Time To Take Out The Trash

It is not an uncommon occurrence that God will reveal something to me in the course of personal studies or reading that, for whatever reason, I had missed in the past. Or, He reveals something to me that brings new conviction to the surface of my heart. Such was the case this morning as I followed through on one of my New Year resolutions: to follow in the footsteps of a Godly man I know who has made a long term relationship with the readings of Oswald Chambers.

In today's reading from My Utmost For His Highest, the selected verse came from Psalm 97. I began to read the entire chapter and came across this:

You who love the Lord, hate evil!

He protects the lives of His godly ones;

He rescues them from the power of the wicked.

Light dawns for the righteous,

gladness for the upright in heart.

Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous ones,

and praise His holy name.

Psalm 97:10-12 (HCSB)

In light of the focus of Oswald's writings for the day, which spoke to having a clear understand and reality of who God is, it was the first line of verse 10 that struck me: "You who love the Lord, hate evil." I read this and began to think about what it is that I allow in my life, my home, my children's "world," etc., that is evil. Often times we associate "evil" only with things that have the inherent appearance of such, but I believe the reality is that evil has permeated our lives and our homes more than we care to admit. What do we allow to be broadcast across the screens of our televisions and computers? What is contained within the pages of the books our children are reading? What have we become so numb to via media, movies and television that we wouldn't even recognize evil if it slapped us in the face?

The Psalmist goes on to say that God will protect the lives of His godly ones and rescue them from the power of the wicked (v. 10). Here lies the problem: am I truly living a Godly life? Am I living a life that creates the avenue for God to rescue me from the power of the wicked or am I allowing or even inviting these things, attitudes, and thoughts into my life?

The conviction for me, and perhaps for you, is that there are things that must change. Change is never easy. It requires sacrifice in some way or another. Change often upsets one person or more. Change means giving up on something that was worked for in the past. Change means cutting away, allowing for healing, and then experiencing new growth. None of these things are initially appealing; but change, when done for the purpose of drawing closer to our Creator, brings about a new dawn of light. "Light dawns for the righteous, gladness for the upright in heart" (Ps. 97:11 HSCB).

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