For wisdom for President Obama as he works with both U.S. and Iraqi leaders on the withdrawal of troops
Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
--Psalm 31:3 (NIV)
Holy God, praise and glory be to You today for Your love and wisdom in all You do and all You have done. You are our safeguard and stronghold; we trust in You as we trust in nothing else. You are our place of security and strength in every circumstance, and we praise You for the privilege of trusting in You.
Lord, we pray today for our nation�s Commander-in-Chief, as he seeks to withdraw troops from Iraq. Grant him great wisdom and insight as he works with his highest military advisors and with leaders in Iraq, that together they may devise a plan that will facilitate the smooth and safe withdrawal of our military personnel from Iraq. Help each community in Iraq to secure itself, rebuild its infrastructure and be prepared to be self-sustaining as they move toward greater freedom and democracy. We ask this in Jesus� name, amen.
21:1 O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices,
and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
2 You have given him his heart's desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of you; you gave it to him,
length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your salvation;
splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as a blazing oven
when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
and their offspring from among the children of man.
11 Though they plan evil against you,
though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
"The psalm is at length concluded with a prayer, which again confirms that the kingdom which is spoken of is so connected with the glory of God, that his power is reflected from it. As his divine power ought justly to strike terror into the wicked, so it is described as full of the sweetest consolation to us, which ought to inspire us with joy, and incite us to celebrate it with songs of praise and thanksgiving."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
1 Peter 4:1-2,14,19
1-2 Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.
If we think of "suffering" as being more like disappointment or frustration, how can we relate that to "being tyrannized" by what we want? In fact, have you ever thought of yourself as "being tyrannized" by what you want? I don't think I have, but I think I like that phrase. I have wanted something so badly that it did resemble tyranny. Especially when I didn't get it, and I was miserable and cranky and no fun to be around. As a believer in Christ, I should never allow myself to get into that way of thinking. Tyranny, indeed. In what ways does my "wanter" need to change? Well, at least, I think I have finally gotten the distinction down between "want" and "need." We're still working on that with Stephanie. We've had some marginal success. But do you ever catch yourself saying, "I need [insert whatever]?" When, in fact, you don't really need it at all? I need that new book by my favorite author. No, I don't! I want it, yes. But I don't need it. But if we consider the disappointment and frustration from not getting what we wanted as "suffering," Peter tells us to think about it as weaning ourselves from the sinful habit of always expecting to get our own way.
Considering the other verses in this passage, I have not yet ever found myself being abused because of Christ. I have found life to be difficult, at times, because I'm trying to be obedient to God. But I've not been mistreated because of my devotion to Christ. Not yet, anyway.
I do trust God. I trust that he knows what he is doing, and I trust that he will keep on doing what is best for me, in the big picture. That's what we always have to be aware of. God has a Plan, and he is working the Plan. Where we might fit into it will probably always be a mystery to us, but if we have faith in him, we know that he will always be just, and, as Paul said in Romans, he will work all things together for good for us, because we have been called according to his purpose and we do love him.
Grace and peace, friends.