Joining God’s Causes

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During my daily study of God’s word, I’ve found the SOAP method to be very helpful as I use His word to cleanse and refresh my heart and mind:

Scripture

Observations

Application

Prayer

Scripture: Psalm 146: 1-9 : ¹ Praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord, O my soul.  ² I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 

³ Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.  ⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 

⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, ⁶ the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them–the Lord, who remains faithful forever.  ⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.  The Lord sets prisoners free, ⁸ the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.  ⁹ The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. 

Observations:  This anonymous writer saw God and humans accurately.  He warned us not to put all our trust just in people, even people in high positions; they are still finite and have human weaknesses.  To quote this Bible’s notes, “Help from man is temporal and unstable, but help from God is lasting and complete.”  I really like the footnotes from this Bible; I struggled hard with a lot of Scriptures before, but these footnotes have greatly helped me to understand a lot of verses better! Thank You, God, for inspiring Mom to give me this Bible!  It’s big and heavy and took me years to open it up and take advantange of the wisdom that it holds within, but I am really grateful for this Life Application Bible now!

It’s true: You are our ultimate helper, the only one who can truly save us.  You’re righteous; You feed the hungry, free prisoners (even those in mental and emotional prisons!); You give sight to the blind (literally and figuratively!), lift up those who are downcast; You protect outcasts and foreigners, and You take care of orphans and widows—people who have no one—AND You thwart evil.  I love it!

Application: I like this psalm.  It reminds me of the character of God, of His sovereignty.  It reminds me not to put my trust in humans only but in God.  He is able to do miracles; He is able to rescue; He is mighty to save, and—most importantly—He has the heart to save. 

You are righteous, Lord.  You are good.  You fight for the underdog and rescue the oppressed.  You protect those who are lonely, who don’t have families.  I’m so grateful for this, that You are a God of these many wonderful characteristics. 

Being God, You could be anything.  You could use your power for evil as some “gods” do.  You could be distant.  You could be cold.  You could be selfish, but You are compassionate and just, and you care for those who are downtrodden!

There was a time when I felt oppressed, and I was lonely and felt I had no real family, but You brought me out of that depression and emptiness and grafted me into Your family.  You showed me that I’m Your precious daughter and that I have value in Your eyes whether others see it or not.  You’ve changed my life, and I’m so grateful to You!  I want to shout Your name from the rooftops and share Your love with the world, that they might know Your freedom and comfort, too!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being this kind of God.  Thank you for not just creating all the earth and the heavens and all that is in them but also feeding us physically and spiritually (through Your word!), fighting for the oppressed, setting us free from our chains, giving us sight and perspective, lifting us up, watching over us, and protecting us.  You are a good God, and we trust in You, not only in humans.  Although You can and do employ people to do Your good work, and You have influence over even the highest of authorities, You are still the one who uses Your power to inspire the good work, You that we trust and look to.  Our eyes are on You, Lord. 

Please guide me and use me to carry out Your causes—to be faithful, to give food to the hungry, set prisoners free, lift others up, to be there for people who are lonely.  Show me tangible things that I can do! 

Maybe I can always keep food and hygiene products in the car, so I can give them to the homeless when I seem them.  There are so many here in Hawaii; they approach us at many big intersections.  Instead of looking away nervously and embarrassedly when the homeless people walk up to my car, I can offer them food or water. 

I can also make time to reach out and spend time with people who don’t have a lot of friends and family around them.  I can put a reminder on my phone to check in on them regularly…reach out with a text or a phone call even if I can’t see them in person…

Lord, please keep showing me ways that I can join you in your causes.  Thank you for being a God with such a good heart!