I thought that it was so fitting that the very last verses of today's readings tied everything together like a package with a big bow on top.
Luke 21:12-19
12 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.
Here is God's promise that walking with Him is not easy. In fact, it will be the opposite of easy. They will SEIZE and PERSECUTE you. You will be PUT IN PRISON. You will be BETRAYED. Everyone will HATE you. Some of you will BE PUT TO DEATH. This sounds terrible and yet it finishes with a great promise. "Stand firm, and you will win life." You. will. win. life. Despite all of the hardship, it is worth it.
David was persecuted. His best friend interceded on his behalf (which was pretty brave considering how crazy his dad was!) to try and save David but God still allowed an evil spirit to overtake Saul and David almost lost his life when Saul threw his spear at him. God allowed the danger but gave David a way out (and David's wife was pretty brave too!) and his life was spared and "not a hair on his head perished". I'm sure that David had times when he wondered why God was allowing all of the bad things to happen. Yet he trusted God with everything.
Psalm 23 is one of the most popular passages in the Bible. Even though David was running for his life, he was full of praise. He trusted God fully and completely.
Psalm 23:4
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
We walk through our own valleys in our life. Unemployment, marital stress, infertility, sickness, betrayal, depression, and many more. We need to lean on our Shepherd to guide us, comfort us and carry us through. When we focus on God and His Promise we know that it is worth it.
Often, we may feel targeted. Maybe not so obviously, as David was, but doesn't it seem like when trouble comes it comes all at once? The situations seem to pile on and then seem to overwhelm to the point of impossible. Satan uses these seemingly impossible situations to threaten our relationship with God and cause a division. But we can always call on God to help us.
Psalm 59:3-4
3 See how they lie in wait for me!
Fierce men conspire against me
for no offense or sin of mine, LORD.
4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.
Arise to help me; look on my plight!
Fierce men conspire against me
for no offense or sin of mine, LORD.
4 I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.
Arise to help me; look on my plight!
God is there for us to rely on. Always. It won't always be easy but it will be worth it.
One quick side note I wanted to add that I thought about while reading these verses. We have had many marriages breakdown around us in the last few years. It has been disheartening to me as with each marriage I can't help but wonder if it can happen to them, can it happen to me and Conrad? One of the things that has come up over and over again through these broken relationships is that "I wasn't happy". It always resonates with me because I don't think it says anywhere in the Bible that God wants us to be happy. In the verses at the beginning of this post, he actually promises many things that promise to not make us happy. I don't know if I believe that marriages should end because people aren't happy. These verses of despair in Psalms kind of make me think of these marriages that are dissolving. My prayer is that these marriages will be healed and that it will be possible to stand firm in the promises they made.
Dear Lord,
You are the great Promise Keeper. We can rely on what You say because You are the Truth. You have promised that following you will not be easy but You promise to give us the words and the wisdom to get us through any situation that you put before us. Thank you for never breaking Your promises. Lord, I also lift up friends and family that are struggling with their own valleys. Help them to stay close to You and lift them up and out as only You can. Amen.
4 comments:
Great post, Pam. It's true, He never promises us temporal happiness ~ often, as pointed out in the verses today, the OPPOSITE! But He promises an eternity of everlasting, all-consuming joy if we persevere!! What a great hope we have!
AMEN! People rely far to much on their outward circumstances to bring happiness to them, when really it is mainly about choosing joy. Joy in being part of the family of God, joy in the blessings He gives us alongside the pain of life on this earth, and joy in the hope we have for eternity. Not easy to remember, and I don't think it's possible to be joyful every minute of every day, but I feel sad for the people who are constantly striving for other things that they believe will bring them happiness, when that "happiness" is so temporary.
I love this post. You tied everything together so nicely! Thank you.
Great post Pam. All so true.
And the things is - we can CHOOSE joy. "Be joyful" - it's a command, and therefore it's our choice whether to obey it or not. We can choose joy.
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