October 28, 2009
only you
Psalm 109:20-31
Lauren Dempsey
Central Truth
Only You, Lord, can do this. Only You, Lord, have done it!
Key Verse | Psalm 109:27
Then they will realize this is your work,
and that you, Lord, have accomplished it.
(Psalm 109:27)
Psalm 109:20-31
20
May this be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,
of those who speak evil against my life!
21
But you, O God my Lord,
deal on my behalf for your name's sake;
because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22
For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is stricken within me.
23
I am gone like a shadow at evening;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24
My knees are weak through fasting;
my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25
I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they wag their heads.
26
Help me, O LORD my God!
Save me according to your steadfast love!
27
Let them know that this is your hand;
you, O LORD, have done it!
28
Let them curse, but you will bless!
They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
29
May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
30
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31
For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
Dive Deeper | Psalm 109:20-31
"Only you can make this world seem right, Only you can make the darkness bright." That was "Only You" by The Platters from 1955. What can I say . . . my mom raised me on the golden oldies on 98.7 KLUV! Can I get a "your momma raised you right"? It's true. Only God can make the seemingly impossible or hopeless situations in our lives possible and filled with hope.
Only You, Lord, have accomplished what You have shown us throughout Scripture and in our lives. Only You could have saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from a blazing furnace. "[T]hose men were physically unharmed by the fire. The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!" (Daniel 3:27) And only You, God, sent Your angel and closed the lions' mouths when Daniel was thrown into the lions' den. (Daniel 6:22)
When I moved to Dallas in 2005, I had no idea what God had in store. After my parents' divorce just months earlier, I moved to Dallas convinced I would make it on my own and find my worth and healing in a high-paying job, independence, and self-sufficiency. I was filled with pride, and it was then God began to peel away the layers of hurt and pain in my life, starting with the loss of my job. God brought me to Dallas, not for a job in which I would base my worth, but for a deeper relationship with Jesus who died for all that I had suffered, at my own hands and the hands of others. He began to show me that I could depend on Him to heal me from the pain and sin in my past and present. I began to experience freedom by being known by godly women pouring into my life and by learning truths in God's Word.
Only You, Lord, could have delivered me from pride. Only You could have peeled away 15 years of layers of hurt. Only you, Lord, make the darkness bright!
Discussion Questions
1. Identify the "Only You" situations in your life.
2. Are you giving God all the credit for what He has accomplished in your life?
3. Are those around you able to see God's work being accomplished? If not, how can you let His light shine through you this week?