Yesterday, I found myself sitting by the bar of a restaurant at a time that coincided with a pre-scheduled online prayer meeting. I of course started praying as Holy Spirit led and found myself yearning to intercede in behalf of and connect with the bartender, bar manager, servers, kitchen staff, people who came in to have dinner with their friends, people walking past the restaurant, people who drove by it…; bearing in mind that I had no knowledge of who they were, what lifestyles they lived or what they might be going through. I thought about Jesus and how the bar would’ve totally been His scene for hangouts just as well as the synagogue was. I trusted that Holy Spirit knew all I didn’t know. By faith, I trusted that He connected with the people I was opportuned to exchange pleasantries with, smile at and even the ones I didn’t have any physical contact with.
“Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart. For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth. I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites. I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, and I refuse to join in with the wicked. I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O Lord, singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders. I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where your glorious presence dwells. Don’t let me suffer the fate of sinners. Don’t condemn me along with murderers. Their hands are dirty with evil schemes, and they constantly take bribes. But I am not like that; I live with integrity. So redeem me and show me mercy. Now I stand on solid ground, and I will publicly praise the Lord.” — Psalms 26 NLT
Full of integrity as David was and considering He was a man after God’s own heart who foreshadowed Christ, I’m noting interestingly — as Holy Spirit enables me — that:
As much as David (we) might think ourselves innocent, unwaveringly trusting of the Lord, pure in our hearts’ motives, aware of God’s unfailing love, living according to His truth, not smearing ourselves with liars, hypocrites, the wicked, people do evil (all of whom we might consider “the opps”); none of us by ourselves, is truly the above that we think ourselves… not without Christ Who lives in us.
There’s a bubble in David’s (our) ask in Psalm 26 and pointed out attributes that needs bursting, which is:
Christ in truth spent time with liars, hypocrites and basically gathered with the opps. Everywhere He taught, there were all kinds of people drawn to him. Those who were learning, those who asked innocent questions, those who tried to ask questions with the intent of setting him up in a trap, the high and mighty, the lowly, the outwardly clean but inwardly filthy, the apparently unclean, the sick, the broken hearted, the oppressed, the captives… you name it! Christ spent time with these people who needed something from Him whether they knew it or not and who received something that was freely given from Him whether they acknowledged it or not.
So bearing in mind that most of David’s Psalms pointed — beyond his experiences — to Jesus Christ Himself;
Help us Holy Spirit to realise all we have by His virtue. Help us to know that He is in us and it’s He Who makes us: innocent, integrous, gives us the grace to trust our Abba unwaveringly, purifies our motives and hearts’ intent, brings us continually into the understanding of Your love and will for us, helps us worship You in Spirit and draws us to live in accordance with Your Truth.
And on the back of this understanding as Your vessels whom You prepared for every good work; help us gather and spend time with people who’re in need of something that Christ is more than able to offer them through us — something that we ourselves received.
For Your glory to be seen in all the earth.
And for the sake of Your Son.
🧎🏾♀️
THE LORD'S VESSEL 