“O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil may not dwell with you.

The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;

you hate all evildoers.

You destroy those who speak lies;

the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” – Ps 5

Today more and more I’m drawn to see how crazy cool a healthy “normal” life is. What stands out to the lost and the found is a life lived with true godly contentment, a life of devotion to following Jesus Christ as Savior and LORD. Interestingly, we can say that God creates from our difficult lives where we see our sin and the brokenness around us… God creates out of these lives Jesus-focused lives of being defined by being children of God. It’s so simple that it’s easy to miss. We get to experience the kind of joy and confidence David of old expressed toward God in his prayers, and the kind of certainty Jesus himself expressed in His prayer life toward His Father while walking this earth. The Holy Spirit operates through us so that our prayers are pure and holy and focused in on the Father’s glory! We get more and more in alignment with the Savior and what we were created for – biblical normality – becomes beautiful and exciting!

Looking at Psalm 5, it is sobering that God destroys those who speak lies! How does this relate to living a “normal” life? It is tremendously related. When we see how holy and awesome God is, it helps us to be faithful in our lane, in the paths God has given us to walk for His glory. How does the janitor or food prep person know God’s pleasure and purposes? They trust that God is just and will repay the evil in this world and he or she can simply be faithful to live and speak in God’s truth and justice and goodness. We must remember to be faithful where God has planted us.

This week I need to get back at it with this business, my family and neighborhood, and finishing up some construction stuff with our two house flips. That’s a lot of responsibility, and I can get tired and weary at times. My wife has been very kind to encourage me that she sees God’s favor and goodness in my life. I’m sobered and humbled by this. I’ve also however heard the lies of the enemy whether from others’ lips or from my own sinful heart. God has been reminding me of what brings the deepest and truest of joy, which is to soak in the goodness and truth of our God.

“But I, through the abundance of Your steadfast love, will enter Your house. I will bow down toward Your holy temple in the fear of You.”

What a deep joy it is that we can STOP all the crazy and stand in awe of our God, resting in His love. The voices of our day are all over the place, even some of the most godly voices, people I deeply admire. God has been reminding me that His joy and pure pleasure for me are in the paths of what is “normal” for my particular life. I’m not to strive to be someone else or faithful in someone else’s path. My labor is to be faithful in the path God has called me to and to serve those He has given me to serve – family, neighbors, friends, clients, those in hard places.

LORD God of the Word, we stand in awe of You and how holy You are.

Thank You for drawing us into Your holy presence. Teach us to follow Jesus’ example and enter more often into a place of prayerful obedience and trusting You. Fill us with the promised Holy Spirit as the church and show us Your grace, Oh God. In Christ’s name, Amen.