Who is like Our God?

Scripture:

Psalm 71

1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. 3 Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of evil and cruel men. 5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD,my confidence since my youth. 6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you. 7 I have become like a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.9 Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.10 For my enemies speak against me;those who wait to kill me conspire together.11 They say, "God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him." 12 Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me. 13 May my accusers perish in shame;may those who want to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace. 14 But as for me, I will always have hope;I will praise you more and more. 15 My mouth will tell of your righteousness,of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. 16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD;I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone. 17 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. 18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation,your might to all who are to come. 19 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you? 20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.21 You will increase my honor and comfort me once again. 22 I will praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to you with the lyre,O Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you— I, whom you have redeemed. 24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,for those who wanted to harm me have been put to shame and confusion.


Observation:
It is a great day when we simply go before the Lord and cry out to Him. It is easy to miss going to Him and spending time with Him. Recently a dear friend of mine came to me and said, "Bernie, I have been so busy doing all that I do for God, I have not spent enough time with Him and listening to His voice." I was reminded of this wonderful person as I read the Psalm today. You see, God had been their refuge and their rescue and deliverer but they had been so busy serving God and tending to the hurry of life, they had not allowed the "refuge" to speak to them nor for the rescue to take place in their soul. As they shared this with me, I began to think of my own life and the hurry and the expectations that I place on myself and others place on me. I am not whining here, but stated a truth: The more we have to do - the more responsibility we carry the more we need to be with God. For God is our Hope (verse 5) and has been with us since we were conceived (verse 6) and His righteousness reaches to the skies (verse 19). As the Psalmist goes on, I thought of my friend. There is no way we can be like the Psalmist in our Praise of God when we are not with Him. Even though our "tongue" tells of His righteous acts all day long (verse 24) God wants us to tell Him of all He has done. As our Father He wants us not only to brag about Him to others - but to tell Him directly and this cannot be done without being in His presence. The Psalmist rehearses all the great things God has done for Him and more importantly the character of God. (A Great Lesson For Us to Remember!)

Application:
There is not substitute for being with God. The Psalmist reminds us that no matter what we face or how busy we get (as my friend reminds me) we must Praise God from the depth of our heart. and not just from a distance but in His presence. We must trust Him for His care over our lives, today, tomorrow and when we are old. As you read the Psalm again and again you will find the Psalmist saying: "Those around me say God is not here - but I know different - God, You have never left me." Even in the "grasp of the evil and cruel people of this world," God you are my hope. Bottom line:" Who, O God, is like you?" You have done great things!
What a Good God You've Been To Us!

Prayer:
God, no matter what others say and not matter what I feel or sense - you are with me and you are good to me! I Praise you Oh God for your righteousness is great and greater than I will ever need. You alone are my hope and strength. Lord you are good to me. Amen