Gary Gleans

The Lord hears our prayers and is able to deliver us from the most difficult of circumstances.  Men may plot evil and think that they can get away with it, but that is not true.  God sees everything and He is able to judge according to His righteousness.  There may be times in our lives when it looks like things are out of control.  When that happens we must be faithful to call out to the Lord and know that He will take care of us and that He will take care of them as well.  EVIL MEN WILL BOAST OF THEIR SUCCESS: David had many enemies and was often literally surrounded by them.  He did the only thing he could do in such a situation; he cried out to the Lord for help.  These evil men would attack with their words, the make up lies and plot all kinds of injustice.  The biggest problem is that their efforts may be greatly successful at first and they can become very confident in their malicious gossip and dishonesty.  This gives them even m...

Our desires reveal our hearts and our true objects of worship.  If that is true than we can certainly determine the depth and reality of our relationship with God by evaluating our desire for God.  We all have many desires, some of them are natural and legitimate while others are sinful.  We all desire peace, comfort, health, security and love just to name a few.  However, each of these legitimate desires can become idols in our lives if we begin to have a greater desire for them than we have for the Lord.  David describes his desire for God as the thirst of a man in the desert without water.  Our worship is always driven by our desires.  If our passions and affections are for our own pleasures; than these pleasures are the true gods of our lives.  Our desire for God must be the greatest desire of our lives. GOD BRINGS SATISFACTION TO THOSE WHO DESIRE HIM: Satisfaction can be a wonderful blessing or it can be a terrible curse.  God wants...

Waiting is one of the hardest things for us to do.  We have a tendency to be in a hurry to get things done or resolve whatever might be wrong so when we have to wait it can be torturous for us.  If waiting is hard; then waiting in silence is almost impossible.  When we do have to wait we seem to like to worry, fret and complain about whatever it is that we may be waiting for.  David states twice in this Psalm that he waits in silence for God.  He recognized that God was the true source of help and hope so he was able to wait patiently and joyfully in the Lord.  Waiting is simply a matter of trusting God to do what needs to be done exactly when it needs to be done.  We must have confidence in the Lord and know that He is worthy of our faith, hope and love even when we must wait. WE WAIT ON THE LORD BECAUSE MEN ARE UNFAITHFUL: Men are naturally self-promoters.  We like to be on top and are willing to do pretty much anything to get there.  ...

Prayer is one of the believer’s most precious blessings.  We have direct access to the Father when we call out to Him in prayer.  There are times in life when we face trials that can easily overwhelm us.  However we must always remember that we are not alone.  We do not need to face these trials on our own.  God is with us and He is always able to deliver us from all kinds of evil.  There is no need for us to worry, fret and lose hope because our Lord hears and answers our prayers.  David teaches us three important lessons about prayer. GOD WANTS US TO REST IN PRAYER: God is glorified when we admit to the fact that we are not able to handle life on our own but that we need God.  We can rest assured that God hears our prayers and is able to answer our prayers according to His will.  God wants us to call out to Him, to take refuge in Him; He wants us to rest in His power and grace.  We must recognize that He is our Rock and that He is...

There are times when we will feel as if God has rejected us.  That feeling is not entirely accurate because it is not exactly God who has rejected us; rather it is us who has rejected God.  Sin has consequences and it has a direct impact on our relationship with God.  We cannot presume that we can live in sin and still experience the same blessings from the Lord in our lives.  When God withholds His blessing from our lives it may feel like He has rejected us.  However, the reality is that He withholds His blessing in an effort to motivate us and draw us back into a right relationship with Him.  Our sufferings are very often permitted by God and subsequently used by God in order to draw us closer to Him.  So when it feels like He has rejected us; the reality is that He is working to bring us back to where we should have always been. GOD HATES SIN: The reality of life is that God stands against those who live in sin.  God hates sin because it b...

God is a fortress.  He protects us from the evil and hatred that surrounds us.  In the midst of people who desire our destruction and plot evil against us; God engulfs us with His steadfast love and allows us to be victorious through His power and might.  It is of utmost importance that we always remember that we are not alone.  God is always with us and stands ready to protect us from all that threaten.  Fear can be a debilitating emotion that paralyzes us and prevents us from actively worshiping and enjoying the Lord.  Faith provides us with the security we need to be able to praise the Lord even when we are perplexed by the problems we face. WE MUST RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS THAT WE FACE: The Christian life is not a life of denial.  There is no point in denying the dangers that are all around those who desire to serve the Lord.  Sinners do not like to be convicted about their sin.  Those who deny the existence of God do not like to be tol...

Judgment is one of the things that we fear and dislike the most in the world.  We fear being misjudged by the courts or by other people who jump to conclusions about us that are simply not true.  Too often in the world we see evil people who are untouched by the justice system while good men are being condemned.  The basic purpose of human government is to punish evil and promote good.  However, when those responsibilities are inverted and the people in charge begin to punish good while promoting evil it can become easy for us to be fearful.  We can rest assured that there is a just Judge in heaven that is well aware of all the events of the earth and He will make all things right in the end. THE WICKED REJOICE IN THAT WHICH IS WRONG: Wicked men will do according to that which is in their hearts.  They are evil and they approve of evil things.  They will scheme of ways to hurt all that is good and pure because it is convicting to them.  They ...