Musings from the Book of Psalms by Marilyn Moon Mansfield

Today’s guest blogger is Marilyn Moon Mansfield,a certified personality trainer with 20-plus years of elementary and secular teaching, training, and speaking experience. Through her presentations, she demonstrates effective techniques to overcome some of the most difficult relationship obstacle: the ability to communicate with those that are “wired” differently than ourselves! 

With humor and inspiration, Marilyn shares how we were prewired and designed at birth with certain behavior patterns and tendencies. Her life-changing message supplies people with tools needed to immediately enhance all their relationships, personally and professionally. Marilyn is a wife, mom and is an active member of her church choir. To connect with Marilyn, email her at: Marilyn@MarilynMoonMansfield.com. Marilyn also enjoys digging into the Scripture and today she shares what she discovered in the book of Psalms.

I spent my day with someone I have known for as long as I can remember.  I have heard of and about him many times. He is an author. He has several chapters recorded in the book of Psalms in the Bible.

His name is David.

In the Bible, David is referred to as a “Man after God’s Own Heart,” yet so much of his writing is lamenting, filled with anguish to the point of death. Emotion runs rampant throughout the pages. He questions God, asking Him why he does not do something with the evils of the world since He has the power to do so. He actually BEGS God to send relief or let him go to the grave because he does not think he can take it anymore. In the next breath, he expresses how God fills him with joy in His presence with eternal pleasures! Before you can breathe a sigh of relief, he returns to his desperation point, begging God to rescue him from his enemies and to bring down his pursuers. David’s writings read like a suspenseful, action-packed movie with the good guys going head to head with the bad guys.

So, how does this relate to the modern day 21st Century Christian?

It tells me we are all human. It tells me that even though we may be one who is “After God’s own heart,” we still live in a fallen world and bad things happen to good people. The Psalms encourage “righteousness” and link that action with better living, even when it doesn’t seem to change the circumstances. However, over and over at various intervals during the pages of his writings, God gives David some signs of his goodness because he is able to say things such as “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”

Through it all, David never loses sight of the power and awesomeness of God.  He says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.”

So, when my life is not what I think it should be, wish it had been or wish it were, I have to say as David said, “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold, they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

So, as a believer I should not expect to feel like everyday is a holiday because I am a born again believer. What I should expect is to be tested and tried, and sometimes tested and tried to a perceived point of no return. Yet knowing I am walking with God, according to his precepts, I know He is not surprised by what I am feeling, whether it’s good or bad.

To those who always seem to project spiritual emotional bliss at any given moment of the day, I wonder.

Have you walked the paths of David?

Have you had to hide in the cave of desperation?

Have you felt the loneliness of heart where no one seemed to care?

Have you nursed a thorn in your side that rubs you raw almost everyday of your life?

God’s word tells us, “That joy comes in the morning. Weeping only lasts for the night.” For some, the night turns into months and then years.

So what happens when the trials persist, the answers don’t come and the pain still exists?

For me, it is to look and find glimpses of God’s goodness in small things,

Like an unexpected call from a friend,

A red light that turns green before you have to stop,

A computer problem that seemingly fixes itself.

But, to expect to FEEL happy and giddy all the time as some portray what being a Christian is, either I am not a Christian, or the ones who do that are fakes. We shouldn’t continue to confuse others by making them think something is wrong with them because they are not always “rockin’ and rollin’” to the beat of the new prosperity gospel being shared these days. We should stop portraying Christianity like “If you TAKE it, you’ll get a high.” Jesus is Lord…not a Rock Star.  He is to be Honored, Respected, Awed, Revered and Worshipped, not just because his name is mentioned in a song.

He should be Worshipped because He is the Great I AM.

Because He Demands it.

To be a Christ follower is not for the faint of heart.

So, spending my day with David has renewed my strength and encouraged me to keep on keeping on, even when I’m being chased by the evils of this world.