Open My Eyes and Be My Guide

Open My Eyes, That I May See

Open my eyes, 

That I may see, Glimpses of truth, Thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key, That shall unclasp, and set me free.

Silently now I wait for Thee, 

Ready, my God, Thy will to see;

Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

Open my ears, 

That I may hear, Voices of truth, Thou sendest clear;

And while the wave-notes fall on my ear, Everything false will disappear.

Silently now I wait for Thee, 

Ready, my God, Thy will to see;

Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!

Open my mouth, 

And let me bear, Gladly the warm truth everywhere;

Open my heart, and let me prepare, Love with Thy children thus to share.

Silently now I wait for Thee, Ready, my God, Thy will to see;

Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine! Amen!!

Psalm 48 is a wonderful Psalm filled with praise to God, protection from enemies, and ending with God being our guide to the day we die. As I read through it, I thought about how I should praise Him and not just read about it.

Great is the LORD,

And greatly to be praised

In the city of our God,

In the mountain of his holiness.

Beautiful for situation,

The joy of the whole earth,

Is mount Zion,

On the sides of the north,

The city of the great King.

~Psalm 48:1,2~

Then I thought about how I am surrounded by His protection. It gives a description of the activities of the enemies. My enemies are unseen. Those situations in a day that can mess up the day. For instance, I have this flimsy clothing rack I bought at Walmart that I hang clothes that need ironing (hang them up and hardly iron them!!) and this morning, the contraption twisted and fell strewing hangers and clothes across the floor. It was a blogger-moment and worth a picture. Well, I didn't take the picture but the thought of taking a picture made it a funny moment instead of disastrous. When unexpected catastrophes arise, or situations with little children (or more importantly older ones) arise, how to you respond? I wish I could always say, I respond with grace...but I haven't always done that. 

As I thought about how easy it would have been to sin with my thoughts (since no one was there) or my tongue, should someone have knocked it over (instead of me!)! I thought about how God has so much lovingkindness for us!! I also thought about how God puts things like bulwarks around us for protection.

We have thought of thy lovingkindness,

O God, in the midst of thy temple.

According to thy name, 

~ unto the ends of the earth:Thy right hand is full of righteousness.

~Psalm 48:9,10~

Mark ye well her bulwarks,

Consider her palaces;

That ye may tell it to the generation following.

~Psalm 48:13~

Have you ever thought about what a bulwark is? Isn't it easy to just keep reading without looking up the meaning of a word that we don't use daily?! A bulwark can be a wall of earth or other material built for defense. Another name for it would be a rampart. It can also be any protection against external danger, injury, or....even against an annoyance. (Annoyances?? That would make a good blog post title for another day!!)

One more thing that I have been thinking about today is how much God desires to be our Guide. He desires to give mothers wisdom. Oh how I need wisdom!! When my children were little, I needed wisdom and now that they are grown, I need it more than I ever did!! When they are young, decisions are easy enough...or for those of you with little ones...much easier than when they are much older. What works when they are little doesn't work when they are grown-young-adults. 

For this God is our God 

for 

ever and ever:

He will be our 

GUIDE 

even unto death.

~Psalm 48:14~

What are the bulwarks that God has placed in your life? My husband is a bulwark in my life. I want his decisions to be thoughtful so that I am kept in his protection. When I was a young girl going to college, I wanted to go to a college where I could pursue a nursing degree. My Dad wanted me to go to another college for various reasons. Looking back, I could see how I was protected as the college which I went to (the one he wanted me to go to) was so small that it helped me to grow in ways I never could have in a larger college. I thankfully never got a nursing degree (nor an MRS degree from that college ;-). 

This last verse sums up everything in the chapter. God is able to be our Guide because He is our protector. If we try to get around and out of His lovingkindness and protection, He can't be our Guide. Is He your Guide? Are you going to Him for refuge and protection? Are you fervently praying for your husband, that he will be your protection and guide...notice how our husbands reflect God's attributes of refuge and protection. Do we accept our husband's protection and guidance? If not, why not? If not, it is a long row backwards once you realize that you are headed in the opposite direction than your husband!! It is hard for a boat to be rowed backwards and forwards at the same time. It is also impossible, for a train to have an engine at both ends tugging in opposite directions!! It is better to crash into a wall or derail together. 

Easier said than done!! I know!! But...today is a new day and today can be the start of a new way (hey, maybe I should try poetry after all!!) Young girls have an advantage over those of us who are further in years (a nice way of saying 'getting older') in that you have so much reading out there that some of us did not have available earlier on in our lives. It is much, much easier to make changes when you are young than to undo old habits. Trust me!! It is easier said than done!!

And Jesus said unto them,

Because of your

UNBELIEF: 

For verily I say unto you,

If ye have 

faith 

as a grain of mustard seed,

Ye shall say unto this mountain,

Remove 

hence to yonder place:

And it shall remove;

And nothing shall be impossible 

unto you!!

~Matthew 17:20~

~Judith~