, your worries, your thoughts, and your sins to Him!

Being brutally honest because HE DOES KNOW but when we bring Him these things, we submit them to Him as well.

When we lay them at His feet where they belong, unexplainable peace will follow, Peace even when we are still in the situation because He is with us.

I remember walking down the sanctuary hallway at church and feeling deeply frustrated about where God had placed me. I didn’t want to be there. I wanted to feel different. I thought, “eh I can’t be used here. I don’t even want to be here.”

I knew God knew all about my frustrations but when I prayed about it, He changed my heart.

Does this mean all of a sudden that I loved my church?

No, but my prayer changed after I laid my heartbreak of that season down.

My prayer changed from, “Please change this situation” to “Jesus, please show me something more of yourself because I see too much of myself to be any use here.”

I wanted to know why because He is a loving and just God.

All of a sudden, I wanted to stay where I had wanted to hide and flee from, to see just exactly how He was going to do it. I constantly fought with thoughts about why here, but God was faithful in putting a fire of impacting others in me.

He wants to change my thoughts, He wants to transform, shape our thoughts, but we must FIRST allow Him to. This starts with laying them down before Him.

Step 1: Know what you are thinking.

When I started this blog, I prayed to God to use me through these words He gave me. I made a promise to God, myself to be honest about where I was, even when it wasn’t pretty because when I admitted to the struggles, could change occur.

Have these efforts been a Success or Failure – I cannot say …. the blog continues and so, therefore does the works of God – to continually shape, reshape my life.

My Life is still My Life, but I daily pray my life gradually becomes more like His.

This is why we must be vulnerable with Him. He wants to turn our heartaches into triumphs, but He won’t force His way in. He wants us to hand Him all the keys to our Pandora’s box and help us walk away from them and not fall back in.

He absolutely wants to show us how to live abundantly.

This also means doing so truthfully.

I didn’t like where I had been planted by God at first and it did not change just because I thought I could get used to bitterness, no it took a change of thoughts.

I had to pray daily, continuously that God would use me in spite of me and show me something new there. That He would give me a mission. And WOW, He did!

Step 2: Tell Him what you are feeling and thinking.

Admitting where we are takes strength.

Let me be honest with you, it takes guts.

Can we admit we are NOT strong enough to beat defeat bitterness on our own?

Can we admit we are NOT able to fix our defeat and bitterness ourselves?

Feelings are fleeting but boy, they are painfully real when you experience them.

He is not afraid of what you are feeling – but we are absolutely afraid of them.

Let the entire truth of God through His Living Word overtake all your feelings.

I told Him where I was at with it.

I didn’t like it, but I chose to accept it.

To trust that His reasons are better – Proverbs 3:1-12, 16:1-7, Isaiah 1:17-20

Step 3: Let His Word speak to you.

Our knowledge and experience of our Savior Christ is absolutely greater than our knowledge and experience of our bitterness, our fears and our worries.

Knowing these awesome truths led me to chase after Him.

To seek what He wanted with whole lot more love over what I did at the time.

Now, I would not take it back, but you know what they say, hindsight is 20/20.

Genesis to Revelation: He knows the beginning, the end with every in between.

“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” President Theodore Roosevelt

In a miracle of the cross, Jesus teaches us to love our enemies – even when our greatest enemies are not those who have embittered us – but is only ourselves.

So we trust vengeance to him alone.

Psalm 137 shows there is no room for false piety or trying to appear respectable.

Reading, Praying, Studying, Sharing, Magnifying the Word of God means we can be brutally honest with God about what we ourselves are brutally feeling.

We can even bring our worst kind of bitter anger to God and lay it at his feet.

Because God so love the World …. Because God so loved every single one of us, God got brutally honest in His expression of desire for everlasting relationship.

On a Hill far away …. stood an Old Rugged Cross … the emblem of suffering ….

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

1. Jesus, keep me near the cross;
there a precious fountain,
free to all, a healing stream,
flows from Calvary’s mountain.
Refrain:
In the cross, in the cross,
be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river.

2. Near the cross, a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me;
there the bright and morning star
sheds its beams around me.
(Refrain)

3. Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
bring its scenes before me;
help me walk from day to day
with its shadow o’er me.
(Refrain)

4. Near the cross I’ll watch and wait,
hoping, trusting ever,
till I reach the golden strand
just beyond the river.
(Refrain)

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