It’s November 7; Good Morning Union
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry.” Psalm 34:15
How can I get God’s attention? When I “cry out to Him,” why does it sometimes seem like He does not hear? One criterion is found in my text for today. In fact David was pretty blunt about the two extremes of people and he says that God sees both groups, but He sees them quite differently. The prerequisite for having the attention of God is “righteousness.” Interestingly the second half of the verse describes the opposite as “doing evil” so I conclude, at least partially, that righteousness is “doing good.” The “eyes” and the “ears” of God are attentive to the “righteous” but His whole “face” is “turned against” those who “do evil!”
I remember numerous Old Testament stories of God’s faithfulness and protection in the presence of certain destruction, and the reason given was that the Children of Israel were just “doing right.” I remember too many stories in the same history of troubles, greater than I have ever experienced or even thought of, and the cause was “unfaithfulness” to God. So there must be come correlation, though fortunately not 100%, because of the mercy of God, between obedience and faithfulness and having God’s attention and protection.
Earlier in the chapter there is another familiar verse that I also have the angels surrounding me and delivering me IF I respect God and honor Him as Lord of my life. I am reminded again this morning of the importance of making good choices, deciding which way I want my life to go, living in harmony with whatever I understand about God’s expressed will for my life, and honoring Him as Lord of my life. The result, according to Scripture, seems to be God’s attention and His protection. The opposite is apparently also true. My special thought this morning as I have been praying and thinking about this text came back like this. “God, I almost found myself asking you to show me what you want me to do so I’ll know how to live the way you want me to, but that would be redundant. You’ve already shown me plenty. Just give me strength for today to choose to live the way You’ve already shown me. The rest will come in its time when I am ready and You know is best.” Righteousness is NOT, for me, being perfect; it’s doing right with what I have right now. A perfect baby is perfect right now, but he wouldn’t be if he stayed that way for 20 years! I want to live my life committed to God and following God with whatever I have right now, by His strength. And the result will be, because I believe His word, that His eyes will be on me, and His ears will be attentive to me, and His angels will surround me. It can’t get much better than that!
So have a great day choosing to follow God in right-living so He will be attentive to you too,
Pastor Rich
PS In case you haven’t heard, or didn’t read your email yesterday, we have a new senior pastor at CVC. Ron Halvorsen Jr. has accepted the position and he and his wife Buffy, who will also be on the pastoral staff, will be here this Sabbath to be introduced and to speak for Parents’ Weekend. You’ll hear more about them then so plan now to be in church this weekend to meet our new pastor.