Moments in the life of a Pastor

Walking with God

Author Archives: Giles


by Leave a comment

16 Waking up with Worship

Psalm 108: 1-5

My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! 2 Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. 3 I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. 4 For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.

This passage of praise was penned by David who is remembered and respected for his heart for God. As we reflect on David’s life we are reminded that he was a shepherd, a poet, a mighty warrior, and an ancestor of Christ. He was one of the greatest men in The Word of God, yet alongside those memories there stand others. He was also a betrayer, a liar, an adulterer, and a murderer. We may not possess all of his strengths but his weaknesses could be present in any of us it not for the grace of God. Psalm 108 reveals the heart and what has, is, and should be taking place within the hearts of those who have placed their trust in God. It reminds us that the heart needs fixing and once fixed it can be focused on the Father. There is only One that can fix our heart and that is the One who made it and when God does a work in our hearts there are some wonderful results. The characteristics of a fixed heart are the evidence of God’s work.

  • Fixed

When referring to the heart the king James uses the word fixed and the New Living uses confident, what David is reminding us of is that a fixed heart is a heart that is fixed on Him. We are all born with a heart that can be hardened by sin so that it becomes damaged and defective. Sin effects how we function and without a fixed heart we struggle through life carrying the baggage of our broken heart. Yet when we respond to the gift of God, His Son Jesus Christ, and receive Him as our Savior, He mends our broken heart. We are like Humpty Dumpty in the famous English nursery rhyme, who sat on a wall and had a great fall and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again. Yet the good news is that what the king’s men failed to do the King did. God doesn’t just bypass the problem he fixes what is broken and the result is a steadfast, immovable heart. A wavering heart is replaced with a worshiping heart.  Has your heart been fixed, if so what is it fixed on?

  • Filled

One of the results of a fixed heart is a filled heart. There is a God sized hole in our heart so we search for something to fill the emptiness inside. In our searching for significance and a healed heart we either turn to more sin or to the Savior. What we find is that sin never satisfies it only sacrifices, but the Savior fills up our emptiness and loneliness with peace, joy, and a love for both Him and others. David reminds us that a filled heart is a full heart, ready to pour out praise, “no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart.” Today we are drowning in a sin soaked society that seems to seek fun over fullness. The result is a shallow society empty of any depth. In our attempt to fill our lives with fun we have missed the truth that fun is a byproduct of a full heart not the way to fill a heart.  Happiness in this world doesn’t fill the hole. When we stop long enough to see where we were before we met Christ, and then to see what He did for us when He saved our souls from hell, we should of all people be happy. David reminds us of our fullness in that, without the Lord, we would be nothing and we would have nothing. The truth is that it is all or nothing, today is your heart full or empty? Is your praise full or partial, does it involve all your heart?

  • Focused

A fixed heart is not just a full heart but a focused heart. Over and over in the Psalms, David repeatedly reminds us of the importance of giving praise to the Lord. But praise will always come out of a Heart that is focused on the Lord; on His person, His promises, His protection, and His provision for us. When we focus on the Father we come face to face with His forgiveness and faithfulness and we recognize that He alone is worthy and our worship. David’s desired was for the Lord to be exalted, our praise is about putting the Lord in the proper place of Honor. Its about waking the world with worship because we start our day in song.  He alone should have first place in our hearts, our homes, and throughout the highest heavens. When we place our whims before what God wants we have ceased to Honor Him and have instead placed ourselves in His position of praise. When we give God proper praise we direct all of the attention, all of the affection, all of the worship toward Him. That means that we move out of the way and make it about Him as we strive to have no one seen but the Savior. Our prayer today should be “Lord, Fix my heart, Fill my heart and Focus my heart on praise that pleases You.


by 2 Comments

15 Praise in the Pit

Psalm 40:1-3

“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 3 He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”

At some point we all find ourselves in the pits of disappointment, discouragement and even depression that leave us trapped by helpless and hopeless feelings of despair. When we try to climb out we encounter the walls of our weakness, we become bogged down in the muck and the mire of me. The problem with the pit is that we prefer to lean on self instead of the Savior, but when we are in the pits of life only the Provider can deliver us from our predicaments. Have you fallen into the pit of despair, overcome and overwhelmed by your problems? Today in Psalm 40 David reveals the lessons he learn that turned his pit of despair into a pinnacle of praise, power and a higher perspective.

  • Patiently

The first point is often painful, are you willing to wait patiently? David said that he “waited patiently for the Lord to help” that means we stop trying and start trusting. Waiting on the Lord requires discipline and dedication, we must determine that God is greater than any problem and that He can use these down times to draw us closer to Himself. The pit is not the problem to our praise it’s our perspective of the pit, our circumstances can be the catalyst that cause us to cry out to God. David cried out because he couldn’t crawl out! So will you wait or whine? When we chose to wait on the Lord through our devotions we discover the One who can deliver. What we really discover is that it’s not about the despair or even the deliverance but the Deliverer. Waiting is work because it involves intentionally meditating on, looking to and hoping in God. When we wait we discover the promise of Isaiah 41:10, “They who wait upon the Lord, will renew their strength. They will run and not be weary they will walk and not faint.”  

  • Plan

Do you believe that God has a plan, and if you do, what will you choose to focus on, the problem or the plan? Sometimes the Lord allows us to be trapped with no way out so others can see His power through our pain and problems. He allowed Joseph to be thrown into a pit where he was subsequently imprisoned in Egypt for 18 years. Yet, in Gen 50:20 Joseph wrote about his brothers, “You meant to throw me in the pit for evil, but God turned it for good for the saving of many lives.” Waiting means allowing the Lord to use your present discouraging experience for His purpose, plan and powerful demonstration. Do not think that you have to be delivered instantly. God is using you for His greater display of mighty power, perspective and problem solving capacities. David said that “Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.”

  • Platform

As David waited and watched he experienced God’s power to pull him out of the pit and provide a platform upon which he could stand. “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.” God can pull you up out of any rut, depression or difficulty that you are stuck in. Only in His provision do we experience the solid platform and the praise of a new song. David wrote, “He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God”. God’s platform is not just a sure foundation, it is an opportunity and launching pad because He is the God of new songs and new beginnings. Not only will the Lord deliver you but He will bring others to Himself as a result of your experience of deliverance. “Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.” James Rowe wrote about God’s power over the pit and our response of praise in 1912 when he wrote the Hymn “Love lifted me” He said this about God “when nothing else could help, love lifted me.” In the pit we hear a new song of praise as we discover Christ’s lifting power of love that pulls us out of despair, depression and discouragement.

  • Privilege

We gain new understanding, wisdom and maturity as a result of our pit experiences. As a result of his time in the pit David wrote in verse 6-8 “You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings. Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures: I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.” Prior to the pit David performed religious rituals of offering animal sacrifices in the Tabernacle. Post pit he realizes that it’s not about going through the motions but the heart motivation. Today we to can become stuck in a ritual rut, and our assignments of giving and serving can become nothing more than an obligation. This is when the pit becomes a privilege because it can force us out of our ritualistically, selfish and begrudging sense of obligation. Your pit is not a predicament or a problem for God, rather, it is an opportunity to pull you out and place you on a platform of praise. Are you serve the Lord with gladness, do you come into His presence with praise? Do you see your pit as a privilege or a problem?