"O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!"
Psalm 34:3
Joyce Meyer (one of my FAVORITE Bible teachers!) said that to magnify something means to make it bigger than everything else. So let's begin to magnify God above our problems. I recently heard a simple truth: we need to glance at our problems but stare at Jesus.
I think a good way to practice this is by camping out in the Word of God and meditating on it's truths. Set your mind on things above and fix your eyes on Jesus. Get your mind renewed each day when you wake up. Think on all He has done, the great things throughout history and the things He's done for you personally. We don't want to forget what He has done, we want to earnestly remember it. And when we do, our hearts are always encouraged. Always. When we begin to remind ourselves of the goodness and greatness of our God, we begin to rise above our circumstances and live in an overcoming mindset.
This morning I woke up with a heavy heart. In fact, I've been fighting this for awhile. Each day is a battle. I asked the Lord where I should go in the Word and He led me to Psalm 33. The whole thing is so positive, I was uplifted and felt encouraged to write about it. A complete "about face" from where I was when I woke up. The whole chapter is excellent, but here are the verses that stood out to me and encouraged me:
"Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, for praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright in heart.
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For the word of the Lord is right; and all His work is done in faithfulness.
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He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord.
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By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth.
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For He spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast.
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The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of His heart through all generations.
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Behold, the Lord's eye is upon those who fear Him, who wait for Him and hope in His mercy and loving-kindness, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
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Our inner selves wait earnestly for the Lord; He is our Help and our Shield.
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For in Him does our heart rejoice, because we have trusted, relied on and been confident in His holy name.
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Let Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You."
Psalm 33:1, 4-6, 9, 11, 18-22 amplified
These words are incredibly precious to me. They are not hollow, but full of meaning and hold great weight because they ring true, and I know it. I feel like each of the above scriptures requires a "Selah. Pause and calmly think on that."
We have so many external pressures in our daily lives, I believe it is a necessity to get quiet before the Lord. Take the time to put Him first (magnify!) so we can tap into that deep, inner vitality which strengthens us and gives us the grace to overcome in each day.
"And let the peace and soul harmony which comes from Christ, rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts.....Let the Word of Christ have its home in your hearts and minds and dwell in you in all its richness..." Colossians 3:15a,16a amplified
I want to live from the place of knowing and experiencing for myself how big God is. Remembering each day that He's so much bigger than my circumstances. I want to practice casting my cares on Him and hiding His words in my heart. I want to declare His truth over my circumstances. My process is to read it, write it, speak it and sing it......until it becomes second nature. Until it penetrates my heart and becomes rooted down deep. Until it comes out of my mouth as the overflow from my heart.
"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good..." Luke 6:45a NASB
Is anything too hard for God? Does any problem stump Him? No! He is sovereign. Lord over all. He has infinite wisdom. In fact, He is so in control, He makes all my problems work to accomplish His purposes and He works them out for my good! Who else can say that? Be encouraged today as you think on Who He is. :o)
