I am usually in such a hurry.
I’m in a hurry to fix things; to correct mistakes; to bring about needed change; whatever in my mind I perceive needs my attention I go after it with zeal.
That’s a good thing in small doses, but when I do so without any regard to how the Lord is working in the situation then I at best am unaware of the Lord’s will and at worse am not trusting in His sovereignty. That does not speak very highly of my confidence in God.
One of the things I love the most about the Psalms is that they are a constant reminder of God’s majesty, mercy, and mastery over world events. I tend to forget that life on this earth is a mere speck of time compared to eternity. Thankfully Bro Pete reminded me of eternity yesterday in his sermon. It made me take a step back and realize that when it seems my head is on fire it’s usually because I’m the one who started the fire. This is particularly true in the political arena; not everything is an emergency in the eyes of God…in fact I’ve never read in the Bible where the Lord acted in haste.
I love the confidence of King David who wrote so many of the psalms, doing so from a perspective of a life-long relationship with God. He knew better than most how tough life could be and how completely trustworthy God is. David wrote:
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“Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.†(Psalm 138:7-8)
The Hebrew verb translated “perfect†is gamar and it means “to bring to fulfillment†and is used only once in the Old Testament. A similar word in the Greek is pleroo and was used numerous times in the New Testament to show the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The Apostle Paul used pleroo when addressing the Thessalonians in his second letter to that church:
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“Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.†(2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)
Paul once again had to buck up this church in the midst of difficult persecution, to encourage them to continue in perseverance, and to remember in faith the Lord’s certain return.
Those are hard things to do in the middle of tough times. As Bro Pete said yesterday, 2009 is behind us and 2010 is in front of us and we need to keep our focus on the eternal and not the temporal. I know that is easier said than done, but too often I try to come up with my own ways to persevere and the Bible tells me it is by faith I am to persevere. I need a constant reminder of what faith is:
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“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.†(Hebrews 11:1-3)
Do I really “understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God� Do I? It’s hard to tell by my actions most times. It seems I find myself involved in things only to find out that the Lord never wanted me there in the first place. God wants me involved in that which concerns me.
Oh would that I only move in the places the Lord would have me!
Will I awaken tomorrow seeking anew God’s will for me this day, or will I awaken ready to grab the bull by the horns only to find myself in the wrong pasture?
C.S. Lewis put it best and I pray I remember this tomorrow:
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“Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done…â€
In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4
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Copyright © 2009 David Jeffers
