psalm 1-3 — seek the Lord

I usually get up in the morning, fix a cup of coffee, and "read my Bible." Maybe you do the same. But, out on the road, I recently heard a brother speak of getting up early to SEEK THE LORD. Those words actually stung, and I was convicted. It's one thing for me to read my Bible, like something to check off a to-do list for the day. It's quite another to SEEK THE LORD before the day even begins. Perhaps the disarray of Christians in America right now plagued by fear and making decisions based upon what everyone else is doing is part and parcel a result of folks just "reading their Bibles" instead of seeking the LORD early in the Scriptures. When we seek the LORD, we will know exactly what we are to do irrespective of the herd.

As I sought the LORD this morning, I was again reminded of the amazing progression of the Psalms, not random praise songs thrown together like a series of Facebook posts, but a progressive unfolding of doctrine and practical application.

Psalm 1 makes it very clear: there are two paths in this life, that of the righteous and that of the wicked. And, they don't look the same. The wicked are fleeing down a path during this pandemic. What path are you following? Does it look like the world, or is it something altogether different?

Psalm 2 actually defines the way of the righteous, and that quite specifically. The way of righteousness = MESSIAH and trust in Him. Are you truly trusting Him during these days and looking to Him and His Word for counsel? OR, is your default Fox News, Anthony Fauci, the CDC, or what everyone else is doing? It always amazes me how some people claim to be trusting Christ for eternal salvation (something you cannot see), but yet they can't seem to trust Him with their bills, their job, or even their health (things you can see and touch).

Ok, the way of the righteous leads to life. The way of the righteous is MESSIAH. So, what does trust in Messiah actually look like when practically applied in life. Just read Psalm 3. When times are rough, like these days of pandemic, Psalm 3 is a picture of faith in Messiah. May it be said that we can lie down, sleep peacefully, and awake, knowing that the LORD sustains His own. And may it be said that we aren't afraid of ten thousands of viruses that have set themselves against us round about. For salvation belongs to the LORD and not the CDC. Trust in Messiah should manifest itself in how we respond to those using this virus to rise up against our liberties (vs. 1-3), in how we sleep and how we get out of bed in the morning (vs. 4-5), in how we conduct ourselves when we leave our house for essential or nonessential activity (vs. 6-7), and in what we think about when we sit down in our recliner at the end of another lockdown day (v. 8).

Now, don't just go read your Bible, SEEK THE LORD.

"The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him" (Nahum 1:7).