My favorite time of the day is early in the morning when I can sit with my coffee and spend time seeking the Lord in prayer and through His Word. I love our time together. No distractions, no interruptions, just the Lord and I. This morning His Word spoke to my heart when I read Psalm 107. It was a great reminder of the deliverance the Lord brought to His children, the Israelites, during their times of testing. It was also a reminder to me of what a Great Deliverer the Lord is. And that we, His children, are told one more time to S.P.E.A.K.
In verse two it says; "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy." Redeemed means to buy back, to recover by payment. (dictionary.com) He bought us through the sacrifice of His Son. The blood of Jesus was the payment for our sins and through the redemption came freedom from the enemies hand. The trouble is we don't realize, often times, that we are no longer attached to the enemy. We stay put in his hands forgetting that we have been cut loose. We become overwhelmed by life and our eyes become fixed on the situation we are in and we can forget to look to the One Who can save us out of our distress.
There are some really great verses all throughout the Bible, but some of my favorites are the ones that have the words; "then they" or the "if you" that speak of our part and the Lord's answer. If we do this then the Lord will do that. In Psalm 107 we learn that the Israelites " wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way" (vs 4). They "rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High" (vs. 11). They were afflicted because of transgressions and iniquities (vs 17). And then came the "then they's"... "then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble." and the action the Lord took for them was this; "He delivered them out of their distresses." Each and every time they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He was faithful to deliver them out of their distress.
Now, I know that I have walked through some mighty fine troubles in my life. I have been in situations that seemed pretty bleak at the time. I have found myself wandering in the wilderness in a desolate way. Desolate being defined as "having the feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope" (dictionary.com). Yep, I have been there. I have also rebelled against the Word of the Lord. There have been occasions when I just didn't want to do what the Lord was challenging me to do. Being rather stubborn in my nature, I like to do things my own way. It can be a struggle for me to accept instruction. (that's pride, btw). And through my stubbornness and pride I became afflicted in my sin. Just like the Israelites we can "sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons" (vs 10), when we refuse to surrender to Him. But, in the same way, when I have cried out to the Lord in my trouble; He has delivered me out of my distress. Verse nine holds this promise; "For He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness."
I have finally discovered that in my times of wandering and rebellion, I was really just hungry. I was hungry for the Lord and didn't know it. I also believe that there are others who are hungry. We are searching for something that is going to fill us up. We are looking and longing to feel complete and whole. We are wandering around from church to church, job to job, spouse to spouse, friend to friend, drink to drink- looking for someone to satisfy us. Looking for the "thing" that will finally bring the satisfaction to our longing and hungry souls we so desperately need. That's why the enemy wants us to forget that we have been redeemed from his hands. He wants us to continue to hunger after anything, except the Lord. He wants to keep us wandering, keep us in rebellion and keep us attached to our sin. But Psalm 107 shows us where our true satisfaction comes from. When it seems as though there is no one to help remember this verse from Psalm 107:19-22;
"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing."
So, once again we S.P.E.A.K- we cry out to the Lord in our trouble and declare that we are the redeemed of the Lord! We no longer belong to the enemy, he cannot have us! We cry out to the Lord and ask Him to deliver us from our troubles and we give thanks to Him for His goodness! We declare His works in our lives with rejoicing! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! SAY SO!!
In verse two it says; "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy." Redeemed means to buy back, to recover by payment. (dictionary.com) He bought us through the sacrifice of His Son. The blood of Jesus was the payment for our sins and through the redemption came freedom from the enemies hand. The trouble is we don't realize, often times, that we are no longer attached to the enemy. We stay put in his hands forgetting that we have been cut loose. We become overwhelmed by life and our eyes become fixed on the situation we are in and we can forget to look to the One Who can save us out of our distress.
There are some really great verses all throughout the Bible, but some of my favorites are the ones that have the words; "then they" or the "if you" that speak of our part and the Lord's answer. If we do this then the Lord will do that. In Psalm 107 we learn that the Israelites " wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way" (vs 4). They "rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High" (vs. 11). They were afflicted because of transgressions and iniquities (vs 17). And then came the "then they's"... "then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble." and the action the Lord took for them was this; "He delivered them out of their distresses." Each and every time they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He was faithful to deliver them out of their distress.
Now, I know that I have walked through some mighty fine troubles in my life. I have been in situations that seemed pretty bleak at the time. I have found myself wandering in the wilderness in a desolate way. Desolate being defined as "having the feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope" (dictionary.com). Yep, I have been there. I have also rebelled against the Word of the Lord. There have been occasions when I just didn't want to do what the Lord was challenging me to do. Being rather stubborn in my nature, I like to do things my own way. It can be a struggle for me to accept instruction. (that's pride, btw). And through my stubbornness and pride I became afflicted in my sin. Just like the Israelites we can "sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons" (vs 10), when we refuse to surrender to Him. But, in the same way, when I have cried out to the Lord in my trouble; He has delivered me out of my distress. Verse nine holds this promise; "For He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness."
I have finally discovered that in my times of wandering and rebellion, I was really just hungry. I was hungry for the Lord and didn't know it. I also believe that there are others who are hungry. We are searching for something that is going to fill us up. We are looking and longing to feel complete and whole. We are wandering around from church to church, job to job, spouse to spouse, friend to friend, drink to drink- looking for someone to satisfy us. Looking for the "thing" that will finally bring the satisfaction to our longing and hungry souls we so desperately need. That's why the enemy wants us to forget that we have been redeemed from his hands. He wants us to continue to hunger after anything, except the Lord. He wants to keep us wandering, keep us in rebellion and keep us attached to our sin. But Psalm 107 shows us where our true satisfaction comes from. When it seems as though there is no one to help remember this verse from Psalm 107:19-22;
"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, And declare His works with rejoicing."
So, once again we S.P.E.A.K- we cry out to the Lord in our trouble and declare that we are the redeemed of the Lord! We no longer belong to the enemy, he cannot have us! We cry out to the Lord and ask Him to deliver us from our troubles and we give thanks to Him for His goodness! We declare His works in our lives with rejoicing! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! SAY SO!!
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