December 3, 2016 THE LORD REIGNS
Psalm 97:1: “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.
Should we become distracted with the conflicts occurring throughout the world, or with personal disappointments and difficulties, we must turn our focus back to the truths found in Psalm 97 and adjust our view of life. The magnificence and the greatness of God is the subject of this Psalm and it is a reminder that God is in absolute and total control of all the universe. In an effort to describe an indescribable God, the Psalmist used such phrases as: “clouds and thick darkness surround Him,” “righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne,” “fire goes before Him,” “His lightning lights up the world,” “the mountains melt like wax before the Lord,” and “the heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all peoples see His glory.” Man cannot come to know the greatness of God on his own, but only as God chooses to reveal Himself to man, can man begin to be impacted by His greatness and absolute power. To know and to believe the message of Psalm 97 has a tremendous impact on our daily lives; the greatness of God extends to every detail of life. Because our God reigns, we can be glad! Because our God reigns and because we belong to Him, we can take dominion over every area of our life. God has chosen to share His life with those who place their faith in Him, and when we are joined to Him, His ‘greatness’ sets the stage for us to be overcomers in life. The amazing reality is that when we see the ‘awesomeness’ and greatness of God, all that we do takes on new meaning and the things we do are brought to a new level; our motivation in life is different; what use to look like an insurmountable obstacle is no longer a point of fear or dread; we find that we have new energy for the task at hand; we find it is no longer difficult forgive others or to overlook their shortcomings (and ours); and we find confidence for life all because God reigns. Seeing His greatness is not a once in a life time event, but rather it must be the on-going desire of our heart that leads us to a pursuit of Him through learning of Him through the written word and by turning our thoughts to Him. God is ready to reveal Himself to us throughout our lifetime provided that we have it in our heart to know Him. As we come to know Him and begin to understand His ways, we will find reason to be glad-just because He reigns. May we today turn our hearts toward seeing His greatness and may we actively pursue knowing Him in ever increasing ways. One day, He will appear and we will see Him as He is! One day, all sin and evil will cease on earth and all will see the greatness of our God!
Isaiah 40:28: “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”
Psalm 95:6: “Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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