WORD From The Woods
Psalm 139:1-17
“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,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
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.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!”
We can get so distracted by chaos of life, especially in the timber industry. We all work to hard and try to do more in a day than we have time to do. It’s so easy to forget that God is in control and start to think that maybe we are the ones who are in charge. It’s easy to do. Ambition and drive are not bad things. God doesn’t want us to be a bunch of slackers. He wants us to be the kind of people who will get up in the morning, and show some initiative to go out and get something done. This isn’t usually a problem for loggers! Our problem is that we think we are the ones in charge and we tend to leave God in the dust of our foolishness, pride and selfish ambition. I love the words of King David in Psalm 139. He makes it so clear to us that God knows our every thought and every move. Even before a word is on our lips, He knows it. That should be a sobering thought when we say some of the things we do at times! David tells us that we can’t go anywhere apart from God, He is always there. This is the God that knit us together in our mother’s womb. This is the God who knew every day of our life, thousands, even millions of years before the earth was even formed by His hand! And we think that we are the ones in control….. How foolish could we be? How arrogant could we be? God has a plan for each one of us. He has a specific calling on our life, and it’s a good plan, an awesome plan! Far greater than anything we can come up with. I’m not saying that God wants all of us to drop what we’re doing and go into “full time” ministry. Most of the time God calls us to serve Him right where we’re at, and for most of us reading this, that’s in the woods. I hope and pray that the words of King David will remind you how great our God really is and that He is intimately familiar with every thought and step you take. In the middle of all the chaos, remember that God is right there with you. Let Him lead and guide your way.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Psalm 139:1-17
“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,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
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.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!”
We can get so distracted by chaos of life, especially in the timber industry. We all work to hard and try to do more in a day than we have time to do. It’s so easy to forget that God is in control and start to think that maybe we are the ones who are in charge. It’s easy to do. Ambition and drive are not bad things. God doesn’t want us to be a bunch of slackers. He wants us to be the kind of people who will get up in the morning, and show some initiative to go out and get something done. This isn’t usually a problem for loggers! Our problem is that we think we are the ones in charge and we tend to leave God in the dust of our foolishness, pride and selfish ambition. I love the words of King David in Psalm 139. He makes it so clear to us that God knows our every thought and every move. Even before a word is on our lips, He knows it. That should be a sobering thought when we say some of the things we do at times! David tells us that we can’t go anywhere apart from God, He is always there. This is the God that knit us together in our mother’s womb. This is the God who knew every day of our life, thousands, even millions of years before the earth was even formed by His hand! And we think that we are the ones in control….. How foolish could we be? How arrogant could we be? God has a plan for each one of us. He has a specific calling on our life, and it’s a good plan, an awesome plan! Far greater than anything we can come up with. I’m not saying that God wants all of us to drop what we’re doing and go into “full time” ministry. Most of the time God calls us to serve Him right where we’re at, and for most of us reading this, that’s in the woods. I hope and pray that the words of King David will remind you how great our God really is and that He is intimately familiar with every thought and step you take. In the middle of all the chaos, remember that God is right there with you. Let Him lead and guide your way.
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-