Most everyday starts off in a similar way. My alarm rudely bursts out — breaking through the once peaceful silence of the dark room and calling me to engage with the day ahead. As I struggle to gain my bearings, my feet hit the cold wood floor and start propelling me toward the even colder tile of our bathroom. It is there that I will start getting ready for whatever will transpire over the daylight hours awaiting me.
You might be a person who has one of God’s beautiful truths framed elegantly on your living room wall — but we have taken a slightly different approach. In our bathroom hangs a small, white notecard with the simple writing of a black marker (done of course by Ashley, as not even I can read my own handwriting in the early hours of the morning). The notecard is carefully placed inside of a folded-over sandwich baggie, which is literally taped to the side of our shower wall.
While I know this may at first seem odd, let me assure you it is the perfect place for a reminder of God’s truth.
The card reads:
Why the shower wall? I’m glad you asked.
Though the shower brings a cleansing from the dirt and grime of the previous twenty-four hours, for me — and for many of you, I’m sure — it also brings a sense of burden for the situations I anticipate encountering throughout my day.
It is easy to focus on the busyness of my schedule, a difficult conversation I need to have with someone at work, a challenging situation within our home, the health issues of an aging body, or the need of a brother or sister in Christ.
It is not uncommon to quickly go to a place where I might feel overwhelmed, and unable to see how I am capable of solving and serving all of the weighty situations of the day.
The simple truth is that I can’t. And neither can you.
And to that I will respond with two simple, but profound, words: “But God…”
In the ESV (English Standard Version of the Bible), the phrase “but God” is used somewhere around 48 times. This simple phrase has tremendous impact, as it displays 48 of the many times throughout scripture where God had a plan and control beyond the understanding held by man.
So what does this have to do with a notecard on the wall of my shower? Psalm 16:8-9 reminds me that the most important focus I can place on my day is to place my reliance on, and worship of, the Lord front-and-center over any other facet of my day.
In other words, the notecard helps me to start with the “but God…” and hopefully avoid some of the “if only Jim”.
Proverbs 19:21 reminds us that “many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
The notecard serves as a redirect away from the anxieties I am prone to focus on — away from the “plans of man” — and toward the God who is sovereign over the entirety of creation. My alignment needs to be toward desiring Him and His plans over any earthly urgency my day and its chaos tries to place on the throne of my thoughts.
The idea of “setting the Lord always before me” reminds me of what we have been seeing in our study of the book of Daniel. In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego told Nebuchadnezzar that they knew God was sovereign over the fiery furnace. They believed that God was capable of delivering them from a torture I can’t even fathom. But their faith also was not determined by God following their plans.
“If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego set the Lord before them in their circumstance. Their worship of the Lord was not determined by the outcome (or plans) of man, but rather on knowing God and His worth.
Likewise, when Daniel himself was faced with the ordinance put in place by Darius, forbidding him to “petition any god or man for thirty days” (Daniel 6:7), he also “set the Lord always before” him. His desire to worship God wasn’t driven by his circumstance, but rather existed before and in spite of his circumstance.
In both cases, the goal was not to avoid whatever was before them, but rather to (almost independently) continue to live out lives that were devoted to God. God was the center of their worship, not their personal comfort, safety, circumstance, or situation.
Let’s go back to Psalm 16:8-9 for a moment and break it down a little. I want to make sure we see the similarities between the men of God in Daniel and the psalmist’s remarks in Psalm 16.
“I have set the Lord always before me” — In making this statement, the psalmist is expressing the desire and intent to keep God the focus of all things and at all times. Much like the men in Daniel, the psalmist sets his gaze on the Lord regardless of what else is before him.
“Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” — When I read this, it is hard not to have a mental picture of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego standing before Nebuchadnezzar. Their worship of God was based solely on God’s worth, and not on a requirement of personal protection.
Likewise, the psalmist is stating that his steadfastness and security doesn’t come from the outcome of any particular trial, but rather from the knowledge that our sovereign God is present in all things and at all times. Nothing is beyond His control and purpose.
“Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” — These words ring out as one who is confident in the holiness and sovereignty of God. Again, like the men in Daniel, the psalmist’s glad heart, rejoicing being, and secure flesh aren’t based on the fulfillment of their plan or expectation, but rather on the worth of the God who holds all things at all times. They responded with worship because God alone is worthy.
So why is this on my shower wall? Well at this point I must confess that I didn’t place it there. It was placed there by my wife, Ashley, as she was working through a similar need of being reminded to place God in front of all situations and circumstances. Nonetheless, the truth written on that simple, white card, and more importantly the giver of that truth, has become a daily focus.
As my day is getting underway, it is easy for me to lose sight of the God who literally provided my rest through the night. He provided the ears that heard my alarm clock. He provided the feet and legs that lifted me upright out of bed. He provided the water that cleanses. He provided the eyes that see the dawning light and the sun that provided it.
He provided the very breath that gives life to a body that He designed.
And He provided the appointments of my day. He provided the opportunities to not rely on myself, but to trust in Him as sovereign Lord over all things, all circumstances, and at all times.
The notecard reminds me of the truth moments after my eyes open for the day. It reminds me of God’s place at the forefront of my day, and my worship of Him regardless of circumstances, because He alone is worthy.
All too often, as believers, we have a vision that is set in the future — When Christ returns and Satan, sin, and death are no more. Without question, my response to that is a yes and amen! But I don’t want to lose sight of the fact that the same God who will fulfill His promises in the future is present and active today. He is no less sovereign on an early Iowa morning in 2025.
Set the Lord always before you. He and He alone is worthy of our worship and praise.
Know that because He is at our right hand, we need not be shaken. Whatever may be before us, God is faithful and He alone sovereignly holds the whole of creation in His hands.
Let your heart be glad, your whole being rejoice, and your flesh dwell secure. Give God the worship He alone is due. Rejoice not in what you hope to be your earthly gain, but rather because of His greatness and worth.
I challenge you to put a verse that reminds you of God’s goodness and sovereignty somewhere where your heart and mind tend to wander. Maybe that’s your car, your office, where you make dinner, or pay bills. Maybe that’s on your shower wall, just like me.
In any case, like the psalmist, give yourself the opportunity to set the Lord before you in all things. Be of glad heart because He is worthy and holds all in His hands. Rejoice in Him, not because He fulfills your plans, but because He is perfect in fulfilling His own. Let your flesh dwell secure because He alone reigns sovereign.