Rejoice Through Rain

Guard God’s Word in your heart so that as you go, you can rejoice in the Lord regardless of how things are going.

“The divisions of the gatekeepers: From the Korahites…God had blessed Obed-Edom….All these were descendants of Obed-Edom; they and their sons and their relatives were capable men with the strength to do the work…These divisions of the gatekeepers, through their leaders, had duties for ministering in the temple of the LORD…Guard was alongside of guard…King David put them in charge…for every matter pertaining to God and for the affairs of the king.” 1 Chronicles 26:1-32

Each of us has a place in the family of God and a way in which we are to serve others. This passage describes people who are given the role of guardians. They knew their roles and how they could help. They guarded the presence of God and access to the temple. The heart of a guardian is to protect, see people, and bring peace.

What is required of a good guardian? Many attributes would help. Eyes to see who and what is around you. A heart to stand for what is right, strength to confront what is wrong, and the wisdom to know the difference. Picture the opposite of an effective guardian: someone who is blind, out of shape, and unwilling to help.

Always come back to God’s original design. Do not become so accustomed to the world around you that you lose sight of what is best. The text said that they stood shoulder to shoulder and did what the king required of them. Our world can create a lot of separation and individual focus. The effective guardian does not isolate and is intentional about doing what is right.

Our world often does not align with God’s ways. People can go days without connection and end up feeling alone. We have the technology to track each other’s movements at all times, yet can lose the awareness of knowing when someone is struggling. Jesus made us to be people who see both the masses and those in the margins. The godly guardian keeps out those who cause harm but has eyes to lift up those in need. How could you serve as someone else’s guardian angel today?

Ask God to put someone on your heart.

“Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy. All people will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done. The righteous will rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him!” Psalms 64:1-10

You would think that as a king David would have felt safe. He had a mighty army at his disposal, but felt fear like any of us. David is so relatable because he is honest about his emotions. We can learn from how he processed fear and what helped guard his heart.

When David did not know how things would work out, he turned to God. God was his guardian. David said the righteous will rejoice and find refuge.

Is that not an interesting contrast? We don’t typically think about suffering and celebrating in the same moment. We do not think about seeking shelter and singing praises. How does someone do this? The normal response to fear is fight or flight, not faith expressing itself in love. So what was different about David? How did he hold on to the freedom in his heart that allowed him to sing as he sought shelter from the storms?

David gave us a clue. He said it is the righteous person who does life this way. What does righteous mean to you? To David and in the Hebrew, it does not mean someone who does not sin. It means someone in right relationship. It describes the person who is aligned on God’s side, doing God’s will. It is a person whose trust is in Him rather than in the world or one’s self. Would you describe yourself as righteous? Is there anywhere you need to come into alignment with Him?

“My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. They will keep you from the adulterous woman, from the wayward woman with her seductive words. Now then, my sons, listen to me; pay attention to what I say. Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.” Proverbs 7:1-27

In Chronicles, we saw people who were guarding God’s presence and His people. In Psalms, David turned to God as his guardian. In Proverbs, Solomon said guard God’s Word in your heart. He said do this so you do not stray off the straight and narrow.

This command seems fairly simple. You probably have a Bible verse you like. You may have wisdom stored, but wisdom tells us something deeper here. Solomon is not just saying to not forget what you have learned or what God said. Guarding God’s Word means to intentionally store wisdom until it shapes the way you think, what you desire, how you see everything, and ultimately how you live.

It is like Solomon is saying that we need to upgrade our operating systems. We need to change our default settings. Your phone, tablet, or devices all have defaults that they operate on in order to function. Ask yourself if the default setting of your mind and heart reflects the common practices of the world around you or what Christ has taught us?

Why do we have to guard our hearts?

Can you see how temptation is everywhere? Everything you could possibly desire from a fleshly perspective is at your fingertips. Solomon describes the foolish man who does not put up any defenses against temptation. It would be like going into a battle without a sword or a shield. Defenseless. It is important that we realize that our devotion to God and our relationships are under attack. Wisdom tells us that we have to take a stand and store up truth so that we are not led to the slaughter that accompanies sin. How well are you guarding your mind and heart? Are you ready for the battle or an easy target for temptation?

“This is what the LORD says: “See how the waters are rising in the north; they will become an overflowing torrent. They will overflow the land and everything in it, the towns and those who live in them. The people will cry out; all who dwell in the land will wail at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds, at the noise of enemy chariots and the rumble of their wheels…Alas, sword of the LORD, how long till you rest? Return to your sheath; cease and be still.’ But how can it rest when the LORD has commanded it” Jeremiah 47:2-7

Have you ever been in the middle of an earthquake, hurricane, or storm? Have you ever been in a situation where everything around you is shaken and you realize you really have no control? It can be scary. Perspective matters. Our pride can elevate what we think of our own power. It is hard to be prideful when the electrical power goes out after a winter storm.

We do well to remember the power of God and always fear the Lord. Not fearing in the sense of being terrified of Him, but of always being reverent and understanding whose side ultimately wins.

Being in right relationship with God is about choosing wisely where we will align our lives. Have you taken time to humble yourself before the Lord today? When we have the right perspective on who God is, it is much easier to have the right perspective on who we are and what it means to be on His side.

“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:6-31

It’s remarkable at the beginning of this passage how the Holy Spirit guarded Paul from going places he should not go. The same truth applies in our lives. Sometimes the answers to our prayers are the closed doors we encounter. A closed door might not be rejection; it might be protection. We might not realize it at the moment, but looking back, like David said in Psalms, we can realize and appreciate how God has always been watching over and working in our lives.

Do you see the common thread of all the passages? Guard God’s presence. Guard God’s Word. Guard your heart. And trust God to guard your path. God sees what we cannot see, and a life surrendered to Him learns to trust His direction as a disciple. Paul had a door closed, this time a prison door. Yet what we see was not a prisoner being guarded, but a man who was actually free.

Paul had been beaten, flogged, and thrown into prison, but none of it could imprison his heart. God had bigger plans and used his imprisonment to bring salvation to many. God uses our pain for His purposes. He is always redeeming, restoring, and resurrecting.

Think about what Paul could have been like. Think of what you would have felt if you got thrown in prison like that. Many people would have missed the opportunity to share the gospel. Many people would have been complaining and crying out about how unfair things were.

Not Paul. Paul’s heart was free.

At midnight he was not grumbling or complaining. He was praying and singing hymns to God. How does someone do that? David said the righteous will rejoice and find refuge. Like Solomon said, Paul had guarded God’s Word in his heart long before he ever entered that prison. His circumstances changed, but what filled him did not. Because his heart belonged to Jesus, suffering could not steal his song.

Do not read past this story quickly. Imagine what you would’ve done if the doors had flown open after you had been falsely imprisoned. Would you have run for the hills as fast as you could? Not Paul. When the doors suddenly opened, Paul did not run for his life. He stayed true to serving God’s purposes. Is there anywhere you have been eager to escape that God wants to use to bring hope?

The invitation today is to be a guardian. Guard God’s Word until it becomes the default setting of your heart. Guard your relationship with Jesus until praise becomes the default setting under pressure. Reconsider the blessing of closed doors and recognize how God is working in every moment.

He may close a door to protect you, open a door to bless you, or leave you somewhere to use you. Stay devoted. Stay free. A heart guarded by God can praise in a prison cell, it can sing in the storm, and it can stand by a wall as a gatekeeper to see who needs a hand.