Dear Reader

“I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”* (Psalm 16:8)

How do we “set” the Lord before us? The Hebrew word can also suggest the idea of adjusting things. In other words, we can adjust ourselves so that the Lord is before us—we can change our attitudes, refocus our thoughts, humble ourselves, or whatever it takes to meet this condition: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”* (James 4:8)

Years ago, in a book of letters written by a father advising his son, who was about to get married, I read the following story.

A young couple received a large vase from one of the wife’s relatives. The husband abhorred the vase and said so to his wife. She, on her part, although not particularly fond of the vase herself, insisted on keeping it on their coffee table to honor the relative. Seeing that discussion was becoming just argument, he stopped, and considered awhile.

Now the couple were accustomed to spending time in the evening in the living room, he in his chair reading, and she in her chair reading or working on some handwork. They would pass a pleasant time exchanging experiences of the day, or perhaps he would mention something interesting from his reading and they would discuss it; then they would return to their occupations for a few minutes, and then visit some more.

The next evening, the husband made a point of positioning the vase in a prominent place on the table, particularly blocking their view of each other. He would read for a little while, then crane his neck around to the side to see her while he shared something from his book; and she, likewise, would find herself leaning to the side and craning her neck to see him while she shared something with him. And so it went on that whole evening.

The following evening when the husband got home from work, the vase had disappeared from sight, and never came out again.

Now this was a story about human relationships, but there is something for us in it concerning our relationship with the Lord. Sometimes we find ourselves having difficulties in setting the Lord before us. It is our privilege to call upon the Lord to bring whatever it is out to the middle of the table, so-to-speak, so that we can easily recognize that this is what is hindering our keeping the Lord before us. Maybe I’m treasuring something in my life, or cherishing a certain idea about something or somebody, or clinging to certain plans. The Lord is able to make it obvious to me that it is getting in the way of our relationship, and that something besides the Lord is “set before me.” It will also prove how much we value our relationship with God. The young wife valued the clear vision between herself and her husband in those evening visits enough to put the vase away.

I recently found myself reflecting over a long Bible discussion in which a variety of spiritual conditions and various amounts of spiritual light were indicated. I was finding myself perplexed how to consider the discussion and the people so that the Lord would be pleased, when He gave me the thought expressed in our scripture, of setting Him before me. I began to ask the Lord to stand between me and the thoughts and people instead of them standing between myself and Him. Soon I found myself asking Him to show me His thoughts about each one, so that I would know how to pray for each one. I found myself blessed and no longer perplexed or “moved” by the situation. Oh, what a blessed privilege to “set the LORD always before me”!

Love and prayers,
The Editor