A Journey of Faith from Darkness to Light
This morning I read the story about Edosa, a girl in Benin, a country just west of Nigeria, Africa. The more I read, the smaller I became, as one who lives so rich and untouched by comparison. At the end of my reading, I had to cry for her persecutors whom she blessed, for if left unsaved, is facing an eternity of far worse suffering.
What makes a godly person? Eternal life! "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3). After all the definitions of salvation are described, it all boils down to this, a proper and healthy relationship with the living God. Let us take a close but brief look at a man of whom God said; He is a man after My own heart. A prayer of David is recorded in Psalm 138, and it becomes outstandingly evident that David was on personal terms with the Alpha and Omega. We see this reality in his use of the word YOU!
"I will give YOU thanks with all my heart; I will sing YOUR praises before the gods, (David mocks the gods). I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to YOUR name for YOUR mercy and YOUR truth;
For YOU have made YOUR word great according to all YOUR name. On the day I called, YOU answered me; YOU made me bold with strength in my soul." Verses 1-3
The evidence of David's heart for God is his willingness to spend time with Him. Brief praying is a red flag to a heart wayward from God. David knew to whom to give praise, and he did so with all his heart. David's heart bowed low before his God and His Temple. Ultimately, it is there that we see our salvation in the mercy seat (the bitter sacrifice of His beloved Son). God's truth is the only perspective of reality that matters to a man of God.
The preposition "for" in verse 2 gives the reason for all David's previous praises. God's word is great because it is truthful and faithful to all God's name. David explained himself when he said, "YOU answered me; YOU made me bold with strength in my soul." David is speaking to a person, not the air, not himself, but to the Alpha and Omega. And God proved His love for David with an answer that strengthened his soul.
David understood the many names of God that are descriptive of His divine nature that is beyond our comprehension. By comprehension, I mean the ability to drink in all of God. We can be filled to our fullness but not His. There is one name of God; however, that is His personal name. The name Yehovah when correctly understood, is best understood from Exodus 3.
"Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?" (Verse 13). Moses spoke to Elohim (The strong, faithful ones, a trinity of one) in verse 13, and he wanted to know His personal name. We all have many names, father and mother, baker and plumber, kind and righteous, but we also have a unique name, Joseph, David, and Moses.
God's unique name as spoken to Moses was, "And God said to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM." Yehovah is without the beginning of days or end of life. When considering the greatness of God, apart from His character, there is no more excellent greatness than that He always was. Everything has a beginning except for God. God is set apart from His creation in many ways, but this is the really big one. When you worship at this altar, you are definitely worshipping.
In verses 4 to 6, David prophesies the days when kings (those in authority) will acknowledge Yehovah as the only One genuinely worthy of praise. Then he ends with a word of warning, the exalted God looks to the lowly in a fallen world, and he warns, "But He knows the haughty (those who think themselves better than everyone else) from afar. The one person we do not want to be far from is the I AM THAT I AM.
David concludes this Psalm with a word about revival in verse 7. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me." Vive means life, and when coupled with the prefix "re," it means back to life. In a sense, the person whom God saves from death is raised from the dead. What makes a godly person? His hope in the Yehovah, as David concludes, "Your faithfulness, LORD (Yehovah), is everlasting."
To see a Monumental Documentary, press the link below.
Comments