Nuggets
- If our imitating God’s character makes us holy, holiness and godliness is the same thing.
- When we are having trials, we have to consider God and how He wants us to live.
- God doesn’t like any sin.
- When we meditate on God, we look inside ourselves to take stock.
- He wants us to think about where we are as a disciple and what we need to work on to be more holy.
- We have to come into God’s presence the right way.
Meditation helps us grow. This devotion looks why God wants us to meditate on Him — when we experience trials and at other times.
Let's Put It into Context
“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah” (Ps. 4: 1-2 ESV)
It is trial city again. What is it this time? Too much month at the end of our money? To much holiday “cheer”? Unexpected changes or illnesses? Problems in paradise? [Insert your trial of the moment.]
We are so good at calling God when we are in the midst of trials — probably not so much at other times. But don’t we expect God to answer us every time we call regardless how long it has been?
Calling to God is coming to Him in prayer. That is how we communicate with God. We are to reverently approach God. We are to praise Him for His plan of salvation.
It is interesting. The King James Version and the New King James Version say, “Hear me when I call …” (Ps. 4: 1). Every one of the modern translations changed it to answer me.
Hearing means the answering is implied. Changing it emphasizes, I think, that God is always going to answer our prayers. It just may not be in the way we asked or on our timetables.
Are we so insecure in our faith today that we don’t think God will answer? Or have we accused Him of not answering so many times because He doesn’t answer the way we have demanded?
“… O God of my righteousness! …” (Ps. 4: 1 ESV emphasis added). We’ve said that righteousness is the product of being holy, created by having faith and loving as Jesus does. Our righteousness comes from God.
We’ve talked before about how God wants us to remember. He wants us to remember His laws and commandments. He wants us to remember how He has provided for us in past trials.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Set Apart the Godly
“But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him” (Ps. 4: 3 ESV)
Okay, we are going to start in the middle, just in case we are tripping over godly. Fisk said that “godliness is a state of mind and heart which is derived from a source higher than man.”
We’ve been calling it holy. If our imitating God’s character makes us holy, holiness and godliness is the same thing.
We know that God has set people apart. Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and pure. Those who are holy and set apart are called saints.
Who we are talking about are people who have ABCDed. They have been and are in the process of being regenerated. Regeneration is the change in us that God brings about when we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
The ABCDs of Salvation
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
When we think about it, it is very humbling. God believed in us enough to ask His Son to be a sacrifice for us. He believes we can be holy. We can be saints. … We are saints when we are His child.
Seek God
“Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah” (Ps. 4: 4 NASB)
The versions all have their unique take on Psalms 4: 4. Some say for us to be angry (ESV, NKJV, CSB, HCSB). I don’t think that is what is meant.
One says don’t let your anger make you sin (NLT). Okay, I can see that.
Others say tremble or tremble in fear (NIV, NASB, GNT). The King James Version says, “Stand in awe …” (Ps. 4: 4). I think this is probably the original meaning.
Tremble
I think this goes back to the fear of the Lord concept. Remember, fear of the Lord is reverence and love.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Why do I think that? Awe is reverence.
We just came off of talking about His righteousness. How do we respond to that righteousness? Awe not anger. We look to Him. The anger puts us in focus, not Him.
But these days, we don’t do awe and reverence very well, do we? It is more like the Natalie Grant song about bringing God down to our level. Putting boundaries around Him.
Isn’t awe and reverence the whole theme of this section? When we are having trials, we have to consider God and how He wants us to live. He wants us to remain holy and righteous.
But if we are going to stand firm in these trials, we have to stand in God, not ourselves.
Don’t Sin
I get it that we sin in anger. But we sin when we aren’t angry, too.
God doesn’t like any sin. If we sin, we are not living holy lives.
I think part of the fallout of losing the awe and reverence is that we feel there isn’t going to be a judgment.
There is.
Meditate
This verse was what I put in my drafts folder. I was intrigued by this section of the verse.
“… Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.” (Ps. 4: 4 NASB).
We’ve talked before that faith is described by beliefs, a.k.a., the assent of the mind. Hickman said it should be “improved by exercise and application of the mind.”
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
The meditate part is where we evaluate things. We look inside ourselves to take stock.
The on-our-bed part is where we pull away so we can focus on God and what He is saying to us. It is where we get to really now ourselves.
I know. Some nights, it is hard to turn off. But if we are going ninety to nothing all day, when are we going to slow down enough to really think things through?
That is what God wants us to do. He wants us to think about where we are as a disciple and what we need to work on to be more holy. This will help us grow.
But it is more than that, too. This is where God wants us to take our daily Bible readings and apply them to our lives.
What should we examine? Anything and everything — our lives, our friendships, our jobs, how we spend our leisure time, our opinions, our priorities, our schedules………….
Our measuring stick should be God’s Word. It should especially be His laws and commandments. We have to know them in order to make the comparison.
That makes it a series exercise. We can’t approach it lightly. We need to now ourselves.
Sacrifice in Trust
“Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord (Ps. 4: 5 ESV)
Oh, I like this verse. We have to come into God’s presence the right way. It is all about Him and our reverencing and honoring Him.
Our job description says that spree sacrifice should be a living sacrifice. Our sacrifice is to be the way that we live.
We are to give our all to God. This includes our self, our thoughts, our desires, our energy — everything.
We give God control over our jobs and our finances. God calls the shots in our relationships.
We can make this sacrifice because we trust God. Trust is confidence that the promises of God are true. Trust helps us to keep the prayer line going with God.
We give God control over the times we feel like we have been wronged. This includes the times we feel bullied and humiliated.
Making the Connections
I loved a quote by Logan. “This serious frame of mind cherishes those higher virtues of the soul which are called ‘the armour of God.’ In the solemn silence of the mind are formed those great resolutions which decide the fate of men. This temper is no less favourable to the milder virtues of humanity. A serious mind is the companion of a feeling heart.”
When we meditate on God, we value the armor of God. This meditation helps strengthen us for when the spiritual warfare comes.
Why do you think it is so hard for us to meditate on God? Is it we are so used to the frantic pace of the world today? Is it we just hate to be alone? Maybe it is because — deep down — we don’t think God is going to answer us back.
God will answer — probably with just a flood of peace.
How Do We Apply This?
We have to form the habit of meditating on God. It is so easy to pray, say amen, and go to sleep. When do we listen for what He has to say to us?
It is important that we are real in these analyses. We can’t gloss over what God wants us to change. Neither should we bite on ourselves needlessly.
I can see advantages of meditating the last thing before turning in at night. But you know, we can do it any time. Are we better in the morning? Do it then. Would it be a better lunch-time activity? Go for it.
Whenever we choose to meditate, Satan is going to try to stop us from making it a habit to evaluate ourselves. We can’t let him succeed. We need to keep our thoughts on God and how He wants us to live.
Try asking yourselves these questions:
- Did today draw us closer or further away from God?
- What leisure activities carried temptation?
- What was God calling us to do today that we did and didn’t do?
- Did we live today based on the principles of God?
Remember, God wants us to look at our lives to see where sin is lurking. He wants us to grow in Him.
God. We want to seek You — not just when we are in the midst of trials, but every day. We want to make sure that we are following Your laws and commandments and Your will for our lives. Help us to read and meditate on Your Word. Amen.
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
What do you think?
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