Psalm 37:34

Psalm 37:34

Hope in the Lord

This verse has appeared at a very opportune moment. I have recently been involved in some midweek Bible Studies looking at events leading up to the conquest of Canaan by Joshua and the Israelites and drawing parallels with the Christian’s journey of faith. We have seen how God delivered the Hebrew slaves from Egypt and how they were saved by the blood of the Passover Lamb pasted over their doors. We have followed their baptism in the Red Sea and the provision and protection of God in the wilderness. We have seen how unbelief was the major obstacle to entering the Promised Land and a whole generation perished in the wilderness as a consequence. All of these events have parallels in the spiritual journeys of believers today and now we are standing on the eastern banks of the River Jordan and itching to cross over. Ahead lies conflict and conquest and an unfolding story of God’s guidance and care. The thing is, when do we cross over and get started and what does that mean in church terms? “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts,” thunders the writer of Hebrews. “Those who hearts go astray will never enter my rest.” (Read Hebrews 3-4.) 

Sadly, I made the mistake of thinking that I had to come up with a timetable and a plan of what we do next! This verse is so timely, “Hope in the Lord and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit that land.”  In other words, we do not have the timetable or the strategy, all the Lord asks of us is to wait on Him, to hope in Him, to trust Him and to walk in His ways. He will take us over the Jordan and give us His rest and inheritance. It’s not up to me or you, it’s up to Him. In fact, the realisation that we understand what this verse is saying probably means we’ve already crossed over and are making inroads towards the place of rest. Hallelujah! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more