February 10, 2014

This past weekend I had the blessing of speaking at a women's retreat at Epworth By The Sea in St. Simons Island. I so enjoyed getting to know these wonderful women and exploring Psalm 27. We learned so many applicable lessons, and I wanted to share them with you. So for the next few weeks, we'll take time to explore "One Thing" and have a little "retreat" of our own. We'll begin with an overview of Psalm 27. Many of you who enjoy in-depth Bible study are familiar with the Inductive Bible Study Method. Some are less familiar with it. I want to walk you through a series of questions and help you explore this wonderful psalm. Here we go ... Observation: What does the passage say? Read Psalm 27 aloud.  Read the psalm again in your Bible and circle all references to the LORD. Make a list of the way the psalmist describes the LORD. Light Salvation Stronghold Shelter (He hides me and keeps me safe) Lifter of my head God of my salvation Teacher Leaders Good List key words in the psalm. My key words were: light, salvation, stronghold, seek, dwell, gaze, shelter, teach, lead Interpretation: What does the passage mean? In verse 3 the psalmist declares, "yet I will be confident." Why can he be confident?  Because God is his light, his salvation and his stronghold What "One Thing" does David desire? To dwell in the house of the Lord What does it mean to dwell with God? Stay, remain, abide, take up residency Why does David want to do this? (v. 5) Because he knows God will hide him in his shelter and set him high on a rock Read Psalm 27:5 with Psalm 91:1. What words stand out to you in these two verses? Hide, shelter, conceal, under the cover of his tent, rest, shadow, Almighty  What comforts you or brings your confidence in these verses? God is going to be a refuge to me. He will keep me safe, give me rest, and keep me away from danger. He will hide me. Now read Colossians 3:3.  What does this verse tell us regarding Jesus Christ? My life is hidden in Christ - I am in Him.           Does that bring you comfort and confidence? Yes! Verses 7-14 shift from a confident declaration to a cry for help. List words or phrases from the text that describe David's plea. (What is he asking the LORD to do?)                  Hear my cry for help Listen to me Cast me not off Give me not up to my adversaries Seek my face Goodness of the Lord Wait for the Lord Application: How can I apply this passage to my life? (You'll answer these completely on your own) Summarize this psalm in your own words. What did you learn about God in this psalm? What did you learn about the psalmist? David began Psalm 27 with confident assurance and then his mood shifted to a cry for help. Does your mood ever shift like that? What causes your mood to shift? What do you do when your mood shifts? In verses 13-14 David's mood shifts back to confidence in the goodness of the LORD. What advice does David give us in verse 14 that will help us when our mood shifts from confident trust to need? What do you think dwelling in God's presence has to do with having the confident assurance of God's provision? What "One Thing" is on your heart this week that you need God to speak into or act upon? Pray and ask the Lord to give you confidence in Him as a refuge from your One Thing. Remember how powerful a protector He is. Remember that He is Jehovah - Sabaoth - the Lord of Hosts. He is the commander (Lord) of the armies and all hosts. He is our great battler. When we are at the end of our rope, He is there. He fights for us, protects us. He is there in times of trouble! Wait for the Lord of Hosts; be strong and of good courage and wait for Him! Have you heard this saying: "God is rarely early, but He is never late"? When time has run out ... when your resources are gone and you have no hope - there is hope! Jehovah-Sabaoth will come and fight for you. This past month has been frustrating. We had an issue with insurance we had to deal with for 30 days. Basically, we nearly lost our health insurance, and we were at the end of our rope and the end of our deadline. Can I just tell you how Jehovah-Sabaoth fought for us? First of all, He provided free medication that would have cost over $600 without insurance. He provided it on the very day it was needed and with a coupon that was to expire the very next day. Second, a form that was needed to fix the problem never came. What? How was that helpful you might ask? It was helpful because somehow Jehovah-Sabaoth turned the hearts of those in charge at the insurance company who fixed the problem without the form! Jehovah-Sabaoth - the great battler ... amazing! You know what kept me from pulling my hair out in the process of all of this? I did what Psalm 142:1-2 gives me permission to do: I cried out to the Lord. I just kept saying, "Jesus, you know what we need. We have no control over this, and we need Your help. I am frustrated and irritated and I don't know what to do. Please help us. Fix this for us!" That's the One Thing I could do. God wants One Thing from us - dependency. That's it. He just wants us to hold up our hands to Him, crawl in His lap, and just be. Why is that One Thing so difficult? Meditate on that thought this week, and next week we'll begin unpacking Psalm 27:4. Jacqueline Heider is the Director of Women's Ministry,  Prayer & Resource Specialist at Warren Baptist Church.  Visit her blog for more encouragement.