Dear God, I Still Believe In You.

Just as Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the commands and the people created a golden calf out of their lack of faith in waiting for you, they have again forgotten you, Lord. They are worn out in their waiting. Will they turn to idols again because they deny your power? You have always been their God, yet they again cry out for a king to rule them. A king that does what they want. “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayers came to thee, into thy holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their true loyalty. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to thee; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!” Jonah 2:7-9 Your name has been put on trial and your ways have been questioned like Job. They have laid a case of blame before you. You sent prophets to warn them of these things to come, and they killed your prophets. You delivered them from exile and fed them manna from heaven in the morning and quail in the evening, and still they grumbled. Every punishment you sent for disobedience, was quickly forgot, just as they have forgotten every blessing you gave in your mercy. Are you punishing them again? Because they have surely forgotten your goodness, they have forgotten the mercy of their God. “And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.” Deuteronomy 6:18-19

You O Lord, are worthy to be praised and worshipped and feared. You are above all things, in control of all things, there is nothing you do not know. I am in love with your ways. You are the very breath within me. You are the Ruach that consumes my body and soul. I will meditate on your goodness and teach my children and grandchildren of your ways. Our house will serve you and we will bless you as you have blessed us. There is none like our God. “I walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I kept my faith, even when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”; I said in my consternation, “Men are all a vain hope.” What shall I render to the Lord for all His bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord in the presence of all His people. Psalm 116:9-14 I give thanks to the Lord for His holy presence. I praise your name that I am never without you. I call to you, and you hear me. I faithfully wait for you like a devoted wife awaits her husband’s return home from a long journey. She does not go in search for another husband because he is delayed in coming, but eagerly awaits the master of the house. I am clean, the house is clean, I am prepared for your arrival, the love of my life. “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.” Deuteronomy 7:9

How can I tell of the goodness of my Lord? They are yelling in the streets and crying out for justice. Their anger drives them to speak against your ways. They question your purpose for their pain. Their words have joined their hands in the killing of their enemies. How do you calm the fits of a child once they are consumed by it? How do you re-teach a child to walk once they have fallen and been hurt? Surely, they remember. They must know they have no strength alone, that without your help, they would never walk again. O that they would reach out to you again. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

I remember you in the morning, for you do not fail to bring forth your light. You gave us the sun and the son, for you are a good and giving Father. We are not overtaken by darkness because you are the light of this world. If you came and removed the lampstand, the sun would still rise. Even when you must take, you give because you are merciful. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Job still loved you. You chasten those that you love, and you corrected his wrongs against you. Like a good Father, you give to your children and correct them when they are disobedient. Your pleasure is in your children, and your requirement is our obedience and reverence for our God. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5

Who gives you thanks at daybreak, O Lord, for your faithfulness?  Who takes for granted the kiss of the sun and the warmth it provides? When they drink the fruit of the vine, they give thanks because they receive the drink that dulls their mind. If you removed the sun that brings growth to the fruit, would they be thankful for the water or cry out like in the desert, “we are tired of water, we want wine!” Can anyone be thankful in a drought? Can anyone remember the wonderful things you have done? You are the light to my path, a lamp at my feet. I am not lost but found. I am not so blind that I do not see the goodness of God in all things. “I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things. Isaiah 45:7 May I always work out my salvation in fear and trembling knowing that God alone blesses and curses, therefore I shall not point the finger He formed upon the hand He created at the God of all creation. I will bow my head before you Lord, with my hands humbly folded in front of me, for I know my life is but a mist. I am yours to move from here to there, to take back the Ruach that is yours. In every direction, you are there leading me like a good shepherd directs His flock. I lay at your feet, and you give me rest. My mouth does not thirst, and my body is clothed. When my eyes are shut in rest, your light awakens me. You are faithful to me every morning; new mercies greet me every day. “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rearguard.” Isaiah 58:8

If I brought the good news to their door or met them in the streets telling of your goodness, they would attack me. You offered a Holy Sacrifice for the sins of the people, and they cursed the blood of the lamb. They are heavy laden and willing to wear the yoke that is impossible to bear. O how your yoke is easy, and your burden is light to those who accept your glorious gifts. I stand in awe of your glory. I am thankful for your sacrifices, and I cling to the treasure you have freely given. May my life be a sacrifice to you. I will gladly give it knowing that I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. Your light shines on those that have accepted your love, those that do not deny the goodness of God. “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people, from this time forth and for evermore. For the Sceptor of wickedness shall not rest upon the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous put forth their hands to do wrong. Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts! But those who turn aside upon their crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers! Peace be in Israel! Psalm 125:1-5 Can they find praise when there is no peace? Surely, they recall the goodness of their God!