Oh, My Achy-Breaky Heart

Nothing hurts like being hurt by the one, or ones,  you love.

King David loved his son, Absalom.  Absalom’s name means, “papa peace”, but Absalom’s papa didn’t get much peace from him. **

Instead, David’s “most beloved” son betrayed his dad, tried to steal his throne, and forced him to flee for his life. (2 Samuel 15)

Ever had a day like that?

Well, maybe a little like that, anyway, if you’ve ever had someone you love turn on you.

clic pic for source

And when our heart aches from the hurt of it,  it’s easy to wanna throw in the faith towel, and think, “Where are you, God?!  How could you let this happen?!”

Well, take courage from the Psalm King David wrote when he was on the run from his son.

Psalm 3

O LORD, how my adversaries have increased! Many are rising up against me.  Many are saying of my soul, “There is no deliverance for him in God.”

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the one who lifts my head.

I was crying to the Lord with my voice, and He answered me from His holy mountain.”

Let’s Pray:

You, O Lord, are a shield about me.  You’re my glory.  You’re the lifter of my head.  Help me to remember to “cry to you”, like King David,  when I’m really hurting and my heart’s breaking.

Thank you that I can pour my heart out to You because You care for me. (1 Peter 5:7)

Here’s how my heart is hurting right now, Lord__________________ (if you’re not heart-achy these days, maybe you know someone who is and you can pray for them.)

King David heard you answering him from Your holy temple, it says in the above verses.  Well, we are your temple now, the Bible says, if we’ve believed in You, and invited you into our hearts.  (Colossians 1:27, 1 John 4:4)

So, let me hear Your voice answering me from deep inside my achy-breaky heart.

And please fill me with the knowledge of Your will in this situation(s) with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Colossians 1:9)

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Like Legos? Click the pic below to see “Absalom Overthrows David” told with Legos on “The Brick Testament” website. 🙂 (What will they think of next? hmmm?)

"Absalom Overthrows David"

**http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Absalom.html

Cave Writings…

 

ears are scariest in the dark.  Ever been in a dark place?  Psalm 142 was written by a young man fleeing for his life and hiding in a cave. 

No, not this kind of cave…

More like this:

Read his cave writings…his cries in the dark:

“A maskil of David when he was in the cave. I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.” ~ Psalm 142

It probably didn’t sound too pretty in the cave with all that crying aloud, and lifting his voice.  Reminds me that God wants all of me.  Not just the pretty and pious. 

He wants the good, the bad AND the ugly. 

Afterall, he gave ALL of himself for me just to give me that privelage — the privelage of giving ALL of myself back to Him.  And when I do, He leads me out of the dark, into the light of day.

Got complaints? Hurts that make you cry?  Fears?

Pour them out to God.  Make God your refuge. 

It’s the only way out of the cave…

“… I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Psalm 142:4-5

Here’s the psalm in full:

 “I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.  I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.  When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me.  Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.  I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”  Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.  Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.”  

Do you have a refuge?  Click on the pic below to be introduced to mine.  I know He’d love to be yours:

image copyright, Andy McInroy

**special thanks to Andy McInroy for the beautiful cave image above.

Dynamite! Psalm 18

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…” Acts 1:8  

Beth Moore, author, Bible teacher, and rock star in Christian women circles, has said that praying scripture is like strapping two sticks of dynamite together.  Kaboom!!   

 It causes an explosion in the spiritual realms and an explosion of faith for the Christian.  Why???  

Because Scripture is powerful —  “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12  

And so is prayer —“The effective, earnest prayer of a righteous man is powerfully effective.”  James 5:16b HNV  

Psalm 18 is one of my favorite psalms.  It shows God’s mighty power to save us out of deep despair. 

King David wrote Psalm 18 after God miraculously saved him from an enemy that had trapped and completely overwhelmed him — King Saul.   

  

  

Most of us don’t have King Sauls trying to kill us , but we have doubts,  

fears and  

anxieties breathing down our necks,   

threatening to destroy our faith — sometimes on a daily basis.  It can be a little overwhelming, and scare us into hiding, like David.   

This picture shows Engedi, in Israel, where David his from his enemy…  Do you find yourself hiding from yours?   

Well, get up and blast the enemy of your soul with these two sticks of dynamite — Prayer and Scripture…  

Helm's Deep

Read Psalm 18 out loud to the Lord — note:  I inserted You’s for He’s, etc …  

  ” I love you, O Lord, my strength.  [You] are my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. [You] are my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I call to [You] Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.  The cords of [fear] entangled me; the torrents of [worry] overwhelmed me.  The cords of the grave  coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.  In my distress I called to [You]; I cried to my God for help…[You] heard my voice; my cry [came] before [You], into [Your] ears.  The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because [You] were angry.  Smoke rose from [Your] nostrils; consuming fire came from [Your] mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.  [You] parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under [Your] feet.  [You] mounted the cherubim and flew; [You] soared on the wings of the wind.    

[You] made darkness [Your] covering, [Your] canopy around [You]– the dark rain clouds of the sky.  Out of the brightness of [Your] presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.    

The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.  [You] shot [Your] arrows and scattered the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them.  [You] reached down from on high and took hold of me; [You] drew me out of deep waters.  [You] rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.  [You] brought me out into a spacious place; [You] rescued me because [You] delighted in me.  Psalm 18  

You brought me out into a spacious place. You rescued me because You delighted in me.

Thank you, Father, for loving me and saving me.  In Jesus’ name, amen!”  

Here’s some great verses to pray for yourself and others:  

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.  Ephesians 1:18-19  

And speaking of Beth Moore…  click on Book Recommendations on the right for more details about this awesome book of hers.