The Lord does not despise His who are prisoners

[Brother Mark]

Read this Psalm this morning while reading a book "Living in Victory". What an encouraging Psalm!

Ps 69:29-33

29 But I am afflicted and in pain;
May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 And it will please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The humble have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, let your heart revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy
And does not despise His who are prisoners.
NASU


He did not despise Israel when they were held captive by the Babylonians and he does not despise His children who are held captive by our enemies; the flesh, world, and Satan and his horde. His mercies are renewed every morning!

Grace to you,

Mark

[jayne]

Excellent post and so true! One of the powerful tools of the devil is to make people in bondage believe that God is so disgusted with them that He washes His hands of them or that they are not worth salvaging.

It's all such a lie.

The book of Lamentations says that God's mercies are new every morning.....Jeremiah says so after he sees how God's people have screwed up over and over....

Lamentations 3:16-25

[16] He crushed my teeth into the gravel; he pressed me down into the ashes.
[17] I’ve rejected peace; I’ve forgotten what is good. [18] I thought: My future is gone,
as well as my hope from the LORD.

[19] The memory of my suffering and homelessness is bitterness and poison. [20] I can’t help but remember
and am depressed. [21] I call all this to mind— therefore, I will wait.

[22] Certainly the faithful love of the LORD hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through!
[23] They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness. [24] I think: The LORD is my portion! Therefore, I’ll wait for him.

[25] The LORD is good to those who hope in him, to the person who seeks him.

[Brother Mark]

Very true Jayne. He is patient with us in so many ways. He didn't come to call the righteous, but the unrighteous. He came for the ungodly. He came for the sinner. It is those of us who are sick that need a physician!

Because he came for the ungodly, unrighteous, sinning sick man, I qualified for grace. Had he came for the one who had it all together, I never would have experienced his love, patience and mercy. I would not have qualified. Like someone once said, the minute we deserve grace, it is no longer grace.

[Lyndie]

Thank you for posting this. Although I have been delivered from the bondage of alcohol, I still smoke. I am trying to quit, and it annoys me when christians look at me like I am satan's spawn cause I am a smoker.

[Dani H]

If we weren't in need of redemption, God would not be our Redeemer. If we weren't in need of saving, Jesus would not be our Savior. If we weren't in need of forgiveness, God's mercy would not be available to us. If we weren't in bondage to death, Jesus would not have died and been resurrected.

This is all real, folks. God has provided, and ultimately is the cure for what ails us, to the very core of our condition and for each and every aspect of it.

[Brother Mark]

Thank you for posting this. Although I have been delivered from the bondage of alcohol, I still smoke. I am trying to quit, and it annoys me when christians look at me like I am satan's spawn cause I am a smoker.

You are welcome Lyndie. Your story reminds me of something Peter Lord once shared. A man had come to him about stopping smoking. He had tried and his friends were riding him about it. He was broken and came to Peter for counseling. Brother Lord asked him "Has God told you to stop smoking?" The man responded that he was sure. So the man asked the Lord "Do you want me to stop smoking now?" And the Lord responded "No". That was why he was not yet delivered! The others were moving him ahead of God. I am sure in time, the Lord set him free of the habit. But we follow Him. Not our friends.

Sometimes, God is working on a deeper issue within us and we are all worried about the symptoms of that issue. When the Lord moves you to stop smoking, then do so. He will help you overcome it. If he already is moving in your heart about it, (and it seems He may be according to your post) then help is at hand! God is greater than our heart, our desires, our sin, and all things that hold us in bondage. He delights in setting us free because He delights in us.

Grace to you!

Mark

[Indueseason]

Excellent post and so true! One of the powerful tools of the devil is to make people in bondage believe that God is so disgusted with them that He washes His hands of them or that they are not worth salvaging.

It's all such a lie.

The book of Lamentations says that God's mercies are new every morning.....Jeremiah says so after he sees how God's people have screwed up over and over....

Lamentations 3:16-25

[16] He crushed my teeth into the gravel; he pressed me down into the ashes.
[17] I’ve rejected peace; I’ve forgotten what is good. [18] I thought: My future is gone,
as well as my hope from the LORD.

[19] The memory of my suffering and homelessness is bitterness and poison. [20] I can’t help but remember
and am depressed. [21] I call all this to mind— therefore, I will wait.

[22] Certainly the faithful love of the LORD hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through!
[23] They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness. [24] I think: The LORD is my portion! Therefore, I’ll wait for him.

[25] The LORD is good to those who hope in him, to the person who seeks him.

This is so true!! We so easily underestimate the faithfulness of our Lord! He came to rescue us from bondage, and He won't give up! Even when we give up and think we can never overcome, He is waiting for us to reach out our hand to Him, and try again. He does not condemn us when we slip up, He knows us better than we know ourselves! He just wants to help us back onto our feet! His mercies really are knew every morning! He is so patient, He will pick us up 100 times if we need it. If we think we have gone beyond what He will accept or deal with, then we've put a limit on His love, faithfulness and mercy! That is a lie from satan!

Today is a new day. With new mercies and new strength from Jesus. We need to keep moving forward, leaving our failures in the past where they belong. We need to believe that He will walk with us and in His glorious name, we can overcome.

blessings to you

[Indueseason]

You are welcome Lyndie. Your story reminds me of something Peter Lord once shared. A man had come to him about stopping smoking. He had tried and his friends were riding him about it. He was broken and came to Peter for counseling. Brother Lord asked him "Has God told you to stop smoking?" The man responded that he was sure. So the man asked the Lord "Do you want me to stop smoking now?" And the Lord responded "No". That was why he was not yet delivered! The others were moving him ahead of God. I am sure in time, the Lord set him free of the habit. But we follow Him. Not our friends.

Sometimes, God is working on a deeper issue within us and we are all worried about the symptoms of that issue. When the Lord moves you to stop smoking, then do so. He will help you overcome it. If he already is moving in your heart about it, (and it seems He may be according to your post) then help is at hand! God is greater than our heart, our desires, our sin, and all things that hold us in bondage. He delights in setting us free because He delights in us.

Grace to you!

Mark

I did exactly this same thing when I first gave up smoking! I tried to stop for nearly two years, without success. Two years of stopping and starting.Two years of getting upset with myself when I smoked. Two years of crying out to the Lord to help me overcome. Finally the Lord told me to hold His hand and walk away from it, and that is what I did. No slipping up, no frustration, nothing, just a walk with the Lord that led to freedom!

blessings to you

[Brother Mark]

I did exactly this same thing when I first gave up smoking! I tried to stop for nearly two years, without success. Two years of stopping and starting.Two years of getting upset with myself when I smoked. Two years of crying out to the Lord to help me overcome. Finally the Lord told me to hold His hand and walk away from it, and that is what I did. No slipping up, no frustration, nothing, just a walk with the Lord that led to freedom!

blessings to you

Thank you for sharing that! Sometimes, it is easy for us to forget how the Lord moves. When Israel was first set free from Pharaoh, God led them south, away from war, because they were not yet ready to fight. All too often, we are encouraged to war before the Lord leads us to the battle.

Ex 13:17

17 Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, " The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt."
NASU

God did knock two kings in the head when he brought them out of Egypt. But the real heavy lifting was saved for when they entered the promise land. And that only came after Sinai. IOW, God waited till they had learned a few things about Him before leading them into serious battle.

We need to allow our brothers and sisters in the Lord to work through their issues as God leads. Often, when someone gets saved, God will knock one or two things out of their life, just like he did with Israel. They will rejoice and be glad and be thankful for all that he has done. Then it is time to learn about Him. Eventually, he will lead them into battle against the deeper things in their heart.

Young believers just need to rejoice that their sins are forgiven! The rest will come in time.

1 John 2:12-13

12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.
NASU


Thanks again for sharing!

Mark