Nathan Neighbors
Follower of Christ, Husband, Father, & Youth Pastor
Guest Blog written by: Brad Kempson
There are two major reoccurring themes in this passage. One is that God is our refuge and strength. Many times in this passage, the psalms, especially the psalms of David, say that he is their refuge and their strength. That is something we need to remember too. We don’t have to face anything by ourselves. God is with us and gives us the ability to do the things in front of us.
Another theme is that God helps us in times of great struggle.m I have found this in my life, as well as in the lives of people close to me. God doesn’t ever give us anything we can’t handle without Him. This is true for me and some of the things I have struggled with. God is always with us and always helps us.
There are a few verses that stick with me in today’s reading. One is Psalm 46:10. This says, “He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted among the earth’.” The biggest thing that I saw in this verse is, Be still and know that I am God. Sometimes I need to remember this because I try to take over in life and put God in the passenger seat. Another verse that stuck out to me is Psalm 51:10-12. These verses basically say, make me pure God, make my spirit strong with you. Don’t look away from me God, don’t remove me from your Holy Spirit. Give me a willing soul. I like these verses because I feel this way sometimes. I feel that I haven’t done good enough and that God will put me away. But that will never happen. He will always loves me no matter what I do, or what you do, he will always stay with us.
Guest Blog written by: Jessica Brown
she told me psalm 25 was for her daddy.
that was four months ago.
when she wasn’t even four years old.
i immediately dove right into the passage.
and washed in the grace of the words that only He could give.
because the Spirit was speaking through the words of a 3-year old to bring
healing.
and hope.
‘do not let me be disgraced,
or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. ‘
psalm 25:2
her daddy had stumbled in his faith.
and when one stumbles, there are always those who rejoice.
but we held our heads high and walked the difficult road the Lord had set
before us.
‘show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.’
psalm 25:4
the road set before us has been long.
and winding. and often times foggy and difficult to travel.
but we have trusted His hand is leading us.
where has this road led us you might wonder?
to an 8-month separation where her daddy is learning to live out his faith.
days and weeks and months apart are teaching us all to lean in to the One
who loves us fiercely.
there have been days when we know beyond any doubt that He is carrying us
along the way.
‘do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O Lord.’
psalm 25:7
sometimes we run so long from the sins of our past, we forget what we are
running from.
it isn’t until we slow down and look back that it sneaks up on us.
this is what happened to our family.
trying to outrun addiction and believing you can handle what life throws
your way is the hurdle that leaves you face down on the road.
yet, there is but One who remembers us in light of His relentless love.
when we understand the unfailing depths of His heart for us, the road
becomes more clear.
for we are not running from our past as much as we are running towards the
arms of He who pursues us without end.
‘for the honor of your name, O Lord,
forgive my many, many sins.
who are those who fear the Lord?
He will show them the path they should choose.’
psalm 25: 11-12
not a one of us is blameless.
there are far too many sins to count for us all.
but those who stand in awe of He who is perfect can walk the path He
chooses.
for He illuminates the road to travel to the eyes that gaze upon His glory.
the path He chose for our family was one that led us away from each other
for these past five months.
there are still three months to go until we are reunited.
during this time apart He has done the miraculous work of drawing us nearer
to Him.
i wrongly thought for many years that our storm wasn’t as great as the
storms of others.
but a storm is a storm.
and it can overtake you in a mere moment.
especially if your gaze is not set on the Author of your story.
to some our story is one of regret, shame, guilt.
lost causes. and unfulfilled dreams.
but to us, it is a love story.
a story of redemption, santification, and God.
because only He could write such a tale.
the tale of a man and woman. broken and bruised.
who He brings together and binds together and bears fruit together.
He is using our story of brokenness to show His awesome power.
to Him be all the glory.
for our hope is found in Him alone.
‘may integrity and honesty protect me,
for I put my hope in you.’
psalm 25:21
i do not believe in coincidence. or irony.
nor do i believe it was a fluke that we would be reading psalm 25 today.
friday. the day i agreed to blog about the passages along our journey.
because the Author of my story weaves beautiful details into every single
moment of each and every day.
may you trust the Author of your story.
and may you see His goodness at work in all the details.
the twists. and turns. and foggy paths.
for they are all designed by His plan.
to guide into His abundant blessings.
Guest Blog written by: Ethan Pettigrew
Something that stuck out to me multiple times today was how amazing God’s power is and the fact that God will look out for those who seek after him.
In Psalm 18, David praised God for delivering him from his enemies. David shows an appreciation for God’s ability to control everything on this earth. He talks about God making the earth shake and making mountains tremble. David says that God made fire come from His mouth and that God flew in on the wind to protect David from his enemies. He shot arrows and threw down lightning bolts to scatter and defeat them. God even made the depths of the sea visible, exposing the foundations of the world.
Psalm 23 is a Psalm that many people are familiar with. It talks about how God looks after us and it calls God the Good Shepherd. The psalmist says that even in the scariest, darkest, most dangerous place imaginable, we have no reason to fear because God’s protection and comfort are there to assure us. He writes that God takes us to the best places possible and keeps bad things from following us as well.
The magnitude of the events described in Psalm 18 are so immense that they don’t even sound possible. I know, however, that God and God alone can make all of those things possible and so much more. His power and strength is so vast that nothings is impossible to Him.
Then in Psalm 23 we see that even though God is so strong, he still cares deeply for each of us. God always has our best interest in mind and is always looking out for us.
So if you’re going through a situation that seems impossible for you to fix or get out of and maybe it is too much for you, but it’s not to much for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Remember that even in your darkest times, God is there to comfort and protect you and his power is enough to get you out of any situation.
Nathan Neighbors 