Tag: trust

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Tears in a bottle

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Bobby Donald on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 56.

David might have written Psalm 56 when he was a prisoner of war. Or he might have been reflecting on his experiences later in life. Either way, I paused when I came across these words:

You have kept count of my tossings;
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book? (Psalm 56:8)

What does it mean to have tears in a bottle? This is actually the only place in scripture where the word bottle is used. My mind wonders, “What is a bottle of tears?”

Here’s what I learned. It expresses remembrance. God knows and cares about me and my tears, as if he kept them in a bottle. He never says, “Get over it.” Instead he says, “I know.” “I get it.” “I understand.”

Most people really don’t care about how I feel. They are concerned about my performance. They care about the bottom line (money). They care about what I can do for them.

God cares about me. He cares about you. He cares about how you feel, about your joys, your grief, your worries, and your dreams. In fact, no one cares about you more than he does.

Your tears are precious to him. He loves to hear you laugh. In response to your worries, he says, “I’ve got this.” When you are so angry you could spit, he reassures you, “Been there. Done that.”

Best promise of all? It’s at the end of the bible: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4). He knows. He cares. He comforts.


Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Understanding Vengeance in Psalm 94

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 94.

O Lord, God of vengeance,
    O God of vengeance, shine forth!
 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
    repay to the proud what they deserve! (Psalm 94:1,2)

He will bring back on them their iniquity
    and wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will wipe them out. (Psalm 94:23)

The imprecatory psalms are one of my guilty pleasures. In those psalms, the writer asks God to give the bad guys, whoever they are, exactly what they deserve. Which is what we all want, right? We want those who have hurt us to pay for their actions.

We don’t like to admit this, though. It doesn’t feel very Christlike. After all, Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. I’m pretty sure he didn’t want us to pray that they would be wiped out.

Yet that exactly what the psalmist does. However, maybe this is a good prayer to pray or song to sing. It takes the idea of vengeance out of my hands and leaves it with God, where it belongs.

And here’s a sobering thought. Maybe, just maybe, there’s someone out there who’s praying this about me. Whether I’m aware of it or not, I’ve hurt, neglected, ignored, dismissed, and snubbed someone who would like to see me get a taste of my own medicine. Is there anyone praying that I be wiped out?

I don’t like that side of the psalm, either.

I guess the best thing to do is go ahead and pray this psalm. Get it out of your system. Then be thankful your God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He understands how you feel. Don’t worry. In the end, he’ll take care of everything, including you.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Right at home, just like the birds

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 84.

Whenever I go to a big box home improvement store, I’m delighted to hear the birds singing and watch them fly around the upper reaches of the store. No one ever tries to get rid of them. I’m sure the rafters are filled with nests, too.

And why not? There is shelter from any kind of weather. There’s always a little bit of seed on the floor, so plenty of food. Bugs on some of the plants if you want them, I suppose. What a great place to live.

It’s not a new idea. There’s nothing new under the son. It sounds like birds lived in Old Testament worship spaces.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    my King and my God. (Psalm 84:3)

At 45 feet, the ceiling of Solomon’s temple was higher than the stores. The tabernacle stretched up fifteen feet, plenty high for birds to find safe nesting places. I find it fascinating to think that birds were flying around in the uppermost corners of the temple as priests prayed and burned incense. It must not have bothered them, and it made for a good song lyric, too.

Sparrows are a dime a dozen. But there’s a place for them in God’s house. Swallows are restless birds, darting here and there. But they calm down and rest in God’s presence.

Feeling insignificant? Restless? Relax. You matter. There’s a place for you, too.

I love how animals teach us a lot about God!

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Moving from doing to being

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 50.

When something goes wrong, the first thing we ask ourselves is, “What do I need to do?”

The AC’s not cooling the house. The car engine is making an unusual noise. A patch of grass in the yard is dead. An electrical outlet in the house isn’t working. There’s always something to fix.

In Psalm 50, God’s not looking for more ritual. He’s concerned about the relationship. He doesn’t need more sacrifices. The people offer up plenty of those. Instead,

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
    and perform your vows to the Most High,
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

Rituals have a way of making us feel like we’ve done enough. Receiving God’s gifts with gratitude, faithfulness, and trust reminds us that’s he’s done enough. Here the psalmist helps us move from “what do you want me to do?” to “who do you want me to be?”

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The apple of his eye

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Ion Fet on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 17.

“Keep me as the apple of your eye” (Psalm 17:8).

I’m sure I’ve glossed over that phrase dozens of times. I kind of know what it means, but I really don’t know what it means. Do you know what it means? Let’s find out.

It is actually a reference to the pupil of your eye. It’s small, round, and of great value. Your eyelids reflexively close if anything comes near your eye, protecting the aperture that lets in light. It is valuable, protected, and a treasured part of your body.

So if you’re the apple of God’s eye, you are treasured, valuable, and something that he’ll protect no matter what. This is one of the ways David pleads for God’s surrounding presence and powerful protection. Isn’t that a poetic way of submitting yourself to God’s loving protection in the presence of enemies?

How do we protect those things most valuable to us? We lock them away. We insure them. We keep them close to us. We install cameras and an alarm system. We ask someone to keep an eye on it. We put a chain on it, like a wallet. Or we just don’t let it out of our sight.

So this is like praying, “God, don’t let me out of your sight. Protect me like the most precious part of you.” God sees everything. Nothing escapes his eye. His eyes go way beyond the miracle of sight that we know. So the pupil, or apple, of his eye, is precious beyond measure.

And so are you and I. God treasures us as the apple of his eye, his most valued possession. He never lets us out of his sight. Nothing is getting close to us unless he allows it. He’s our personal bodyguard, security system, and guard dog all in one.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Night school

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Shane on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Psalm 16.

This is my favorite psalm, so I could write lots of devotions on this, but this time I’ll focus on the words, “In the night my heart instructs me” (Psalm 16:7).

I recently read this insight: “Our spiritual life doesn’t go on hold when we sleep.” That makes sense. We breathe and our hearts beat. We move around a lot when while we sleep. Mentally, our brains sort out all the information we’ve taken in, sometimes causing us to dream.

What about our spiritual lives?

Maybe you’ve had this experience. You went to bed with a lot on your mind. You may have tossed and turned with thoughts about what you had to deal with the next day. But in the morning, things didn’t seem so bad. Life seemed manageable. The new day was filled with new possibilities.

Here are some awesome lessons to learn here:

  • Fill you heart with solid truth. Make sure it is infused with God’s Word. If your heart is going to be your instructor, make sure it went to a good school. Before you close your eyes, read God’s promises.
  • Just go to sleep. I believe one of the most faithful things a believer can do is go to sleep at night, trust God to take care of everything, and look forward to a new day in the morning.
  • When you wake up, take inventory of how you feel. Does the day ahead feel overwhelming or manageable? I usually experience the latter. God has indeed been faithful!
  • Did you dream? Write it down! Immediately. If I don’t, I forget it. Will it mean something? Who knows?

God’s up all night taking care of things. I can rest securely in him.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

How demanding are you?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Neal Smith on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Job 31.

After an exasperating conversation, in person or on the phone, someone might demand, “I want to talk to your supervisor.” If you’re not getting an answer, or no one wants to resolve your problem, you start going up the chain of command. “Let me talk to your manager!”

Job goes right to the top:

Oh, that I had one to hear me!
    (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)
    Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary! (Job 31:35)

Job wants an answer. After 29 chapters of verbal jousting between Job and his friends, trying to figure out why Job has experienced terrible suffering, it’t time to appeal to the highest authority.

It’s a prayer of faith. Job knows who he’s talking to. He calls God “the Almighty.” But he also refers to God as his adversary. In the last few weeks, it seems like God is against him for some reason. He’s still Job’s God, but Job has reached the end of his rope. He demands an answer.

Job is bold. What right do we have to demand an answer from God? None whatsoever. I’ve heard many insist, “When I get to heaven, I’m going to have a few questions for the Lord!” How do you feel when someone is demanding and insists on an answer? Does the Heavenly Father roll his eyes when his children won’t stop asking, “Why?”

When Jesus was here on earth, standing trial, his accusers from the priests to the governor demanded answers. “Are you the Christ?” “Are you the king of the Jews?” When Jesus answered, they put him to death. They got their answer, but they weren’t happy with it. Such demands reveal unbelief rather than trust.

When we get demanding, like Job, we are being the ones the prophets described. Since God has revealed so much about himself in the creation and through his Word, we’re blind and deaf to so many questions he’s already answered. When we get demanding, it probably means we already know the answer. We just don’t like it.

God hears your demands. He loves you anyway.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

So do you trust, really trust, him?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Dane Deaner on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Job 1 and 2.

In the opening chapters of Job, we know what’s going on. Job doesn’t have a clue.

We know that God appreciates Job’s faithfulness. We know that Satan has asserted that Job is faithful only because his life is good. God allows Satan to take everything from Job: animals, children, and his health.

What is Job’s response to all this? “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Job says to his wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (2:10). Job only sees the hand of God in everything he has experienced, both the good and the bad.

What do you think of that? What do you think of Job’s assessment of God? How do you feel about a God who takes life away. What do you do with a God from whom we experience bad things?

In the Old Testament, God floods the earth, wiping out all life that isn’t safely on board the ark.

God lets his people get hungry and thirsty in the wilderness. Why? To get their attention. So he can show them that he provides what they need.

When King David calls for an unnecessary census, the consequences from God are a plague that kills thousands of people.

In Revelation, disastrous things happen when the wrath of God is unleashed on an unbelieving world.

Many will ask, “Why does God allow bad things to happen?” What about asking, “Why does God cause bad things to happen?”

It’s not an easy question to answer. And I doubt I’ll be able to answer it very well here. But I’ll share what I’ve learned and how I’ve worked through this. I’ve got a logical brain, so this works for me.

God is good, all-powerful, loving, and sovereign. If he allows something to happen, even if we think it’s bad, it’s for a good reason or purpose. Nothing happens outside of his control or his knowledge. Nothing surprises him or catches him off-guard.

Think about it. In hindsight, you learned a lot from and even benefitted from experiences you thought were terrible in the moment. You’ll never figure it out in that moment. Only later will you understand.

God sees the much bigger picture. And he cares. He knows how much it hurts, how unfair it is, and what it’s like to weep. He’s been here. He’s done that. That’s what Jesus did.

The bottom line is, “Do you trust him?” You have faith, but do you trust him? Do you trust him to bring you through a flood, or fire, or “the valley of the shadow of death” to a new, different, and better place?

For the next 36 chapters, Job and his friends will try to figure all this out. In the end, there is no other path than trusting God.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Trusting God or testing God?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Ezra 8.

It sounds like Ezra painted himself into a corner with God.

King Artaxerxes sent Ezra back to Jerusalem to teach and reestablish worship in Jerusalem with plenty of resources to get the job done. But when it’s time to go, Ezra faith is put to the test.

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” (Ezra 8:21,22)

Ezra told the king that he had God on his side. True enough. But Ezra also has a whole bunch of gold, silver, and bronze to take back to Judah. Without some soldiers to accompany him and his fellow travelers, they would be sitting ducks for robbery along the way. But he can’t ask for that. Ezra went all in on God’s protection. There was no going back.

So was Ezra faithful or foolish? Well, they made it, and Ezra gives God all the credit. “The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way” (Ezra 8:31).

It’s really easy to second guess Ezra. Remember when the devil tempted Jesus to leap off the top of the temple, with the assurance that angels would catch him before he hit the ground? Jesus declined, reminding the devil, “You don’t test God.” Of course, you don’t take advice from the devil. He’s a liar. But how do you know if you’re trusting God or testing God?

First of all, Ezra was a priest steeped in the word of God. He knew the promises of God, and knew that the exiles’ return to Jerusalem had been promised by God. This was God’s plan, not his own. If God says it, it’s the right thing to do.

Second, is it about you or about God? If it glorifies him, it’s trust. If it’s for approval from others, you might be going out on a treacherous limb.

Finally, you don’t know. Our hearts are deceitful. We lie to ourselves. We say it’s all about God, when it’s really all about us. Lord, have mercy.

Okay, here’s my conclusion. You’re probably testing God not trusting him. Admit it. Repent. He knows. He forgives. Learn something. Don’t go out on that limb again. Next question?