Take it personally

Twelve times.
That’s how often the author of Psalm 71 (supposedly David) cries out familiarly to God.

O LORD. O my God. O Lord. O God. O Holy One of Israel.

It’s personal.

When we approach God, is he personal to us, too?

The Lord doesn’t want us just to know about him. Knowledge alone is never enough (1 Corinthians 13:2; James 2:19; 1 Corinthians 8:1-3).

He wants us to know him—for personal reasons. So we will love him. Be loved by him. And love others.

I want to mean it personally when I recite Psalm 71:

• In you, O LORD, do I take refuge. (Psalm 71:1)
• For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth. (Psalm 71:5)
• O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! (Psalm 71:12)
• I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. (Psalm 71:22)

I don’t have a keep-your-distance, hands-off, passive Savior.

My God is the one who came in the flesh and lived with us. The one who gave us the right to be born his children. The one who says we can know God when we know Jesus.

And because we know him—not just what he is, but who he is—we have greater peace, greater joy, greater love. We live in him; he lives in us.

Forever we can call out to him, “My God!” over and over and over.

I take that personally. Because God is very personal indeed.

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What’s a favorite scripture you take personally?

I’m still working on memorizing Psalm 71. Not easy, but easier today at the beach where my God is SO apparent.

Keep your fork

He said 2012 was challenging.
Yes, I agree.

But he said it was preparing us for 2013, preparing us for a shift.
Yes, I agree with that, too.

The visiting Pastor Sean Smith continued preaching.
He told us about his grandma and her great cooking.
About the evenings she’d not only prepare a meal, but surprise him with a dessert.

As he was finishing his supper and about to put up his plate, she’d say, “Grandbaby, keep your fork.”

And he knew then . . . something good was up ahead!

So the plastic forks we each received Sunday morning walking into the sanctuary were ours to keep, to remind us, too, to keep our fork.

To remember that God’s got something good coming.

Yes, 2012 was challenging (particularly the first half).
But yes, in 2013, I’m already enjoying the fruits of the shift.

Keep holding onto your fork. 

But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.
Psalm 71:14

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May you remain hopeful this week—God’s got something good up ahead.

A simple yes today

 

I used to think you had to be special for God to use you, but now I know you simply need to say yes.
BOB GOFF, Love Does

I want to say yes to Psalm 71 this season.

• Yes to continually going to the Lord as my refuge (Psalm 71:3)
• Yes to letting him be my main hope (Psalm 71:5)
• Yes to praising him more and more (Psalm 71:6)

But for every opportunity to say yes,
I also have a chance to say no.

• No to clicking on Scripture Typer to learn new verses
• No to taking five minutes in the afternoon to review old verses
• No to asking God to deliver me, rescue me. Again.

Because by the end of April, the only way I’ll extraordinarily know 24 new verses—in the ultimate quest to better know the extraordinary Lord they’re talking about—is if I do ordinary things each day.

If I say yes today.

To the small things.
Nothing special.
Just a little.

I’ll give God my simple yes now.
And trust he’ll multiply it into something special later.

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What little thing are you saying yes to today?

When shame stings

Yesterday I remembered it. It’s been awhile since I thought of it. Not long enough?

I was one of two women placed on a committee with several men, formed to carry out a specific task for a specific time. We all were pleasant acquaintances, and some of us genuine friends.

But outside the committee, someone felt offense. In a public forum, he announced the violation of his conscience by women being on the committee. He did so politely, granted, and assured us it was nothing personal.

     But still. It stung. It embarrassed. 

So rules shifted. We weren’t eliminated from the committee, but our roles lessened.

We pressed on anew, just differently. We completed the task. And that was that.

But yesterday the memory was triggered. 

So yesterday, for the briefest of moments, that false feeling of shame associated with the event crept back in. Of being a woman. Of being publicly called out because of it.

The shame is unfounded. I know that now. I knew that then.

      But still. It stings. It embarrasses.

Until I remember who I am.

I’m in the bloodline.
The Royal line.
Where no shame lives.

Shame was drowned in the King’s own blood. 

So yesterday, I drank up. More of his blood. Into my own.

And I was reminded of my eternal identity, irrespective of old memories. A daughter of the King yesterday. Today. And for all my tomorrows.

I take refuge in his blood. There I am never put to shame.

In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
Psalm 71:1

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How do you drown out shame-based memories from your past or present?

Why memorize Psalm 71?

Why would anyone want to memorize Psalm 71?

It’s not one of the better-known Psalms. It’s a tad enemy-heavy. A lot of trouble is mentioned. It’s hard to know exactly what it means. It even contains a word I don’t know (portent* in Psalm 71:7).

And it mentions gray hair.

But maybe that’s it. Maybe it’s worth memorizing because it’s so real. It’s authentic and vulnerable and expansive. It leaves room for me to squeeze in and make it my own.

 

It begs

We don’t like to beg. It seems so, well, needy. But David acknowledges here he needs God’s help. I need his help, too. I know that. Might as well say it.

It acknowledges trouble

Men are chasing David, his strength is spent, accusers are watching him. While I don’t have his kind of enemies—“wicked, unjust, and cruel men” surrounding me—I do have my own set: a materialistic culture, my bad attitudes, selfish motives, an aging body, on and on, trying to steal God’s joy from my soul. I want to counter my enemies like David does his.

It praises God

It puts into words things I need to say to God, too. Praise for his righteous acts. His deeds of salvation. His faithfulness. And as I memorize these, I can personalize them in my mind, praising him for specifics acts I’ve seen him do in my own life.

It hopes

Continuously. The Lord knows I need constant boosts to keep hoping. I hear that in words here. And I want to say these to myself over and over.

It’s beautiful

And it calls for the creation of more beauty. With instruments. With singing lips. With shouts of joy. I look forward to getting a little creative myself, finding ways to outwardly express my love to and about the Lord through this psalm.

There’s more. But that’s enough to get me started.

This psalm shows me a real person in a crazy world who is finding peace in the presence of God. It not only applies to the writer who lived several thousand years ago, but also to me in 2013.

Why would I want to memorize this Psalm?

Maybe the better question is: why wouldn’t I?
Gray hairs and all.

* * *

Almost two hundred men and women will begin memorizing Psalm 71 on Sunday, January 13. Join us if you’d like! We’ll go slow but steady.

* In case you’re wondering, too, “portent” in Hebrew means: a token or omen; a wonder, a sign. It’s something extraordinary, pointing to a truth beyond itself.

Free resources for memorizing Psalm 71

If you’d like to try memorizing a chapter of the Bible in an easy way (well, as easy as is possible, but it’s not as hard as you think), sign up at Do Not Depart. This Sunday is our official start date.

Free printable resources here

Schedule

Week 1, Jan 13-Jan 19, Psalm 71:1-2
Week 2, Jan 20-Jan 26, Psalm 71:3
Week 3, Jan 27-Feb 2, Psalm 71:4-5
Week 4, Feb 3-Feb 9, Psalm 71:6
Week 5, Feb 10-Feb 16, Psalm 71:7-8
Week 6, Feb 17-Feb 23, Psalm 71:9
Week 7, Feb 24-Mar 2, Psalm 71:10-11
Week 8, Mar 3-Mar 9, Psalm 71:12-13
Week 9, Mar 10-Mar 16, Psalm 71:14-15
Week 10, Mar 17-Mar 23, Psalm 71:16-17
Week 11, Mar 24-Mar 30, Psalm 71:18
Week 12, Mar 31-Apr 6, Psalm 71:19-20
Week 13, Apr 7-Apr 13, Psalm 71:21-22
Week 14, Apr 14-Apr 20, Psalm 71:23-24

To print

  

 

Audio from Bible Gateway, read by Max McLean

Groups (optional)

• Facebook Hide His Word
• Scripture Typer group
• Twitter #HideHisWord
• Link up your blog posts (opens Wed, Jan 9)

If you haven’t already, please register here to receive the FAQ sheet.

My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.
Psalm 71:23

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If you need more info, please leave a question below.

Register – Bible Memory Challenge Psalm 71

But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.
Psalm 71:14

Start your year off in the Word! Beginning January 13, we’ll be memorizing one to two verses a week of Psalm 71, letting it sink deeply into our hearts and souls.

Will you join us? And invite others? Here’s a tweet to share:

Want to memorize Psalm 71 this year? Details at DoNotDepart http://wp.me/p1Su7F-2f5 #HideHisWord

Register now at Do Not Depart to receive the full schedule, then return there Monday, January 7, to pick up free resources to help you memorize.

You can also join our Scripture Typer group and our Facebook group for extra practice and encouragement.

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