Honorbound Devotions
Honest Before God
by Charlie Hungerford
I came across this psalm last week during my devotional time and
was reminded once again of the importance of being transparent before God
and others. This psalm, in particular, seems to provide a good example
of
David's willingness to pour his heart out for God, and his recognition
that life without God is hopeless.
May this long passage from Psalm 40 will be your prayer today, as
you seek to become all that God has planned for you.
"I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally
he listened; He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He
stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me
how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more
people are seeing this: they enter the myster, abandoning themselves to
God."
"Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God, turn your backs
on the world's "sure thing," ignore what the world worships; the world's
a huge stockpile of God-wonders and God-thoughts. Nothing and no one comes
close to you! I start talking about you, telling what I know, and quickly
run out of words. Neither numbers nor words account for you. Doing something
for you, bringing something to you -- that's not what you're after. Being
religious, acting pious --that's not what you're asking for."
"You've opened my ears so I can listen. So I answered, "I'm coming.
I read in your letter what you wrote about me, and I'm coming to the party
you're throwing for me." That's when God's Word entered my life, became
part of my very being."
"I've preached you to the whole congregation, I've kept back nothing,
God --you know that. I didn't keep the news of your ways a secret, didn't
keep it to myself. I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
I
didn't hold back pieces of love and truth for myself alone, I told
it all, let the congregation know the whole story."
"Now God, don't hold out on me, don't hold back your passion. You
love and truth are all that keeps me together. When troubles ganged up
on me, a mob of sins past counting, I was so swamped by guilt I couldn't
see my way clear. More guilt in my heart than hair on my heard, so heavy
the guilt that my heart gave out."
"Soften up, God, and intervene; hurry and get me some help, so those
who are trying to kidnap my soul will be embarrassed and lose face, so
anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable will be heckled and disgraced,
so those who pray for my ruin will be booed and jeered without mercy."
"But all who are hunting for you --oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you're all about tell the world you're great and
not quitting. And me? I'm a mess. I'm nothing and have nothing; make something
of me. You can do it; you've got what it takes --but God, don't put it
off."
(Psalm 40, The Message)
