Highs and Lows (Psalm 16:1-3)

Today's scripture: Psalm 16:1-3

The last few weeks have been a mix of highs (a wonderful 30^th anniversary trip and being a part of our niece’s wedding) and lows (a couple of significant health flare-ups). All—blessings and pain—caused my soul to say to the Lord, "You are my Lord."

I know I've said this before, but I honestly don't know how people survive without a personal relationship with the one true God. Whom do they thank when things go right? And to whom do they run when things go wrong?

As I was mediating on today's verses, I looked at a couple of other paraphrases and translations. I was particularly taken with both The Message and Contemporary English Version's take on verses 1-2:

Keep me safe, O God,I’ve run for dear life to you.I say to God, “Be my Lord!”Without you, nothing makes sense. (MSG)
Protect me, Lord God!I run to you for safety,and I have said,"Only you are my Lord!Every good thing I haveis a gift from you.” (CEV)

Because I know that my loving, gracious, merciful God is in control of my highest highs and lowest lows, I can trust Him to keep me safe and protect me. I can be confident that everything has a purpose.

Indeed, with Him, I can rejoice on the mountaintop and seek refuge in Him in the valleys ... for without Him, nothing does make sense.

Trust in the Lord (Psalm 11:1-4)

Today's scripture: Psalm 11:1-3

We are in a battle. A very real battle. And it's not the "wars and rumors of wars" that were prophesied about (Matthew 24:6; Mark 13:7). No. We who follow Christ are in a war with those who would demean or destroy our faith.

Throughout the world, Christ-followers are being ridiculed, persecuted, and martyred, just because they choose to proclaim the truth of the Bible. Many, many times, it seems like the enemy is winning ... and it feels like our "foundations are destroyed."

Today's psalm asks a question: "What can the righteous do?" We'll elaborate on this more on Friday, but the answer is already there: "In the Lord I put my trust ..."

When the battles are fierce, when everyone around us tells us we're wrong, when the world's values seem to be overtaking everything ... then the only thing we can do is trust the One who created all things. The One who is in loving, sovereign control. The One who knows exactly what's happening in each and every life.

The One who loves us more than we can imagine and far more than we deserve. 

Nothing New ... (2 Peter 2:4-11)

Today’s scripture: 2 Peter 2:4-11

King Solomon wrote, “…there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9), and it’s so very true. Sometimes we think we live in the vilest, most corrupt time in history, but truly? This world has seen some really vile, corrupt stuff. Just read those last verses again. There have always been those who “indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires” or those who “despise authority” or those who are “self-willed.” And seriously, twice God destroyed all but a handful of people because of their depravity—once the entire earthly population in Noah’s day, and once two cities in Abraham’s.

So why should we be surprised at the actions of those living today? The only real difference is mass media puts all the “yuck” of the world right in our faces. You can’t even check your email without seeing the latest headline about abuse, murder, sexual sin, moral decline … It’s all around us.

And it can be a bit depressing to see wickedness seemingly prevail.

Ah, but we can’t forget the most important thing. Our holy God is in absolute control. He will judge the sinner and rescue the saint. One day—and only the Father knows when—God the Son will return to earth and gather up those who chose to follow Him. Then our God will judge all who chose not to follow Him. And every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ, God the Son, is Lord. And God the Father will be glorified. (See Phil. 2:10-11.)

One day, all the “yuck” will be forever gone. And we’ll live eternally praising and glorifying our holy God.

And all I can say? “Lord Jesus, come quickly!”

Exhortations ... and Encouragement (1 Cor. 4:19-21)

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
(1 Corinthians 4:19-21, NASB)

When I meditate on these three verses, I see words of both exhortation and encouragement.

The first exhortation, although I don’t know if Paul meant it that way, is that we’re to plan within God’s will. Paul writes, “I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills …” Paul made plans to visit the Christians at Corinth. He may have already packed his bags. But he knew that he would only arrive if God willed it.

We need to do the same. We can certainly make plans. The Bible tells us to plan (see Luke 14:28), but we always need to ask for God’s will (see James 4:13-15).

The second exhortation is that we need to treat each other with “love and a spirit of gentleness.” You’ve probably heard the old adage, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Whenever we interact with others—believers or not—we should do so lovingly, compassionately, and gently. Even if we’re reproving someone for sin, we still need to show Christ-like love.

Finally, I’m greatly encouraged to remember how powerful our God is. He is greater than anything this world can throw our way. He loves us unconditionally, and He is with us always.

These days, it’s easy to think that the enemy is winning. Corruption. Perversion. Wars (and rumors of wars). Natural disasters. Disregard for others. Pain. Suffering.

It’s a mess. But we can be assured that our powerful God—Father, Son, and Spirit—is in control. And we can be assured that “greater is He who is in [us] than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).