Be Exalted, O God!

 "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!

For my soul trusts in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings

I will make my refuge,

Until these calamities have passed by."

Psalm 57:1

The bird you see flying high above is an eagle.

"Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

Let Your glory be above all the earth."

Psalm 57:5

Great Blue Heron

"My heart is steadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast;

I will sing and give praise.

Awake, my glory!

Awake, lute and harp!

I will awaken the dawn."

Psalm 57:7-8

American Robin

"I will praise You, O Lord,

among the peoples;

A Red Bellied Woodpecker among the Robins

I will sing to You among the nations."

Psalm 57:9

"For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens,

And Your truth unto the clouds."

Psalm 57:10

"Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

Let Your glory be above all the earth!"

Psalm 57:11

I hope you have enjoyed these readings from Psalm 57, with pictures taken here in my neck of the woods and along the road as we traveled.  God's glory is abundantly surrounding us wherever we may be...and He is covering us in the shadow of His wings no matter how difficult the journey.  We just need to lift up our eyes and behold His glory...and give Him praise!    

Verses 2-3 of Psalm 57 says:

"I will cry out to God Most High,

To God who performs all things for me.

He shall send from heaven and save me;

He reproaches the one who would swallow me up.

God shall send forth His mercy and His truth."

There is no picture to adequately describe what God does for us when we cry out to Him in our distress...but in my mind's eye I can imagine Him sending His holy angels to rescue me from danger...and I can also see the angels fighting for me when my enemies would swallow me up...

Psalm 32:7 tells me that God is my hiding place; and that He shall preserve me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance!  What a beautiful picture that is...and such a marvelous song...I wonder how many times God has had to dispatch His angels on my behalf...and I wonder if the beautiful music of the birds singing all around us could possibly be the songs of the angels...

Some day we will have our eyes opened to see just what God hath done for us, but in the meantime, let us continue to give Him praise among all people...and sing to Him among the nations!

"Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

Let Your glory be above all the earth!"

Psalm 57:11

Amen!

Another Closed Door? Or an Open Window...

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a futre and a hope."   Jeremiah 29:11

The picture of the plaque to the left is the original image that inspired the title of this blog, "Closed Doors, Open Windows".  Years ago a young lady, who was a member of our church youth group, cross-stitched that picture and gave it to me as a gift.  I was very taken back by this gift, as well as by the giver...as she was one of our more troubled youth at the time...a young girl who had seen more than her share of slammed doors and perhaps "broken windows" in her young lifetime.  I remember wondering at the time how a girl I had perhaps misjudged because of her outward appearance and sometimes inappropriate behavior could have such a mature insight into a message that became so encouraging and precious to me as the days and years have passed by since.  God knew then what I couldn't see...and He inspired a wayward young teenager to send me a message from His heart...that still amazes me today, some 23 or more years later.  I've lost track of that young woman...have no clue whatever happened to her after we left that church.  I can only pray that somehow this act of kindness shown toward me, her pastor's wife, also had a lasting and profound impact on her life...and helped her to seek those open windows that led to peace and joyous life in Christ.

When I began to write this blog over a year and a half ago, I chose this as my title because I was in the middle of experiencing one closed door after another in my search for employment.  Finally, God opened a window of opportunity for me and has blessed my life in the process in so many different ways.  This blog itself, is an open window of opportunity, that has hopefully not only encouraged me, but has also been an encouragement to those who have taken the time to read it.

Now I find myself in the midst of another closed door...this time my husband's.  He was given some difficult news at his place of employment this past week which, due to no fault of his own, means that he is now exploring and searching for an open window of opportunity.  This comes at a very difficult time in our lives...(is there ever a good time to be unemployed?) and puts us in a real quandary about what the next step should be. 

I cling to the promise of the verse quoted above from Jeremiah 29:11...God is speaking to the Jews who have been in captivity, but I believe He is also speaking to us when He says,

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."

The Lord knows how much we long to be in that place of peace...and to have that hope of a good future...not something that is evil.  God has promised to care for us and to shelter us under His wings.  The Psalmist cries out to the Lord in Psalm 57...and I cry along with him:

"Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by."

The Psalmist then goes on to sing his praises to God in verses 5 and 11:

"Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory be above all the earth." 

verse 9-10 says,

"I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations.  For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, and Your truth unto the clouds."

So, here I am again, Lord.  I don't like the sound of that door that just slammed shut in our ears, but I am seeking Your face...and waiting for that open window of Your opportunity to appear.  We've been here before, and You did not fail us.  Therefore, I will continue to trust in You; and "in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by..."  Amen.

I just noticed that there is a bird sitting in that open window above..."Shadow of Your wings"...hmmm...maybe there was more to that little image than I realized...

Lord, I also pray for that young woman who so sweetly stitched that verse for me so many years ago.  I don't know where she is today, but YOU know.  I pray she is safe in the shadow of Your wings...and that You will bless her in a very special way today.  Amen.