June 27, 2015

WE CAN'T KNOW WHO WE ARE UNTIL WE KNOW WHOSE WE ARE

Psalms 135–139

Hope Harris
Saturday's Devo

June 27, 2015

Saturday's Devo

June 27, 2015

Central Truth

We can’t know who we are until we know whose we are. Not knowing who you are can make you feel other than or less than who you really are.

Key Verse |

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. (Psalm 139:14)

Psalms 135–139

Your Name, O LORD, Endures Forever

Praise the LORD!
Praise the name of the LORD,
    give praise, O servants of the LORD,
who stand in the house of the LORD,
    in the courts of the house of our God!
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
    sing to his name, for it is pleasant! 1 135:3 Or for he is beautiful
For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel as his own possession.

For I know that the LORD is great,
    and that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the LORD pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.
He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
    who makes lightnings for the rain
    and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    both of man and of beast;
who in your midst, O Egypt,
    sent signs and wonders
    against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10  who struck down many nations
    and killed mighty kings,
11  Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    and Og, king of Bashan,
    and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12  and gave their land as a heritage,
    a heritage to his people Israel.

13  Your name, O LORD, endures forever,
    your renown, 2 135:13 Or remembrance O LORD, throughout all ages.
14  For the LORD will vindicate his people
    and have compassion on his servants.

15  The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
16  They have mouths, but do not speak;
    they have eyes, but do not see;
17  they have ears, but do not hear,
    nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18  Those who make them become like them,
    so do all who trust in them.

19  O house of Israel, bless the LORD!
    O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!
20  O house of Levi, bless the LORD!
    You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD!
21  Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
    he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the LORD!

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

to him who alone does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who by understanding made the heavens,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
the sun to rule over the day,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

10  to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
11  and brought Israel out from among them,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
12  with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
13  to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
14  and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
15  but overthrew 3 136:15 Hebrew shook off Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
16  to him who led his people through the wilderness,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

17  to him who struck down great kings,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
18  and killed mighty kings,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
19  Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
20  and Og, king of Bashan,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
21  and gave their land as a heritage,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
22  a heritage to Israel his servant,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

23  It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
24  and rescued us from our foes,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
25  he who gives food to all flesh,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

26  Give thanks to the God of heaven,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.

How Shall We Sing the LORD's Song?

By the waters of Babylon,
    there we sat down and wept,
    when we remembered Zion.
On the willows 4 137:2 Or poplars there
    we hung up our lyres.
For there our captors
    required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How shall we sing the LORD's song
    in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
    let my right hand forget its skill!
Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
    above my highest joy!

Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites
    the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
    down to its foundations!”
O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
    blessed shall he be who repays you
    with what you have done to us!
Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
    and dashes them against the rock!

Give Thanks to the LORD

Of David.

I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
    before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down toward your holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
    for you have exalted above all things
    your name and your word. 5 138:2 Or you have exalted your word above all your name
On the day I called, you answered me;
    my strength of soul you increased. 6 138:3 Hebrew you made me bold in my soul with strength

All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
    for great is the glory of the LORD.
For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your right hand delivers me.
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
    Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10  even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
11  If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
12  even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

13  For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 7 139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
15  My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

17  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18  If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

19  Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
    O men of blood, depart from me!
20  They speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies take your name in vain. 8 139:20 Hebrew lacks your name
21  Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22  I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts! 9 139:23 Or cares
24  And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting! 10 139:24 Or in the ancient way (compare Jeremiah 6:16)

Footnotes

[1] 135:3 Or for he is beautiful
[2] 135:13 Or remembrance
[3] 136:15 Hebrew shook off
[4] 137:2 Or poplars
[5] 138:2 Or you have exalted your word above all your name
[6] 138:3 Hebrew you made me bold in my soul with strength
[7] 139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart
[8] 139:20 Hebrew lacks your name
[9] 139:23 Or cares
[10] 139:24 Or in the ancient way (compare Jeremiah 6:16)

Dive Deeper | Psalms 135–139

In 2009, I became a Christian. For the prior 35 years, I lived as a lesbian. In 2010, I found my Christian faith and sexual identity colliding. I came across Psalm 139. My goal was to prove to God that He created me gay. What happened was the exact opposite: my reading of Psalm 139 changed everything, including my understanding of my true identity.

In addition, Genesis 1-3 and Romans 1:18-32 further opened my eyes to this truth: God is the Creator of all things, and His design for human sexuality is perfect. Unfortunately, His perfect design has been corrupted by the fall of Adam and Eve. That resulted in deep conflict within me.

If God was the Creator of all things, then His Word—the Bible—was absolute truth, or it was not true at all. At this juncture, God's truth mandated one of two responses: Either I would embrace God's truth about sexuality above my own feelings and desires, or I would reject it. It was an agonizing choice. Truth beckoned me to surrender all I thought to be true about myself, to whom God made me to be—a woman created in His image, a woman designed to complement men with my gifts and talents, not to compete against them or prove I was better. Living that out has been a process.

It has been painful to understand that my sexuality and same-sex attractions are the result of unhealthy relationships from childhood forward and a mingling of sinful choices on my part. I have learned that God is bigger than my attractions, bigger than my sexuality, bigger than my temptations, and bigger than my sin. I am confident that my Creator is worthy of my surrendering all those things to Him. Today, I am no longer defined by sexuality, but by my relationship with God. I know who I am! I am a child of God, a woman created in His Image.

Discussion Questions

1. Do you know who you are?

2. Do you acknowledge and accept that God is the Creator of everything, including who you are?

3. Does God's truth define who you are? Or do your own desires, attractions, and pleasures define who you are?

4. If you struggle with sexual or relational brokenness, check out www.livehope.org.