Psalms 9:1-8 NLT
I will praise you, lord , with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
My enemies retreated;
they staggered and died when you appeared.
For you have judged in my favor;
from your throne you have judged with fairness.
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have erased their names forever.
The enemy is finished, in endless ruins;
the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.
But the lord reigns forever,
executing judgment from his throne.
He will judge the world with justice
and rule the nations with fairness.
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
———————————————
Wow, it would take the rest of my life for me to sing of all of the great things that He has done for me up to this point in life. It seems like I can never catch up in praise to the blessings that He pours out. So yes, I praise the Lord with my life. I praise Him from my heart, and it shines forth in my life in ways that I just can’t “turn off”.
When this Holy Spirit caught hold of my life, things changed, and they continue changing. I didn’t magically have full understanding of all things and I didn’t magically become free from all sin and temptation in my life – no. But what did happen was a change on the inside – a change from seeking sinful things to seeking Godly things – a change from focusing on loving myself to a focus on loving God and loving others.
And when this change happened, so many of those enemies in my life fell away – either immediately because I had no interest in them any longer, or through my resistance and reliance on Christ to be my strength, they fled from my life. I’m not speaking about people – no, people of flesh and blood aren’t my enemies – I’m speaking about that darkness that is devoid of God’s goodness, that absence of God’s presence, that place called sin.
Yes, I still stumble, I am not perfect. I make mistakes, I let people down at times, I fall short of the mark of perfection – but I’m reaching for that goal, I’m stevie forth my arms to God with my everything, because He is the one thing that I want and need to hold onto.
His power crushes those old things in my life that were chains and burdens. I watch in awe as those things that used to control my life and lead me down dark paths fall away, because I can see them now for what they are – traps, tricks, and danger placed in front of me by the enemy, but that God now uses to demonstrate His strength through my weakness.
And this renovating work of His refining my heart and cleaning out this temple for Christ to live in me and through me – this battle between His will and my rebellious flesh nature, it is won, even if all of the opposing troops have not yet been slain. Because I am surrendered to Christ. I want to see Him crush all those things in my life that are not an honor and glory to Him. I am now resisting the enemy and not resisting God’s will, and that is a game changer.
Yes, I need to surrender daily. Yes, there are still temptations and thoughts and situations that I encounter where I could have been wiser yesterday – and I examine them and try to learn from them for today. And this living Word of God that is written on my heart, and that speaks to me through the written Word of God, they agree in my Spirit and I know the truth of this Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ –
That God loved me so much, even when I was still in rebellion against Him, that He came in the flesh to our world as Jesus Christ, 100 percent man and 100 percent God, to live the example life showing us God’s true character and nature, demonstrating love, mercy, grace, honor, glory, righteousness and all the things that make God’s nature so different from the choices that we make when left to our own devices, and He died on the cross and rose from the dead to sit on the right hand of God with all authority to fulfill this great and undeniable demonstration of His love for me, so that I might know Him, and accept His offer of grace, and love Him in return, and so that He would come and live in me, and that my old nature would die as it is replaced with His nature. And I don’t say this with pride, because anything good is Him, and anything worthless is me. He is worthy of all praise.
But I do say this with boldness, because He died for each of us. Yes, for YOU.
Let’s be the Christ in us, today.
Let’s be the representatives and ambassadors for Christ that we are meant to be.
Let’s surrender to Him and see those enemies retreat, let’s watch as he crushes them beneath His feet and uses them as a stepping stone.
Let’s quit trying to win a battle under our own power, and instead understand that the real battle is already won – let’s see the opportunity to serve in His Kingdom even now, following in the footsteps of Christ’s example and teachings, loving and serving others, so that they might see the battle won in their lives as well.
I love you, friend.
Have a blessed day.
Harold J. Ballinger 