Sheer goofiness. Hannah and Sarah Beth at the beach in St. Augustine, Florida, on New Year's Eve, 2010.
The girls.LORD, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. Psalm 90:1-2
Psalm 90 is one of my favorite psalms. Of course, I'm partial to Psalms as a book, anyway; I read at least one every morning as part of my quiet time. But Psalm 90 is particularly special to me, because it is one I returned to again and again during our first term on the mission field. So I wanted to take some time to share with you why the different parts of the psalm are important to me.
Please know up front that I make no claims to Biblical scholarship; I don't know any ancient languages; I can't tell you that much even about the context, especially in the psalms. But while I love to study and know those things and feel that they add a layer of understanding to my reading of Scripture, I truly believe that the strength of God's Word at work in our lives is that we don't have to know those things in order to be enlightened and enriched by Scripture. I am often moved and amazed by just the beauty of the psalms and their application to my life at any given moment.
The first two verses of Psalm 90 put me in my right place in relation to God's majesty and power. In my life (am I the only one who does this?), I can often think that my life, my problems, my situation is earth-shattering and should be at the top of God's (and everyone else's) to-do list. I find myself whining to God, "But what about me?!?!" (Aren't you glad He doesn't just throw up His hands in disgust and pronounce that He's giving up on us?) When I am feeling like the world is firmly centered on me, inevitably these verses come to mind. From everlasting to everlasting, He is God. He has been my dwelling place; He will continue to be my dwelling place. He doesn't change, nor does His goodness and mercy. No matter how things look or (especially) how they feel, no matter how dire I believe the situation to be, He will never be anything but what He is--almighty, everlasting God. I cannot look at my life in the same way when I come face to face with the God of the Ages. I can be nothing but humble when I recognize that He who birthed the earth and put the mountains in place, He who is God from eternity to eternity...He loves me. He shows me mercy and grace beyond comprehension. He is God forever, and He is mine. When I call, He hears and comes to me. When I seek Him, I find Him. I cannot be lost from Him. I am His forever. My problems, my feelings, my life cannot be the same in the face of His glory.
In a world where everything tells me that I am the most important person in the room, I am grateful for God's Word, which reminds me that I'm definitely not. You know what? Being that self-absorbed and self-important is a lot of pressure and responsibility. It's a lot of work. And it doesn't bring me joy or contentment or peace or fulfillment. But a life with the Everlasting God at its center brings all those things. And though they may not make me famous or even infamous, those things are the hallmarks of the life I desire, the life that I most treasure. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are seeking fervently a life of fulfillment in God, and that your best friend in the world is coming to your house in less than a week, too. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
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