I've been trying to cut out commitments from my schedule, but it's difficult, because everything seems important. I am so thankful that my mom is retired now, because she has been a huge help to me by dog-sitting, volunteering in my classroom, making dinner for Dustin and me once a week, and doing my ironing. I often wonder how I survived before she was retired.
All of these commitments, beg the question: Am I making time for the most important thing in my life? In all my busy schedule, where is God's time? I'm ashamed to say it, but right now it's in the car between destinations, in breathless moments when I frazzled and needing help, and Sunday morning at church. I know I need to carve out time to read the Bible and pray. Dustin and I both feel that way, and we talk about almost every Sunday on the way home from church. But week blurs into week, and little changes.
Our saving grace is that we serve a God who is exceedingly patient, available every hour, every day of the year, and who loves us more than we can comprehend. David beautifully sums up our God's attitude toward us in Psalm 103...
1 Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul.
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul.
There is so much I would like to write about this Psalm, and maybe one day I will. It brings tears to my eyes that God views us this way...like his children...He pities us because He knows how simple minded we are...He is slow to get angry at us...He is full of compassion for us...He forgives AND forgets our sins...He heals our sicknesses...He renews our strength each day! So no matter how crazy our schedule we have these promises to rely on.
There is one more thing David reminds us of in Psalm 103, God deserves our time and praise. I am going to make a new commitment today! I'm going to spend time with the one being who deserves my "people pleasing" more than any other...God! Won't you too? He deserves a spot on our calendar more than anyone.
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