Day 47 - Psalm 141

No rain, no rain, no rain. There's a MercyMe song title "Jesus Bring the Rain." It talks about our trials compared to those of Jesus and sums up by saying I'll accept whatever brings you glory..."Jesus bring the rain"

In the 141st Psalm, David asks God for help. David says keep me out of trouble, keep me from saying stupid things, and I'll gladly accept the rebuke of the righteous. You don't hear that often. The first two bits, sure...keep me safe, help me do some of that L1, L2 stuff...yeah, yeah. That's not new. But David doesn't overlook the part about accepting rebuke...acknowledging that there are folks better at things than him...faster, smarter, stronger, better musicians, you name it.

For David, this wasn't about pride or about serving self in any sense. David was earnestly seeking God's provision, guidance, security, and correction. And no, it's not just you. I can count on one hand (or less) the number of times I've asked God for correction and rebuke. We don't want that. But praise, God, He knows what we need and, because He loves us and is uniquely interested in our development, He brings rebuke. He answers not only the prayers we are lifting up by our voices, but also the prayers somewhere deep down we concede but never give voice to.

We need God. We need His grace and provision. We need Him as the absolute, immovable, unchanging reference point for our lives. We need God because He's wired us all to seek fulfillment...the kind you can't get from anything this life has to offer. We need God. We need His omniscient hand over and in our lives because as His children - and like children - we often think we know what we need. Praise God He really knows and cares enough to say no.

David prayed to God for protection, for guidance, and for refinement, because He knew that God cares and God can. Pay attention to the tense. David knew (past tense), but God cares and can (present tense).

As soon as you stop reading this, ask God to continue working on you. Ask Him for protection, for guidance, and for rebuke (yup, ask, cause He's going to provide what you need). You are "undone"...unraveled and not yet complete.

But that's a blog for another day.

- submitted by Norman & Melissa Wilson