You Will Not Abandon Me

Are you feeling hopeless? Abandoned? Drowning in your current circumstances? 

In this episode of Reflective Hour, we offer a pathway to hope, healing, peace, and joy for all those on the "struggle bus." 

Join us and break free from the chains of addiction, mental illness, and childhood trauma as we process the dark and seek His powerful Light of Freedom!

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Transcript

Good morning. Welcome to today's episode of Reflective Hour. I'm your host, Tammy Toney-Butler,  but we all know who the real host of this show is, and that's Christ,  the bearer of Light to a dark world,  the Spirit of Truth to those who need it,  to those who need a Savior,  someone to break every chain,  someone to bring hope and peace to a place in their life that's seen anything but that.

Will you join me today as we reflect together,  as we walk on paths of righteousness for His Namesake, and as we seek His Truth in the Word and dive into it so it can be our guide,  our lamppost through the darkness of this world?

How great it is to have a lamp that never runs out of Light.  A Wellspring of Living Water to drink from that never runs dry.  There'll never be drought where Christ is. 

For even in times of famine,  you will see His glory.  When you change your perspective and look to the Light of His Word as your guide to the Truth,  despite what your current circumstances dictate in your life.

Will you seek the Well?  Will you seek that Wellspring of Living Water and see what His Truth reveals?  Or will you seek the world? 

That's the question of today for us as believers,  as those who are walking in the Light and refusing to partner with the darkness.

How is your journey going today?

Do you want to see His goodness?  In those dry places of your life,

Do you want to see a feast where there's been famine?  Do you want joy where there's been sadness and hopelessness? 

Listen to this episode as we dive into His Word, His Truth, to be our guide.

Holy Spirit come,


[pause]
 

Just bask in that peace that surpasses all understanding.  Just drink from it.  Refill your spiritual tanks because many of you have run dry,  and it's difficult to pour into others if your well is dry. 

I lift you up to that with His presence,  with His power,  and with the reality of His Word.  There's joy even in the dark times.

Let's look at His Word.

Psalm 16.

And I will be reading out of the Life Application Study Bible, the New International Version.

Psalm 16.

The theme is the joys and benefits of a life lived in compassion with God. We enjoy these benefits now and eternally—author David (NIV, Life Application Study Bible).

1: Keep me safe, my God,
    for in you I take refuge.

2: I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.”

3: I say of the holy people who are in the land,
    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

4: Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
    or take up their names on my lips.

5: Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
    you make my lot secure.

6: The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7: I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
    even at night my heart instructs me.

8: I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

9: Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,

10: because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

11: You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Just let that marinate.  His Word of Truth.  His Word of Truth.  He will not let us die a spiritual death.  He will set us free. We only need to seek the Truth of His Word.

Miktam comes from a term that may mean to cover. It can mean a covering of the lips, a silent prayer, or a prayer that someone might be covered with protection.  Cover can also mean atone for.  Miktam may be a Psalm of atonement.

It is human nature to make our own plans and then ask God to bless them instead.  We should seek God's will first.

By constantly thinking about the Lord and His way of living, we will gain insights to help us make the right decisions and live the way God desires.

Communicating with God allows Him to counsel us and give us wisdom.  And I'm just reading in the notes of this study Bible, which is one reason I like it.

By saying that he will not be shaken, David was talking about believers' unique sense of security.

God does not exempt believers from day-to-day life circumstances.  Believers and unbelievers alike experience pain,  trouble, and failure at times. It talks more of that in Matthew 5: 45.

Unbelievers feel hopeless about life and are confused over their true purpose on earth.  Those who seek God, however, can move ahead confidently with what they know is right and essential in God's eyes. They know that God will keep them from moving off His chosen path. 

This Psalm is often called a Messianic Psalm because it is quoted in the New Testament.

As referring to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, both Peter and Paul quoted from this Psalm when speaking of Christ's bodily resurrection. 

David's heart was glad. He had found the secret to joy.

Listen, this is very important. 

True joy is far deeper than happiness.  We can feel joy despite our deepest troubles.

Happiness is temporary because it is based on external circumstances,  but joy is lasting because it is based on God's presence within us.  His Truth is infallible Truth.

As we contemplate His daily presence, we will find contentment. As we understand the future He has for us, we will experience joy.  Don't base your life on circumstances, but base them on God.

David stated confidently that God would not leave him in the grave.  Many people fear death because they can neither control nor understand it.

As believers, we can be assured that God will not forgive us when we die. He will bring us to life again to live with Him forever. This provides real security(LIfe Application Study Bible NIV).

When I look at that and listen to what the Word is speaking to me,  what Christ is speaking to me, we can be alive but walk around as if we are dead.

We all fall short of the Glory of the Lord.  We are all sinners with our own crosses to bear.  But we do not need to die in our circumstances.  Christ died so we could be set free.  We can call upon Him at any moment,  and He will deliver us out of Egypt.  He will be there with us in the middle of whatever storm we're facing.

But often, we don't want to call on Him for help because we believe that we're too dirty, too full of shame.  How could He, a Righteous God, come to dwell with us, mere sinners?
 
But look what He did in the past.  Jesus dined with sinners. Jesus met the woman at the well. He met her in her circumstances, where she was at that time. She did not feel clean enough. That's why she went to the well in the heat of the day. She didn't even believe she could be around others.  She was even ridiculed and persecuted by others. 

How many of you feel like you're ridiculed and persecuted by others?  How many of you walk that path where you believe no one sees you or's there with you?

But I can tell you Christ is there.  He is there with you. He will never leave you.  He will never forsake you. 

Seek Him and seek His glory.  Seek His peace that surpasses all understanding. 

His infallible Truth in the Word of God. 

Seek it. Seek what He is saying to you and what He has for you.  Seek His promises.

Seek His truth.  He will guide you. He will keep you. He will strengthen you. 

As you strive to walk along that path of righteousness, peace, and joy. Despite your circumstances, choose joy.  Fight your way through the darkness to hope.  Live from a place of hope with a fully surrendered heart to Christ. 

Let Him alone guide you and keep you and strengthen you during these dark times.

He's our Light in a dark world.  He's our strength in the middle of the storm. He's our steadfast anchor of hope in a dark world.  He will bless you and keep you and strengthen you.  You're never too dirty to call out to God.  If that were the case, I wouldn't be sitting here now.  I have sinned,  but He set me free of all that: shame, the guilt, the fear, and the regret.  He can set you free, too.

Bask in His Glory.  Bask in His goodness. 

Despite the day you're having,  maybe you're stuck in traffic.  Maybe you're trying to remember that you're righteous and not retaliate with your tongue.  Taming the tongue is the hardest thing that we have to do. 

Maybe you're at the grocery store wondering how you will buy groceries and feed your family and which credit card is not maxed out.

Maybe you're wondering how you'll pay your mortgage, what you'll do,  how you will survive another day, and how you will fake it till you make it another day. 

You won't do life in your strength,  but you can do it in His.  Seek the Wellspring of Living Water.  Seek Christ. He's waiting,  like He was waiting for the woman at the well,  for the man at Bethesda. 

He's waiting for you.  

Seek Him. Seek His Truth and the Glory that this day has to bring. The hope that this day has to bring.  

Draw from His Wellspring of Living Water and never thirst again.  

There's hope.  There's life.  You don't need to die.  You can live,  even in the darkness of your past. Don't let it define you.

Instead, say no more. I'm going to walk as a victor. Victorious over sin. Victorious, over the chains of the past. 

And I break off and bind every negative spirit attached to your life. 

I break off every negative word ever spoken to you; I break it off in the name of Jesus. I call forth Truth and Peace. Tranquility,  love, joy, hope. 

I break off every spirit of infirmary and bind it in the name of Jesus.  

You will walk full of joy and peace this day and carry out your Kingdom assignment and purpose.  

Walk in His glory, walk in His power,  walk in His anointing and His Strength. 

Draw from the Wellspring of Living Water and never ever thirst again. 

That's today's episode of Reflective Hour.  

His episode.  

Let it seek into every crevice of your being.  Let it be your guide.  Let it strengthen you in challenging times.