1. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
I think we might have all been,watching each other. We all stuck out like sore thumbs. He with his awkward hesitant walk and cane; and us with our momentarily out of place skin color. He had 2 giggly women with a fishing pole; and I had one silent woman with a camera. It was safe enough watching from a distance ...but as life would have it ... the shortest distance between two points would land him near our proximity with all of our issues in a collision course.
2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
It was a moment of humor that broke the ice between us. It was obvious he was there to fish with a pole and relax; and we were there to fish with a camera and relax. The humor came when he baited his hook and went to swing his rod. That rod and hook created a “move away” gigglier situation for the two women with him. As he would begin to create his wild crazy swing of the pole, they would laugh and move out of the suspected path of its hooked movement. I broke the verbal distance with a quandary, “How many children have you hooked and cast them in with your swing?” We all laughed with this thought. By the second wild whip of the rod, the two women had removed themselves from the area and away from the conversations that would ensue.
3. Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4.Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
“May I ask, how are you doing?” was all I needed to say to unleash an onslaught of facts that would tell me how GOD GOT HIS ATTENTION. As a younger man, he strayed away from the Lord ... between a car accident, a piece of metal breaking off at a job site and stabbing him in the neck; both causing near death experiences ... God got his attention and now he lives to praise and pray for others. Amazing his desire to convince me that he loved Jesus ... to the point where he shared, “God wakes me up in the middle of the night to pray and I pray even though I am not sure who or what to pray for, so I's pray fo every one in da world whoms I never even met yet”. It was obvious that He really desired a continuous connection, but as I stared into his eyes I could sense the reality of the daily battle he was living.
5. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7. Shew thy marvelous loving kindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
8. Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9. From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10. They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
11. They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
“They bring sick babies to me now to pray, and I pray and God hears. A little one, just a month ago, couldn't walk, I prayed –God, let him walk but not like me, And now he is running around with all the others” “God uses me to pray, tho it wasn't always this way!” I could see the ravages of sin that had taken its toll on him, but I could also sense his strong momentary desire to Praise God Loudly and openly (perhaps the two escapees knew this would happen).
12. Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13. Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
14. From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
Had I found the time to tell my “wanderings” story, we would have both found that GOD HAD GOTTEN OUR ATTENTION at different times in our lives when straying was the choice. The awesome thing we all found together was that God makes the lasting “good” difference in our lives ... creating a desire to Praise him and a desire for more of Him. Oh, if only we could judge righteous judgment, and see with our hearts instead of our eyes, how much different our effectual Heavenly living would be. “Christlike” ... to be like Jesus ... is not what we think we see. “Christlike” ... to be like Jesus is a daily awakening to His likeness, and a daily longing for His likeness where ever He may meet us.
15. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
I saw Harold Holly in my mirror today ... His sin stained eyes, his quivering lips under-girded with staggered broken missing teeth, his unsteady caned walk, his wild fishing rod swing, his unkempt clothing, and beautiful broken smile ... but most of all ... I saw his heart as he desired to make God's praise believable from his life. Harold Holly, we are not so different are we?
HLFA,
Jeff