Psalm 116

    Greetings to you all in the name of Jesus Christ.  I just got back from an amazing vacation.  It was a lot of time in the car with almost 2,000 miles, but it was also kind of fun to be on a long road trip again.  It had been quite a while since I had a true road trip.  I made a big circle down through Iowa to Kansas City, over to Cheney, Kansas, up to Omaha, back over to Iowa, and then headed north to home again.  I got to see lots of people and spend some good quality time with family and friends.  The Lord blessed me with smooth sailing the whole way and even gave me some hot sunny weather to enjoy.
    Now I am back home, back to work, and starting my chicken farm.  I brought 45 baby chicks home with me from Iowa.  My goal is to get down to about 20 to 25 egg laying hens by leaving the other 20 to 25 for meat.  It has been fun and gives me some minor chores to do every day.
    I need to get back to writing more psalms devotions, but here is one I wrote a while ago.

Psalm 116:6
“The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.”

       These words may be some of the most comforting words I have ever read. Why you ask? Because I am one of the simplest people you will ever meet. I am a simple minded, country boy, from small town Iowa. My seminary buddies used to get so mad at me because I always said, “I’m just a big, dumb brute.” Perfect example, after saying that line a hundred times, I still had to Google how to properly spell brute. Now, I do not deny God has blessed me in many ways, and if He had not blessed me with the intelligence He did, I certainly would not be where I am today. And yet, when you look past the fact that school always came easy for me, I really do think I am a very simple person. It doesn’t take much to impress me. I am easy going, happy-go-lucky, and don’t really expect much out of life. Another example, I used to love “running” a stop sign for eight hours straight when I worked road construction. I could entertain myself so easily, it was almost scary. One time I distinctly remember making myself laugh out loud as I was talking to myself. Maybe that is more crazy than simple, but you get the point. I am not fancy, I am not classy, and I do not think I am too proud. If anything, maybe I am too proud of the fact that I am a simple kind of man. It means Lynyrd was singing about me (I hope you get that reference).
      Here, our psalm for today says God preserves the simple. Simple kind of people do not worry about what other people think about them, they do not get all worked up about everything going exactly right, they do not expect that they deserve more than what the world is actually going to hand them. Simple people go with the flow, are happy with almost any situation, and are just happy living life. These are the people God preserves. Why? Because they don’t let their high-class society distract them from their faith. They do not expect to be served by everyone else around them, but rather would graciously help their neighbor in need. They are more worried with what God thinks about them, than what their friends or neighbors do. They are more than willing to admit they need help and depend on God.
      This verse continues with the fact that when God brought me low, he saved me. By destroying my own self-ego, my own self-image, God allows me to see what or better yet, who is really important. By realizing that everything doesn’t revolve around my desires and demands, I can see what the world really does revolve around. And it’s not the sun, but rather the Son. This whole world is about being the creature of God you are. You are entirely dependent on Him for everything. You are dependent on Him for food, shelter, house, family, and physical blessings. Even more important though, you are dependent on Him for your forgiveness of sins, salvation and your eternal life in His Son Jesus Christ. He sent His Son to serve, not to be served. Christ came to die as a ransom for many, not to demand high-class, center of attention, perfection. We are brought low in remembering that we are sinners who deserve eternal death. However, once He brings us low in this confession, then He saves us through the free gift of grace and mercy in His Son’s death and resurrection and gives us eternal life.
      So it is OK to be simple. In fact, God wants us to be simple. He wants us to remember we are sinners and are only saved because of what He has done for us through His Son. He wants us to serve those around us, instead of demanding to be served. He wants us to find the joy of serving Him and living in His mercy each and every day. So for a simple kind of man like me, it is comforting to know, God preserves the simple. When life tries to bring me down, part of those low times is knowing I can turn to God and am reminded I am only saved by Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.