i will not take these things for granted

thoughts on this and that in an attempt to live reflectively

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Location: Little Rock, Arkansas, United States

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Remember Who He Is

I mentioned a while back that lately I've been thinking about the importance of finding one’s identity in Christ. It’s important to remember who you are, because our beliefs about who we are affect our thoughts, our emotions, our actions.

In thinking about our identity and worth, we can base it on what the world says about us or what God says about us. But, for what God says about us to hold any weight, it helps to know and trust him and his character. With this in mind, I recently read through the Psalms and it was a blessed experience. I read one Psalm a day and reflected on what it said about who God is and who I am in relation to him. And I also tried to make the prayer of each psalm my own prayer (though of course not all of them resonated with me).

As I read through the Psalms, I noticed that the psalmist identifies God is many different ways. I’m sure I missed some of them, but whenever I read over a new name for God I jotted it down. I’d like to share them with you.

I am helped by my…

Rock
Refuge
Shepherd
Strength
Shield
Hope
Help
Shelter
Salvation
Fortress
Strong Tower
Deliverer
Maker
Keeper
Shade
King
God
Lord

Pretty cool, huh? Just reading over the list encourages me. I hope the same is true for you and that we all can look to God as our [insert name], putting our trust and hope in him. If you have some time, I recommend that you take a few minutes to meditate on the list above and on the following passage, Psalm 28:6-9.

Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. O save your people, and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever.

It's interesting to notice that in verses 6-7 the focus is on the individual and that in 8-9 it is on God's people, God's community. We have both individual and communal identities.

Today, may you be carried by your Shepherd.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Mitch, I was checking out your blog before I went to work and loved this post! It will no doubt be a help through my day.
We look forward to seeing you here at Christ Journey soon! Hope all is well.

1:03 AM  

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