Oh, today I might be able to do some Christmas shopping! I am getting into the spirit of gift hunting. Would a million dollars be enough to supply my list? Sometimes I go way overboard, but I have to tell you, I am feeling so full of good things that I want to give very big, very many gifts! My husband should be looking over my shoulder right now... I promise to stay on budget!
All that aside, I do want to get down to the post. From one SLS (you'll see what that means in a minute) to another....perhaps....give a read to Psalm 103.
David’s soul must have been rather downcast if in the first two verses of this psalm he had to tell his soul to bless the Lord three times! I wonder what happened or what he did! Maybe it wasn’t anything bad but he was so full of gratitude he just couldn’t help himself…maybe he was “doing a dance" before the Lord! I don’t know, just wondering.
This psalm seems to be a great remedy to the self-loather’s soul (SLS). The SLS is full of self-condemnation, the sense of “screwing it up again”, feeling like they’ll never get it right. SLSs sometimes work on the basis of insecurities born in their dysfunctional or traumatic upbringing. http://www.outofthefog.net/CommonBehaviors/SelfLoathing.html But more often than not, for a believer, it seems that one can become a SLS because their less-than-pure motivations for action are known to themselves. Sometimes our own expectations of ourselves are unreasonable and much too stringent. Legalism bears on many a SLS. We are not gracious with ourselves. We consider ourselves with a hypercritical eye…judging by an extreme standard without forgiveness or grace. And it brings our ministries to a screeching halt when we fall into that pit to wallow. Note the focus on self… it’s critical.
In our house we use a quote from James Dobson from a story he told about his son a long time ago. The son got stuck on a tailgate of a truck and hollered, “Somebody help the boy! Somebody help the boy!” So, in a getting stuck in the pit mode myself, I was hollering to the Lord, “Somebody help the girl! Somebody help the girl!” Enter Psalm 103.
Those first 5 verses are written like a cheer! Motivate your heart, soul and mind! Remember God’s benefits to you: forgiveness of ALL your iniquities, healing from ALL your diseases, redemption, compassion and mercy from the Creator of the Universe, satisfaction of the soul with pleasant, rich things so we are renewed and repaired.
Do you see all the attributes of God displayed? It is good medicine for the soul to say them to the Lord, calling Him by those names. It is pleasing to Him and it raises our eyes from self to His throne and character.
Holy, Benefactor, Forgiver, Healer, Redeemer, Bestower of gifts, Satisfier, Rejeuvenator…
Verse 6 was the crux of matter for me. “The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.” I looked up the word oppressed to find this definition in Webster’s 1826 dictionary: burdened with unreasonable impositions, overpowered, overburdened, depressed. The SLS burdens themselves with unreasonable impositions. They are overburdened, depressed with and within themselves. But look here, it says that the Lord executes righteousness and justice for them. The Lord brings the Truth to bear on the SLS and judges them, with remedy. Verse 7 seems to be saying, “Duh! He made known his ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” REMEMBER?!?!? And then, here comes the remedy for the SLS’s soul: The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy. Ah, it is as if my soul would sink into the soothing spa of His gift to me. Grace and Mercy.
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