Opinions Often Don’t Matter

Psalm 3:2 (KJV) Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

(Proverbs 14 also read)

We are supposed to be open to counsel.  Wisdom means that we learn to take advice, and that we listen to other people who might be speaking the words that God wants us to hear.  That’s true, but not always true.

Here David hears what I was just saying.  I’m sure that if David were in one of his bad times, it would be easy for him to take these words seriously.  He tells us what everyone is saying.  I would guess that we have been there.  We’ve had people who question our motives and our whole spiritual demeanor.  Our first responsibility is to listen with an open heart.  Keep in mind when I say open heart I don’t mean the word that is used for simple or naïve.  It also means open. Your heart is not open in the sense that it’s so open everything will fall out and anything can come in.  Your heart is to be filled with the things of God and with His word.

Then when someone has something to say, you can filter it through the wisdom that you have stored up because you’ve been spending time with Him.  It may be that you need to hear what they’re saying.  It may be that you need to hear it and ignore it.  Only you know the answer to that.

So? Listen, but listen with the Holy Spirit guiding your heart in mind.  Hear what you need to hear.  Ignore the rest. 

Good Speak

(Psa 103:1 KJV)  A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

(Proverbs 9 also read)

As I was worshiping this morning the phrase “bless the Lord” came to mind and with it the question of how could we possibly “bless” (1288) almighty God?  The mere mention of such a thing almost seems like blasphemy.  Yet here in Psalms we see that David is doing it.

So it must be possible, even desirable.  

Somewhere I got the idea that blessing means to speak good about something.  I think it comes from looking at the Greek word translated “bless” ( g2127) [eulogeo] which is a compound word meaning good speak.

So?  Speak good of the Lord.  It is like a combination of praise and thanksgiving.