Pinwheels

For as long as I can remember Pinwheels were my father’s favorite treats. Large marshmallow cookies shaped like a twirled doorknob and coated all over with a solid fudge shell, my father savored one every night after dinner along with a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

        My father kept his beloved cookies separate from all the other cookies in our house in a special drawer at the bottom of the fridge. These expensive beauties were rarely offered to us kids. They were Daddy’s special treat alone. Heaven help the child who was caught pilfering one of his sacred pinwheels!

        

      Psalm 4:3 reminds me of Daddy’s pinwheels.

“The Lord has set apart the godly for Himself. The Lord will hear when I call unto Him.” (KJV)

The Holman Christian bible translates the word godly as “faithful.” 

God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11), He loves everyone just as my dad never met a cookie he didn’t love. Yet just as Daddy had set those pinwheels apart for himself, God sets apart and puts His special seal upon those who cling to Him in love and faith. (Ephesians 1:13)

God’s word says He pays special attention to the prayers of His faithful ones.

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.” Psalm 34:17

Those who trust in the Lord with all their heart are exceedingly precious to God.

“The Lord looks on the righteous and listens to their cries.” Psalm 34:15

        This verse comforts and assures me that no matter what I am going through, if I am trusting in God and walking in obedience to His word, He hears my prayers and will answer them in His own way and time. He is in control of all that concerns me.

Nothing can happen to me that He does not know about. If I am serving Him, He has set me apart for Himself.  

“The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” Psalm 25:14

In fact, God makes this sweeping declaration about those who know and love Him in Psalm 91: “The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14-16)

The One who has held the oceans in His hand, who has spanned the heavens with His fingers, who has calculated the dust of the earth in a measure, and has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale, yes, even He who created all the stars and calls them all by name is the same One who created you and me! (Isaiah 40:12)

He is the Everlasting God who counts every hair on your head, collects every tear you cry in a special bottle with your name on it and is recording all your days in His special book that He’s writing about you: 

“You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?” (Psalm 56:8) KJV

King David, was known as a “man after God’s own heart." He wrote many of the psalms in the bible. He was not morally perfect by any standard; he committed adultery and then murdered the woman’s husband. But he loved God with all his heart and soul and mind and being. He worshiped God without a care of what people thought of him. And he humbly confessed and repented of his sins because he would rather die than lose the God he loved.

None of us can be morally perfect in this life. But we can choose to love the Lord our God with all of our being and love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

As I studied Psalm 4:3, I discovered that the Hebrew word for “godly” refers to one who loves God passionately in every way, 

as David did, holding nothing back, 

and one who is merciful and kind to one’s neighbor.

And the root word in the Hebrew suggested something even further—the godly is also one who is merciful and kind to oneself.

The definition held even more shades of meaning for it was derived from a root word that meant “brought to shame.” In a broader application, one might infer that the godly, those whom God has chosen out of the world for Himself, are a people 

whom He has rescued from sin, shame, and disgrace. 

These are the redeemed of the Lamb, the ones Jesus Christ paid for with His blood on the cross at Cavalry.

Yes, God has set apart the godly for Himself. The Lord will surely hear when those who love Him cry out to Him.

Know that God is for you! No matter what circumstances you might be facing, no matter how dark the tunnel you are in, hear what David, surrounded by murderous enemies, sings:

 “This I know: God is on my side! I praise God for what he has promised; yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised! I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?” Psalm (56:9-10)

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, You are the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, yet You are also a God of infinite mercy and compassion who gave Your life up for us on the cross that we might live with You forever. Thank You for loving us without measure! Help us to know that You are FOR US, that You hear our prayers and are working out all things that concern us for our good, according to Your will for our lives. We love You. Help us to love You more. For it is in Your name we pray. Amen.

"Pinwheels" © 2012 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved. Unto The Least Of These