Psalm 77: a reflection of my heart

Last night we heard from some dear friends of ours who have been fostering a couple girls now for a year and a half. They were told their court date to terminate parental rights had been cancelled and they were instead working the girls back into the home. Having been involved with them for over a year and being friends with the foster parents, I can say with all assurance that going home is NOT a good idea; and in fact would be a tragedy for those girls and a complete failure of the foster system to protect them. These are girls we have grown to love, have prayed for and helped care for so this news was upsetting to say the least. I woke up this morning with this still looming and weighing heavy on my heart. I just cried out to God on their behalf. How can He allow them to go home? How can a family sacrifice so much for them just to have them ripped out of their lives? Its beyond my comprehension. As I was pleading for them I went to Psalms, as I always do, to find my psalm to pray for the morning. This is what God gave me. (He is so good!)

I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and He will hear me.

² In my day of trouble I sought the Lord.
My hands were lifted up all night long;
I refused to be comforted.

³ I think of God; I groan;
I meditate; my spirit becomes weak.

Selah

⁴ You have kept me from closing my eyes;
I am troubled and cannot speak.

⁵ I consider days of old,
years long past.

⁶ At night I remember my music;
I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.

⁷ "Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?

⁸ Has His faithful love ceased forever?
Is [His] promise at an end for all generations?

⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger withheld His compassion?"

Selah

¹⁰ So I say, "It is my sorrow
that the right hand of the Most High has changed."

¹¹ I will remember the LORD's works;
yes, I will remember Your ancient wonders.

¹² I will reflect on all You have done
and meditate on Your actions.

¹³ God, Your way is holy.
What god is great like God?

¹⁴ You are the God who works wonders;
You revealed Your strength among the peoples.

¹⁵ With power You redeemed Your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

Selah

¹⁶ The waters saw You, God.
The waters saw You; they trembled.
Even the depths shook.

¹⁷ The clouds poured down water.
The storm clouds thundered;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.

¹⁸ The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
lightning lit up the world.
The earth shook and quaked.

¹⁹ Your way went through the sea,
and Your path through the great waters,
but Your footprints were unseen.

²⁰ You led Your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

 I thank you dear Father for hearing my cry, and the cry of others. Thank you God that Your way is holy and that no god is great like You. I praise you for You are the God who works wonders; and although my spirit is weak and I am troubled, I know that you are here, walking beside me, the girls, my friends, …but Your footprints are unseen.

A Couple Psalms…

Psalm 22:19

But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me

Psalm 31:7
I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.

Lodge in the Wilderness....

Excerpts from Psalm 55

Verses 1-2

Give ear to my prayer, O God;

And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.

Give heed to me and answer me;

I am restless in my complaint and

am surely distracted.

Verses 6-7

I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest.

Behold, I would wander far away,

I would lodge in the wilderness."

Verses 16-17

As for me, I shall call upon God

And the Lord will save me.

Evening and morning and at noon

I will complain and murmer.

And He will hear my voice.

Verse 22

Cast your burden upon the Lord

and He will sustain you;

He will never allow the righteous

to be shaken.

Why You Need to Start Talking to Yourself More

I found this post over at The Gospel Coalition. (which is a great blog/website too)

"Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.”

-D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression pp. 20-21

A Psalm

Psalm 143:8

Let me experience Your faithful love in the morning, for I trust in You. Reveal to me the way I should go because I long for You.