A BEND IN THE ROAD

Psalm chapter 30








Today we are walking in: A Bend In The Road






Genesis 6:8
But Noah found grace H2580 in the eyes of the Lord.




GRACE




GRACE

Today we look to the word GRACE--H2580 chen -- Grace, Favor, Gracious, Pleasant, Precious, Wellfavored

The Torah testifies.........……

Exodus 33:13
Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace H2580 in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace H2580 in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.



The prophets proclaim..................

Jeremiah 31:2
Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace H2580 in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.


The writings bear witness............

Psalms 84:11
For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace H2580 and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.










Some crises are much like an “explosion” that knocks us off our feet, and leaves us stunned and confused. After the explosion, we have no idea what is coming next; we feel we will never again have hearts filled with joy – only fear. Perhaps your life has been shattered by a bomb. The road goes on. There will be many more peaks and valleys along the way. The “deep valleys” are places of spiritual dryness and conflict with The Most High – things David faced and chronicled for us in Psalm 30. After David had at long last become king, his first royal initiative was to establish the ark of the covenant in the city of Jerusalem, where it would enshrine the idea of worshiping and trusting The Most High. While enroute to the city, the cart carrying the ark began to wobble, and a man named Uzzah reached out and touched the ark to steady it. It was a forbidden thing for human hands to do, and The Most High struck Uzzah dead on the spot. David became both angry and afraid. David decided to stop transporting the ark to Jerusalem, and had it placed in the home of a man named Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months. Word trickled back to Jerusalem that everything Obed-Edom touched seemed to turn to gold. King David carefully reviewed exactly what the Scriptures had to say about “moving the ark” – he then decided to transport it to Jerusalem. As they proceeded to move the ark, they stopped “every six paces” and offered a great sacrifice of oxen and sheep (as pre-scribed by law) – and David worshipped the The Most High with great joy and intensity (2 Sam 6:14). Many scholars believe David channeled his heartfelt gratitude into the song we know as Psalm 30.
David prayed in his “sickness,” and the The Most High healed him. He extols the people of The Most High to sing praises to the The Most High, “for His anger is but for a moment; His favor is for life… weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps 30:2-5). “Hear, O The Most High, and have mercy on me; be my helper!” The time comes when you find yourself at the bottom line of hope or despair – and you cry out saying, “The Most High, I need Your mercy! Please help me!” “The Most High, You reached down to the darkest depths and pulled me right out of the grave. I was almost gone.” When you know you will see the sun rise again, you start waking every morning thanking and praising The Most High. A “thankful perspective” is essential for a joyful, positive life. The Most High has a purpose for you… He loves you… and keeps you alive to bring praise to His name. That should make you see things through different eyes, and cause you to begin each day in prayer! David reflects upon the purpose for his healing – “The Most High, let me lift up my life today in service for Your purposes!”
David takes us once again to the highest reaches and the lowest depths. He writes, “In my prosperity I shall never be moved… but You hid Your face and I was troubled.” In effect, David was saying, “I thought back on my life to the time when I had everything I had ever dreamed. And I said to myself, ‘I’m set for life – set in stone – I have got it made!’ I am bigger than anything life can throw at me” (Ps 30:6-7). David continues, “But painful experience has taught me differently – I now realize the great danger of prosperity – how quickly it can all come tumbling down!” Pride goes before a fall (1 Cor 10:12). A simple phone call with a single sentence from your doctor will instantly cause all your earthly security to go up in flames. Worldly life is fragile. Eternal life is a gift from The Most High. Nebuchad-nezzar was the king of all he could see in the great empire of the Babylonians – he thought it was all the result of “his hands” – The Most High showed him otherwise, and ripped the kingdom from him in but a moment (Dan 4:31). He spent the next seven years eating grass out in the field like a beast! He learned his lesson the “hard way” – afterwards he praised, extolled, and honored the King of Heaven. The message? – “Eat enough grass and your world-view will change!” Nebuchadnezzar finally realized that when you are flying high, filled with your own prosperity, “The Most High is more than able to burst your little bubble.”
Prosperity to poverty can be a “painful negative,” but it is The Most High’s primary means to bring us to Himself. And when it does, we will identify with the words of David: “You have turned my mourning into dancing” (Ps 30:11).