Psalm 16:8 - Keeping The Lord Always Before Me.
Psalm 16:8 - Keeping The Lord Always Before Me.
Psalm 16:8 (TNIV) I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at
my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Psalm 16:8 (AMP) I have set the Lord continually before me;
because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
What does it mean to set the Lord always before you? It means
that you choose to relate everything you encounter to your trust in
God. What you choose to focus on becomes the dominant influence in
your life. You may be a Christian, but if your focus is always on
your problems, your problems will determine the direction of your
life. If your focus is on people, then people will determine what you
think and do. In biblical times, the right hand was the most
distinguished position, reserved for one's chief adviser and supporter. When
you choose to focus on Christ, you invite Him to take the most
important position in your life as Counselor and Defender.
Every time you face a new experience, you should turn to
Christ for His interpretation and strength. When people insult you and
mistreat you, you should seek direction from your Counselor regarding the
right response. When you face a crisis, you should receive strength
from the One at your right hand. When you experience need, you should
consult your Counselor before you react. When you face a fearful
situation, you should take courage from the Advocate at your right hand.
Everything you do is in the context of your relationship to Christ.
What an incredible act of God's grace that Christ should
stand beside you to guide you and counsel you and defend you! How
could you ever become dismayed over your situation with Christ at your
right hand? What confidence this should give you! [Experiencing God
Day by Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby]
Whenever I have the opportunity to address Christian
counselors, I try to urge them to put the glory of God before their client's
well-being. A good deal of "Christian counseling" today follows the
client-centered approach, where the person is all-important. Thus more attention
is paid to how the person has been hurt by others than how he or
she may be hurting God by being unwilling to trust Him. This is a
very sensitive issue, and I tell counselors in training that it must
never be brought up until other issues have been explored and
understood. But ultimately, however, this is the issue we must all face,
whether we are in counseling or not.
Ask yourself this question now: Do I allow myself to be more
overwhelmed by the wrong which people have done to me than the wrong I might
have done (and may still be doing) to God by my unwillingness to
trust Him? Putting the glory of God before our well-being does not go
down well with some modern-day Christians brought up in the "me"
generation. It means that we have to break away from the idea that life
revolves around our desires, our ambitions, our self-image, our personal
comfort, our hurts, and our problems, and embrace the fact that it
revolves instead around the glory and the will of God. When we learn to
apply the great text before us today to our lives, we will find, as
did the psalmist that when we set the Lord always before us, then no
matter what happens, we will be stirred but not shaken.
Father, thank You for reminding me that I cannot avoid my
soul's being "stirred" by life's problems, but when I have set You ever
before me, then I can avoid being "shaken." Drive this truth deep into
my being this very day. In Jesus' name. Amen. [Every Day With Jesus
Bible with Selwyn Hughes devotionals]
It is human nature to make our own plans and then ask God to
bless them. Instead, we should seek God's will first. By constantly
thinking about the Lord and his way of living, we will gain insights that
will help us make right decisions and live the way God desires.
Communicating with God allows him to counsel us and give us wisdom. [Life
Application SB]
The natural inclination in Christian living is to act on the
impulse of a good idea. Not every good idea is from God. Sometimes good
ideas get in the way of God ideas.
Where does your inspiration come from? The vision of the
transfigured Christ inspired Peter: "O Lord, it is good for us to be here. If
you wish, I will put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses
and one for Elijah" (Matthew 17:4). Our natural impulse is to do
something good for God and suggest it to Him.
The tendency of the well-meaning person is to prepare a plan
to do some good idea, and then pray, "Jesus, this is my plan. It is
a good plan. It hurts no one, and I want it to please You. Lord,
please bless my plan." It is plan, then pray.
So many of our ideas are impetuous. They are not what the
Lord wants to do. They do not resemble in any way the things which
concern Him. We have good ideas, but they are not God ideas. His agenda
and our agenda conflict. We want to build Him a shelter but that is
not what He wants.... When Peter, James, and John heard the voice of
the Lord . . . they abandoned their inventive-but-self-made idea.
The presence of the Lord magnified, and His holiness brought them to
their senses. Jesus gained their attention, not by subduing them with
a stem scolding, but by magnifying His presence until all the
genius of their human ideas was bleached out by His refulgent face.
When they abandoned their good idea and fell facedown before
the Lord, He could work with them again....
When you and I abandon our good idea and fall to our face
before the Lord, then He will come and touch us, too. When we pursue
our own plan He cannot use us. We must abandon our good idea and
fall facedown before Him. Then He will be able to use us again. Then
He will reveal what He is doing - a God idea.... It is pray, then
plan. Through prayer, Jesus instructs of His plan, a God idea.
Prayer removes the impulse of the good idea, the good idea
born of human ingenuity but not of God. Pray, then plan. It is the
habit of the surrendered saint. (From Walking with Christ in the
Details of Life by Patrick M. Morley) [Inspirational SB re Mat. 13]
Amid the perplexities that will press upon the soul, there is
only One who can help us out of all our difficulties, and relieve all
our disquietude. We are to cast all our care upon Jesus, and bear in
mind that He is present, and is directing us to commune with Him. We
are to keep our minds stayed upon God; and in our weakness, He will
be our strength; in our ignorance, He will be our wisdom; in our
frailty, He will be our enduring might.
We may be assured that we need not go into the heavens to
bring Jesus down to us, neither into the deep to bring Him up; for He
is at our right hand, and His eye is ever upon us. We should ever
seek to realize that the Lord is very near us, to be our counselor
and guide. This is the only way in which we may have confidence
toward God.
We need to educate and train the mind so that we shall have
an intelligent faith, and have an understanding friendship with
Jesus. Unless we continually cherish friendship between God and our
souls, we shall separate from Him, and walk apart from Him. We shall
make friends of those around us, and place our trust in humanity, and
our affections will be diverted from the true object of worship. We
must not allow coldness to chill our love for our Redeemer. If we
have fellowship with Him, we must ever set the Lord before us, and
treat Him as an honored Friend, giving Him the first place in our
affections. We should speak of His matchless charms, and constantly
cultivate the desire to have a better knowledge of Jesus Christ. Then His
Spirit will have a controlling power upon life and character. . . . If
ever there was a time when men needed the presence of Christ at their
right hand, it is now. . . . We need the Captain of our salvation
continually by our side. SD27
Many have an idea that they must do some part of the work
alone. They have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, but now
they seek by their own efforts to live aright. But every such effort
must fail. Jesus says, "Without Me ye can do nothing." Our growth in
grace, our joy, our usefulness,--all depend upon our union with Christ.
It is by communion with Him, daily, hourly,--by abiding in Him,
--that we are to grow in grace. He is not only the Author, but the
Finisher of our faith. It is Christ first and last and always. He is to
be with us, not only at the beginning and the end of our course,
but at every step of the way. David says, "I have set the Lord
always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be
moved." Psalm 16:8.
Do you ask, "How am I to abide in Christ?" In the same way as
you received Him at first. "As ye have therefore received Christ
Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him." "The just shall live by faith."
Colossians 2:6; Hebrews 10:38. You gave yourself to God, to be His wholly,
to serve and obey Him, and you took Christ as your Saviour. You
could not yourself atone for your sins or change your heart; but
having given yourself to God, you believe that He for Christ's sake did
all this for you. By faith you became Christ's, and by faith you are
to grow up in Him--by giving and taking. You are to give all,--your
heart, your will, your service,--give yourself to Him to obey all His
requirements; and you must take all,--Christ, the fullness of all blessing, to
abide in your heart, to be your strength, your righteousness, your
everlasting helper,--to give you power to obey.
Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your
very first work. Let your prayer be, "Take me, O Lord, as wholly
Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service.
Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee." This is a
daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day.
Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His
providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into
the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more
after the life of Christ. SC69-70
I am ever so near you, hovering over your shoulder, reading
every thought. People think that thoughts are fleeting and worthless,
but yours are precious to Me. I smile when you think lovingly of Me.
My Spirit, who lives within you, helps you to think My thoughts. As
your thinking goes, so goes your entire being.
Let Me be your positive Focus. When you look to Me, knowing
Me as God with you, you experience Joy. This is according to My
ancient design, when I first crafted man. Modern man seeks his positive
focus elsewhere: in sports, sensations, acquiring new possessions.
Advertising capitalizes on the longing of people for a positive focus in
their lives. I planted that longing in human souls, knowing that only
I could fully satisfy it. Delight yourself in Me; let Me become
the Desire of your heart. (Mat. 1:23; Psa. 37:4) [Jesus Calling by
Sarah Young]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC:
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2009/20090715-1207.html
EXCELLENT VIDEO SERIES ON EXPERIENCING GOD:
http://sda.biggytv.com/watch/Revive!_-_Dwight_Nelson:_Experiencing_Gods_Grace/revive/
BIBLE PROPHECY SERIES ON REVELATION:
http://revelationtodaylive.com/live
ONLINE BIBLE STUDIES: THUNDER IN THE HOLY LAND
Send email request to fggibbs@aBible.com
