January 29, 2010 (2 Chronicles 19-23, Obadiah 1, Psalm 82-83)

Today there were only a couple of verses that stopped me in my tracks. Here's the first one:

^{2 Chronicles 20:32} Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the ways of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. ³³ During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people never fully committed themselves to follow the God of their ancestors.

That bolded portion made me think of my own life. What does it mean to fully commit yourself to follow God? I think I am, but am I really? Am I daily dying to myself and my desires and asking God what His will is for me? Am I really seeking Him? I pondered this after I had done all the days readings and my Bible was open to the Psalms. Psalm 86 was not part of today's reading, but as I was praying about and thinking about this, my eyes caught the following Psalm:

¹ Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;
answer me, for I need your help.
² Protect me, for I am devoted to you.
Save me, for I serve you and trust you.
You are my God.
³ Be merciful to me, O Lord,
for I am calling on you constantly.
⁴ Give me happiness, O Lord,
for I give myself to you.
⁵ O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
⁶ Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;
hear my urgent cry.
⁷ I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,
and you will answer me.

⁸ No pagan god is like you, O Lord.
None can do what you do!
⁹ All the nations you made
will come and bow before you, Lord;
they will praise your holy name.
¹⁰ For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
You alone are God.

¹¹ Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.
¹² With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to your name forever,
¹³ for your love for me is very great.
You have rescued me from the depths of death.
¹⁵ But you, O Lord,
are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
¹⁶ Look down and have mercy on me.
Give your strength to your servant;
save me, the son of your servant.
¹⁷ Send me a sign of your favor.
Then those who hate me will be put to shame,
for you, O Lord, help and comfort me.

This is a long Psalm, but I am going to work on committing it to memory. I think that will help in my quest to be fully committed to Him.

The other "haunting" verse was this one:

^{2 Chronicles 21:20} Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. No one was sorry when he died. They buried him in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery.

No one was sorry when he died....may we live in such a way that that would never be said about us.