A Goldilocks Life

Promises

I don’t remember when I started a list of Bible passages and verses to do a deep dive into, but I’m slowly working my way through it. Some studies have taken months, and one more than a year. All have been satisfying and challenging.

Lately I’ve been reading Psalm 119 looking for God’s promises one acrostic poem at a time. That is, Psalm 119 is arranged in poems, each with eight lines, and each poem features succeeding letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Since the psalm’s main theme is the word of God, many of the promises I’ve gleaned so far have been the various benefits of reading and applying His decrees/commands/ instructions/precepts. Some of the standouts so far are that hiding God’s word in my heart helps me not sin against him, and delighting in God’s decrees keeps me pure.

God promises to revive us by His word. The Lord guides us in understanding the meaning of His words and applying what He is teaching us. Meditating on the Bible will help me when others speak against me. When we weep, God promises to encourage us. I needed those promises when someone sent harsh remarks about me to a friend asking her to share them with me.

The most impactful promise I’ve read so far in Psalm 119 came from two verses, one that caused me to speculate and the other with the clear answer. Verse 49 says, “Remember Your promise to me—it is my only hope.” I wondered what that promise might be, and verse 38 answers clearly, “Lord, give me your unfailing love, the salvation that you promised me.” What is a more hopeful promise than God’s unfailing love for us revealed in salvation? We know that Jesus Christ holds the key, as He gave His life so we could be saved from our sin. Eternal life is our greatest hope, knowing that life here on earth isn’t all there is. God loved us so much He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

May you discover many promises as you read and meditate on God’s word.

Back Row Pew

My heart raced as I entered a church for the first time in decades. As a family, we didn’t attend regularly. Dad would drop us off at the Sunday school down the street when Gram T. would guilt him into it. So, God was not a topic of discussion but more often a swear word at home.

Something changed in a dark bar a few nights before that, as I celebrated my 30^th birthday. After dinner with my work friends, a few of us headed into the lounge as the karaoke drew us in. The darkness mirrored what was going on at home. My estranged husband had come over to babysit our 3-year-old daughter, and deep down it was hard to keep on a happy face. As I sat having one more drink, suddenly the lights became brilliant around me, and I felt a Presence I never knew before. At that moment, I realized there was a God who loved me! Tears streamed down my face, whether fear, joy, or a mixture of both, I’m unsure. I left in a hurry without saying a word.

Next day, my coworker asked me how I was doing. She had been there as I cried my eyes out. I told her about the bright lights and God and my distress at home. Her kind eyes glistened as she suggested I tell my brother, Jim, about what had happened. She was a Christian, and a few months before I had told her about my brother talking about his faith with me. Then I had dismissed him as a crazy Jesus freak. Now I realized she was right. After work, I called Jim and he came right over.

Fast forward to the next Sunday as I walked into the Bible church holding my little girl’s hand. The women welcomed us and directed me to the childcare room. That morning, as I listened to the pastor read the Bible and began connecting the dots with what Jim had me reading that week, my heart became peaceful and I realized I needed to know God better.

Recently my friend Serena Ray and I wrote a song that describes what it was like accepting Jesus at church after hearing the truth of our need for Him. The song I share below was written with fond memories of that time in each of our lives. Please take time to listen to “Back Row Pew.”

Click below to listen to “Back Row Pew” written by Lynn Lilja and Serena Ray. Recorded by Joel Rose Recording

Loved

Today we celebrated February birthdays and Valentine’s Day with our neighbors. Steve was the only birthday person who showed, so there he stood beside balloons and the lunch spread. At one point, a neighbor walked by and threw her arms around my neck. What a pleasant surprise! I love spontaneous hugs, and I’m still enjoying the warmth it gave me deep inside.

Another tender moment or two I experienced was as I read through a portion of the Bible. Psalm 119 is where I’ve spent most of my reading time this week contemplating what blessings God promises for reading His word. I’m finding many already. Integrity brings joy and helps me not compromise with evil. If I pray for my actions to fit with God’s decrees, then I’ll face no shame. And one plea that was especially touching: “Please don’t give up on me.”

If you’re like me, you sometimes wonder why God would even love you. I feel so inadequate and lose my temper easily. Discouragement sneaks in when I think of the ways I compromise by wrong choices in my use of time and money. My weight loss goals stay the same, and the scale never moves down even a pound.

Yet God says that He made me, created me (v 73) and is always fair (v 75.) He promises that His commands will make me wiser than even my enemies (v 98). In Psalm 121 God reminds us that our help comes from Him, the maker of heaven and earth. His promises speak love. What greater help is there in all the world than that of the Lord who always watches us and stands beside us as protection?