Gina Guy-WARren (10.8.22)
As I read Psalm 9:3, in the message translation, I was given a different perspective than I’m sure the mighty warrior David was intending to express. But that’s what makes God’s Word alive. Within the scriptures, the very breath of God resides, breathing upon us. His very heart dividing asunder both our own thoughts and intentions. (Hebrews 4:12) If you read the cry of this war torn shepherd , it’s easy to understand why he spoke about the wicked returning to the grave. He expresses from his heart that endless ruin is going to overtake his enemies and even their memory will perish. Can you blame him? All hell breaks loose upon this warrior’s life and he wants to see his enemies scatter and come to nothing. But verse 3 jumped out when I read it, and I knew the body of Christ needed this simple teaching and reminder to keep their hearts pure in the midst of the war!
“The day my enemies turned tail and ran, they stumbled on you and fell on their faces. You took over and set everything right; when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.”
I am sure every single one of us that has a ‘few years’ under our belts, will fall under the category of ‘war torn.” Matthew 10:21 is a hard word for sure, but relevant more than ever in these end times.
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.” So what does God require of us when we find ourselves in these situations as David so vulnerability articulates throughout the Psalms? We are without a shadow of a doubt in a war. This war is being waged on many fronts but what I want to focus on is our response, and how do we guard our hearts when all hell breaks loose, as if it hasn’t already?
We must go back to the very first verse of Psalm 9 and herein we will find the first step.
“I am thanking you, God, from a full heart, I am writing the book on your wonders. I am whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I am singing your song. Oh most high God.
First and foremost, David knew the position that his God deserved in his life. His relationship with His Father was evident to all His enemies. David understood that God wasn’t second in command to the army that David led, but first in command to the army God allowed him to lead! No one, and nothing would take the position his heavenly Father rightly deserved in his life. God Himself was in command and David kept his heart guarded always with this very first step; Praise and Worship.
In all your getting, all your defending and explaining yourself, all your efforts to expose and take out your enemies, keep in mind, you’re in a war. There are always casualties in a war. People die and calamity falls upon the righteous and the unrighteousness. Matthew 5:45, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” So what should be our primary focus when so many battles rage before us? Guarding our hearts that we may see God! Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
So you may ask who is really seeing and hearing God these days? The ones who keep a pure heart. Scripture is clear that the pure in heart will actually see and hear from heaven. Again, with all the daily chatter, with all the daily sisters turning against sisters, sons against fathers, preacher against preacher, theologian against theologian, how do we still see and hear from God? Praise and Worship! Before you read the daily horoscopes of what ‘god’ is doing next, or running to the next exposure post, run to Jesus the commander and chief of your life. Worship and adore Him. Lay your life first before Him. This first step will allow you to get into His presence and hear Him clearly. When He alone is the priority, high and lifted up, and our very own hearts have been purified in His presence, He will then make us privy to the enemies in the camp. Here is the truth all must realize. Many do hear from Him and when you take in this revelation, it can cause your heart to turn to anger and malice. Just because you have been shown a great evil, doesn’t mean you are in the clear to declare “extra extra, read all about it” on platforms. You must follow the steps ordered by the Lord, and that first step is to take what you know and worship Him, because if you don’t, pride will tell you to run with what you know and make it known to everyone else. Without the first step of worship, praise, adoration and reminding Him of how good He is, this intel you’re receiving will turn your heart from purity to contamination. Proverbs 4:23, “ Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
I have no doubt that if you practice the daily steps God shows us in His word, you will be able to discern what is coming forth from contaminated hearts and what is coming forth from vessels who guard their hearts. As believers, we must be an example to the world that Jesus is the answer to ALL life’s problems. I don’t know about you, but it’s crystal clear to me which messengers are speaking from contaminated hearts. David was a warrior and he knew all the evils that came against him, all the enemies that he faced on the battlefield, all the exposures of his enemies can only be faced first and foremost through a life filled with adoration and praise to His God, otherwise his heart would become calloused and his victories would turn others towards him and not God.
Today and every day, arm yourself from head to toe in Praise and Worship. Get off social media posts and get in your Word. The days ahead will require pure hearts to speak forth what’s to come and as well as exposing which camps have been infiltrated. Without a pure heart, you yourself, in all your efforts to seek good, will be susceptible to falling for the very evil you’re trying to expose and take down. Selah
Leave a Reply