Coffee With The Lord

We are inclined to look to human leaders for the solutions to national and international problems! Even Christians fall prey to this error! Heated arguments erupt over which leader has the correct solution to our national and international problems. We cast our vote and put our trust in first this leader and then that one… We anxiously anticipate their success and then despair over their failures. What is the solution to this cyclical dilemma?

There is a psalm in the Bible that addresses this problem and urges us to put our trust in the Lord… Psalm 146! He is the One that has the solutions our nation and the world desperately need! Human leaders will always disappoint us and fall short.

On the celebration of our 50th wedding anniversary Sharon and I visited the site in Haarlem, Holland where Corrie ten Boom and much of her bestselling biography, THE HIDING PLACE, written by John and Elizabeth Sherrill, took place. Corrie ten Boom and her sister were prisoners in Germany during the holocaust. As a result of our visit I decided to re-read THE HIDING PLACE. What a powerful experience! I’ve included a quotation from the book that deeply impacted me in “coffee with the Lord today”…

Corrie, in the midst of the danger and death of the Ravensbruck Prison Camp declared, “God’s will is our hiding place! Lord Jesus, keep me in Your will! Don’t let me go mad poking about outside it!” (Corrie ten Boom)

What a powerful statement! Our safety…our wellbeing…our fruitfulness…and ultimate success – is found in the center of God’s will, not outside it!

Is it any wonder then that Apostle Paul said, “I appeal to you therefore, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2 ESV)

What a temptation it is to strike out on our own – to find our own way and devise our own solutions to challenges and problems – to conform to human expectations and worldly strategies, rather than God’s will! I’m with Corrie… “Lord, keep me in Your will!” That is the best and safest place!

I am an “underliner” – when I read the Bible I underline what is especially significant to me that particular day. In fact, I’m one of those who believes that any Bible I own is worthy of underlining. And jokingly I tell people… if you don’t like to underline in your Bible, get over it!

Well today was one of those “underlining days” … I started reading a particular passage – Psalm 145 to be precise – then I started underling what was especially significant and meaningful to me and when I finished, I looked down at my Bible and I had underlined it all!

So here is my advice today… get out your Bible and read Psalm 145 and see if you agree… The whole psalm is powerful, potent, and precious – every line of it! … and worthy of underlining! In fact, I gave the Psalm a title and jotted it in the margin of my Bible… Here it is:

“From One King to Another”

The traditional attribution of Psalm 145 is, “A song of praise from David.” So now picture this: David the king bowing before the Heavenly King – “King of kings and Lord of lords” – with hands uplifted, uttering these words in worship and praise! There you’ve got it – the right posture for reading this psalm… “From One King to Another!” Now read Psalm 145 in your own Bible and enjoy!