Psalm 119:28b – “.....I
will meditate on your wondrous works.”
One
of the Sunday school songs that I remembered is this: “Count your blessings,
name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done.” If I were
to start counting the blessings of the Lord for the past 55 years of my life I
would still not do justice to what He has done for me. The Psalmist knows that,
the prophet of old knows that, the disciples know than, and Apostle Paul knows
that too!
The work of God is a wondrous
work – His work of creation, His work of redemption through His Son Jesus
Christ, the provision of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us every moment of
the day, and His soon return to establish His everlasting Kingdom on earth. He
sent His angels charge over us. If that is not wondrous, awesome and incredible
what is?
In Isaiah 61:3 we
read of the comfort of God on His people: “To
console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes,
the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” This is one of the most comforting words of the Lord for His
people. He gave us beauty for ashes.
God acknowledges that there are times of difficulties – the ash heap of life –
that we all face due to the fallen-ness of man and the consequences of sins. He
did not gloss over the reality that we all face the “ash heap” of failures,
betrayal, and disappointment in life. He did not promise us a bed of roses. He
did not say all our problems will be gone. He promises us beauty out of the ash
heap of life. He promises us that He can restore, revive, and transform all ugliness,
brokenness, and cracks in our lives and make it beautiful in His time.
He gave us the oil for
mourning. Oil almost always speaks of joy of the Holy
Spirit. He acknowledges that there will be times in this broken world that we
experiences sadness, separation, and unanswerable questions of difficult life circumstances
and occurrences. He knows that there will be mourning – the flow of unmitigated
tears, the pain of sudden separations, and the uncertainty that accompanied a
lost. Therefore, He promises us the oil of joy for mourning. The Psalmist said
that sorrows may endure for the night but joy shall come in the morning. He
promises us that joy will finally win – cross over the finishing line!
He gave us the garment
of praise for the spirit of heaviness. We
will be clothed with praise in replacement of the heart of heaviness. Though
our heart may be heavy burdened because of the many sorrows, anxiety, and
worries yet He will replace it with a garment of praise – a garment that is
light and does not wear us down. Praising God is good for the soul and
refreshing for the spirit. He has given us that. We are to adorn our lives with
praise. Our lives must exude and emanate the praise of God. Praise gives us the
liberty to overcome heavy burden of fear, insecurity, and uncertainty.
We are to be tress of
righteousness, the planting of the Lord. As
trees of righteousness we are not just to live uprightly, carefully and with
all honesty. We are to exhibit the beauty of the Lord, the oil of gladness, and
the praise for our Redeemer at all times. Our goal is to glorify God (Gloria Dei)!
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