In the midst of trouble and anguish, we delight in the Word of God

The Verse of the Day for November 15, 2022,  makes reference to two inseparable traveling companions that so often overtake us, particularly in the midst of the turbulent times in which we live.

Psalm 119:143 (New Living Translation)

As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.

The Amplified Bible renders the verse this way:

Trouble and anguish have found and taken hold of me, yet Your commandments are my delight.

Despite the most intense pressures that come with the perils that we face each day, we can say along with the Psalmist that the Word of God brings us delight. A previous blog entry spoke of  my delighting in the Psalms, as I pointed to other places in Psalms 119 and elsewhere that echo this same sentiment:

Psalm 119:24

Your laws please me; they give me wise advice. 

Psalm 119:47:

How I delight in your commands! How I love them! 

Psalm 40:8 in the Amplified Bible makes this statement:

I delight to do Your will, O my God; yes, Your law is within my heart.

In Psalm 1, the first passage of scripture that ever I committed to memory as a pre-teen, we find this striking portrait:

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 94:18-19 provide yet another reminder that God is the source of our comfort and delight, rendered here in the Amplified Bible: 18 When I said, My foot is slipping, Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, held me up. 19 In the multitude of my [anxious] thoughts within me, Your comforts cheer and delight my soul! Verse 19 is the inspiration for this original scripture memory song:   In the Multitude of My Thoughts   In the multitude of my thoughts within me, Your comforts delight my soul. You soothe my mind and strengthen the depths of my heart and soul. I delight myself in the abundance of Your peace.   You are my God. I know You love me. You are my God. You’ve set me free. You are my God. You will never leave me. You are my God. I long to be all you’ve called me to be.   In the multitude of my thoughts within me, Your comforts delight my soul. Your comforts delight my soul. Your comforts delight my soul.

From time to time, we all may lose focus and become anxious regarding our ever-fluctuating circumstances. During times of uncertainty when our feet seem to slip, and we are about to lose our grip, we can turn our thoughts toward the promises of God, assured that just as He has been with us through the stormy trials of the past, so He will be with us now. Along with the Psalmist, we take comfort in this knowledge that delights our souls.

Christy Nockels expresses the essence of this message with the song “My Delight is in You.”

Veterans Day Tribute 2022

Today, November 11, 2022, is Veterans Day, and I am revising and reposting a previous blog entry. I invite you to rejoice and celebrate with me:

Each year on November 11, I pause to reflect upon Veterans Day, a national holiday of special significance to me. First of all, I am a veteran, having served two years in the US Army, from 1967 to the end of 1968 during the Vietnam era. Most providentially that experience relates to my being back in the Washington, DC area where I lived from 1969 to 1971. Upon being discharged, I found a job as an information analyst working for the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association in the Nation’s Capital. Most providentially, this is where I met my wife, Brenda. We were married in 1973 and returned to live in Arlington, VA, near the area where we currently live, right up the road from our older daughter, Melissa, and her husband, William, and our first grandson, Kingston.

Each Veterans Day, I reflect with the deepest gratitude upon my military experience, which first appeared to be a disaster but turned out to be a remarkable blessing and a time of great spiritual growth. When I graduated from high school in 1960, I enrolled at Purdue University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in 1965, subsequently becoming a registered pharmacist, working as a staff pharmacist at Methodist Hospital in Gary.  While enjoying the “good life,” I received my “greetings from Uncle Sam” in 1967 and was drafted into the US Army. Back then I thought this was the worst thing that could have happened to me. Being drafted into the Army in the late sixties was not an ideal situation for a young African American male in light of the disproportionate number of Black men sent to Viet Nam, many of whom did not return and others who were forever changed by that experience.

In January of 1967 after a tearful farewell with my parents, I boarded the bus that took me to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Upon completing my basic training, I was sent to Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, Texas, where I was given the option of working in a dispensary filling prescriptions, as I had done previously, or I could choose to become a pharmacy instructor and teach pharmacy technicians. The second option sounded intriguing since I had not done that before, so I opted to become a pharmacy instructor, which turned out to be ideally suited to me and opened up a new world of classroom teaching which ignited a passion to teach. This passion eventually motivated me to pursue a master’s degree in English from Emporia State University in Kansas and a Ph.D. in English from Indiana University. This passion continues to burn, even as I am teaching classes online at Carolina College of Biblical Studies and St. Augustine’s University.  

My time as a pharmacy instructor began with intense training at the Medical Field Service School.  During this time, I recall one particular veteran from Kentucky whom I knew briefly while serving as a pharmacy instructor at Fort Sam Houston. He and I had two things in common: we were both drafted as pharmacists who opted to become pharmacy instructors, but there was one notable difference. I had not signed up for an additional year of service, despite the Army’s indicating I might not get a pharmacy position if I didn’t. My fellow servicemember had signed up for the additional year, but we both received pharmacy positions. The additional year, however, increased the likelihood of being sent to Vietnam if a pharmacy position needed to be filled there.

About nine months after we completed our training as instructors, my fellow instructor received orders for Vietnam, and by the end of the year, he was shipped overseas. In the early part of the next year, we received the news that he had been killed. The impact of that experience did not fully resonate with me until years later on Memorial Day when I looked up the name of this individual on the website for the Vietnam Memorial and recognized that he was from a small town in Kentucky. I was teaching a class a composition and literature class at the time at the Louisville campus of Indiana Wesleyan University when I saw my colleague’s death in a totally different light. In literature, there is a term called a Christological figure or Christ Figure. The term refers to an object, person, or figure representing Christ allegorically or symbolically, or any similar object, person, or figure with qualities reminiscent of Christ, one of the most notable qualities being “self-sacrifice.”

I was overwhelmed by the reality that my fellow instructor, in a sense, went in my place. What transpired while I was in the Army culminated in an awareness of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who took my place and gave his life so that I might live. My whole experience in the military brings to mind my favorite verse in my favorite chapter of the Bible: Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for the good, to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose.

Today I recognize more clearly than ever what Satan meant for evil, God in His providence, transforms it into something great and glorious. Each Veterans Day, I reflect with gratitude to God for my time of service in the military, recognizing the contribution that veterans have made and continue to make to secure the blessings of liberty that we enjoy, especially during this period in our nation’s history.   

We conclude with this Veterans Day Tribute:

After the mid-term elections and every day: It is better to trust in the Lord. . .

As the results of the mid-term elections continued to come in this morning, a verse from the Book of Psalms came to mind, and this will serve as my personal Verse of the Day for November 9, 2022:

Psalm 118:8 (Amplified Bible)

It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

Some people say that this verse is “smack dab in the center” of the Bible, meaning that if you open many Bibles to the center with the same number of pages on each side, you will find yourself in the vicinity of Psalm 118:8. Others say that it is not the center verse of the Scriptures. In any case, it was the inspiration for an original psalm with these lyrics to remind us we should not put our trust solely in elected officials to resolve the critical issues that confront the nation and the world.

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

Cast aside your own selfish schemes and follow His perfect plan.

Focus your eyes on Him and stay centered in His will.

Keep seeking the Lord with all your heart, stay prayerful and be still.

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

The power of man is limited, though he may do the best he can.

Put all your trust in the Lord, for righteousness shall prevail.

Keep putting your confidence in God, for He will never fail.

Other  verses from the Psalmist echo the same sentiments:

Psalm 20:7 (Amplified Bible)

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, But we will remember and trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Chariots and horses represent the power and strength of a nation, where some individuals may choose to place their confidence, but as Christian believers, we choose to place our confidence and trust in the name of the Lord. We stand resolute, in the facing of opposing forces, knowing that God Almighty never fails, and He alone is worthy of all our trust.

We conclude with this joyful exhortation that “Some May Trust in Horses” featuring Lynn DeShazo:

As we pray, November 7, 2022: 1 Timothy 2:1-2

The Verse of the Day for November 7, 2022, encourages believers to pray and introduces four types of prayer or ways of communing with God. This previous blog entry certainly has application today, as we acknowledge the truth: “There is always something to pray about”:

1 Timothy 2:1-2 (New Living Translation)

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.

Supplications
With these prayers, we entreat our Father with specific requests. Such petitions focus on our necessity, expressed as a personal need, rather than God’s sufficiency to supply it.  White-hot zeal and insatiable hunger ignite prayers of supplication. Strictly speaking, supplication also conveys an accompanying attitude of prayer, noting that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16)

Intercessions
To intercede means to plead or mediate on behalf of another person. Intercession will involve meeting with someone on behalf of someone else. Those who act as intercessors are also described as “standing in the gap” or “making up the hedge” which provides protection. (Ezekiel 22:30)

Prayers
As we acknowledge the magnitude of God, we offer prayers as an expression of our personal devotion.  Other examples included in this category are the “prayer of faith,” “prayer of agreement” and “prayer of dedication or consecration;” also the prayer Jesus taught his  disciples or “The Lord’s Prayer.” Paul reminds believers to be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—” (Ephesians 6:18)

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving should be an essential part of our ongoing conversation with God. “Giving of thanks” is an expression of “showing oneself grateful.”  It is an all-encompassing “attitude of gratitude” involving everything we do and say: “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (I Thessalonians 5:18)

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This introductory discussion of prayer is by no means exhaustive. Countless volumes have been written and continue to be produced on this topic of vital concern for Christian believers who are exhorted to “Pray without ceasing.”

In closing, we offer the following poetic reminder of the importance of prayer:

As We Pray

We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

as we pray always for you,

Colossians 1:3

During these dark times, we focus on the Kingdom,

Established and grounded on a sure foundation.

As we diligently pursue Godly wisdom,

New paths of this Apostolic Reformation

Unfold as the sun rises on the horizon.

Even in turbulent times, we must stay the course.

Aware of the consequences of each decision,

We look to God our Father, bountiful resource.

As we renew our minds, we are transformed and change:

With a “kingdom mindset,” we now see with new eyes.

Beyond past narrow limits, our view is long-range.

We number our days with each sunset and sunrise,

As the Word commands: pray without ceasing, night and day,

Knowing that God always fulfills His will, as we pray.

Gateway Worship offers a musical selection with the same title, featuring Walker Beach: “As We Pray”:

Open the eyes of our understanding: God’s desire and ours

The Verse of the Day for November 1, 2022, comes from Ephesians 1:18 in the New Living Translation:

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

Actually, verse 17 is part of a prayer, an expression of God’s desire for His people written by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1: 14-23. Verses 17-18 are part of the introduction, as indicated in the Amplified Bible:

¹⁷ [For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,

¹⁸ By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),

Verse 18 brings to mind the words of the hymn “Open My Eyes that I Might See” which is, in essence, a prayer expressed in song. The lyrics to the hymn are displayed while Nathanael Provis plays the melody on piano:

Another contemporary song offering with a similar request is “Open My Eyes,” performed by Jesse Manibusan and Patrick Loomis:

Not only is our prayer that God will enlighten us and illuminate our lives by means of the spirit of wisdom and revelation, but God‘s prayer for us is the same, as is expressed so powerfully in Ephesians 1.