Yesterday I was speaking at rest home from 2 Corinthians 4:17-18.  I was using grace and mercy as my two illustrations for focus on the eternal.

2 Corinthians 12:9 is a great example.  Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to remove the thorn in his flesh.  When the Lord changed his focus from the temporary thorn to eternal grace, Paul’s whole attitude changed.

In Lamentations 3:16-24 we have another example.  Jeremiah was having a very hard time.  He was wallowing in emotional pain, but then changed his focus to God’s eternal mercy.  His whole wording goes from despairing to hope as he recalls God’s faithfulness.

Purposed change of focus, is choosing to trust God’s higher way of enduring.  I’ve been meditating on Psalm 40:4.  He “makes” the Lord his trust.  Makes is deliberate, intentional, focused, determined, and purposed.  That is what we do when we take our eyes off the temporary and focus on His eternal gifts.

This morning the Holy Spirit took me to some verses to help me stand.  I just want to share them with you.  Ephesians 6:13 tells us that when we have done all to stand, to keep on standing.

1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

Psalm 31:24 says, “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”

1 Samuel 4:9 is the Philistine pep talk: conduct yourselves like men, and fight!

Nahum 1:1 says, “…Man the fort!  Watch the road!  Strengthen your flanks!  Fortify your power mightily.”

Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.”

I just started reading Joshua yesterday.  Joshua 3:4 is telling them to watch the ark, “…that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”  It is so comforting to know that He has gone before us to prepare the way, and He is ever present as He leads us into uncharted territory.

Psalm 34:18 Amplified says, “The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent.”  Penitent means: conscience-stricken, regretful.

Romans 8:7  says that are carnal, fleshly mind is enmity against God.  Our carnal way of thinking dictates our actions against God way.

A contrite hearts willingly dies to its flesh.  We recognize afresh that He died in His flesh, to give us grace to conquer our flesh.  Colossians 1:21-22 says, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.”

I just copied this from Matthew Henry on Luke 21:19.  “In suffering times, set patience upon the guard for the preserving of your souls; by it keep your souls composed and in a good frame, and keep out all those impressions which would ruffle you and put you out of temper.’’

Negative impressions are fiery darts.

I was meditating on the phrase, “Established my goings” from Psalm 40:2.  Having our feet on a rock rather than sinking in miry clay is a great illustration.  It gives us a word picture for steadfastness, immoveable, settled, fixed.

Colossians 2:7 in the Amplified says, “Have the roots (of your being) firmly and deeply planted (in Him, fixed and founded in Him), being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving.”

He causes our goings to prosper, be successful, and fruitful.  Deuteronomy 28:6 says, “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.”

The Holy Spirit showed me something this morning that I want to share with you.  It is a personal experience of release through meditating on Psalm 40:1.  I assigned this verse to our Inner Peace class on Thursday.  One of gals emailed me.  She was excited because she looked up the meaning of inclined.  One of the definitions is to listen favorably.

I was meditating on the second phrase, “…and He inclined to me…”  I coupled that with listening favorably, and realized afresh that He listens to my heart!  I continued to mediate as I went to sleep.  The next morning I was still delighting that He hears my heart.  He broke through that thought by revealing a deep inner pain I had stuffed as a child.  I was a chatter box.  When my parents had enough, they would tell me to be quiet.  My constant chatter bothered my parents.  He showed me that I believed they rejected me for who I was.  I stuffed the pain, and entered a silent world of make believe to survive.

Through mediating on His word, He revealed the hidden in my unconscious.  I forgave my parents, asked Him to forgive me, and He initiated the release.  It was as though He pulled me up from somewhere deep.  He broke the lie that I had believed that I was a bother.  He affirmed that He delights when I express myself to Him.  He reminded me of Psalm 62:8, “Trust Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”

The release began as I meditated on a truth that opposed a lie I had believed.  The lie affected my interaction with the Lord and others.  His word is alive, and powerful.  It is sharp and able to penetrate the deepest parts of our unconscious.  His desire is for our freedom.

The Holy Spirit just showed me something more about meditation as the read the account of Peter’s vision of the unclean animals.  Acts 10:17 says, “Now while Peter wondered within himself…”  Acts 11:6 says, “While I observed it intently and considered…”  The Amplified says, “Gazing intently and closely at it, I observed in it…”  These two verses are a great example of meditating.

Psalm 1:2 talks about meditating day and night, with the result in verse 3.  It says that whatever he does will prosper.  The word prosper means: flourish, thrive, do well, blossom, progress.

3 John vs 2 says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”  Meditating on His word will cause us to prosper spiritually, physically, and emotionally.  Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions.  Meditating will change the way we think and act.  It will literally transform our thought process;  influencing every thought and action.

When we mediate we are communing with the Lord through His word.  The Hebrew thought was to be lost in communion with God.  James 1:21 uses the word implanted.  The implanted word is His eternal word rooted in our heart.  It is His source of power within us, transforming our lives.

This morning the Holy Spirit reminded me that worry is futile.  Futile means: fruitless, empty, unproductive, ineffectual, and worthless.  Matthew 6:27 reminds us that worry doesn’t change a thing.

Trust bears much fruit that glorifies the Lord.  Jeremiah 17:7-8 gives the results of perpetual trust as not ceasing to yield fruit.  Perpetual means: uninterrupted, continuous, unending, unceasing, persistent, and unbroken.  We can have unceasing trust because He is unceasingly Faithful.

Psalm 37:5 Amplified says, “Commit your way to the Lord (roll and repose each care of your load on Him) trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.  Proverbs 16:3 Amplified says, “Roll your works upon the Lord (commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and) so shall your plans be established and succeed.”

The word commit is a picture of a camel with a load.  When it is ready to release the load, it kneels down, rolls over until the load drops off.  What a picture for us!  We kneel down in prayer, and roll each care at His feet.

This morning I woke up with the words, “Training the soul in righteousness.”  Our soul (mind, will, and emotions) being conformed to His will.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 in the Amplified says, “Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, (and) for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well-fitted that thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Isaiah 26:9 says, “With my soul I have desired You in the night, yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early…”  The soul and spirit are in one accord.

Our soul has to be trained to walk in the Spirit.  We train it each time we bring every thought captive.  We don’t allow it to futilely wander, or dialogue.  We bring it into subjection.  We train our thoughts through God’s word hidden in our hearts.  The word is our trainer in righteousness.  It reveals His will.

When we start to feel negative, or irritated, or ungrateful, etc., we must immediately begin quoting a verse in our heart.  As we do this, we are training our mind, will, and emotions to conform and be in one accord with Him.

Psalm 104:34 says, “May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord.”

Yesterday I was meditating on the words from Acts 2:1, “…with one accord.”  120 people were in one accord!  It means: being unanimous, having mutual consent, being in agreement, having group unity, having one mind and purpose.

This morning I read 1 Peter 3:8 which says, “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.”  The Amplified uses humble for courteous.

Humility is the precursor for unity.