Christianity is a beautiful thing. We hear the gospel and we know Christ died for our salvation, but there are always mysteries to the story, unexplored lessons to learn along the way, and new revelations as we grow in our faith. Sometimes it doesn't always seems like life is a constant, upward trajectory. We go through spurts of substantial growth while other times leave us feeling sluggish. It's in the sluggish times where I find it difficult to learn or understand exactly what God wants of me and how to reach that place. I doubt I'm the only one who has struggled with that.
I look at it this way: God is infinitely wise, so we can never fully comprehend the entirety of His plan with our finite minds. Yet, He calls us to spiritual growth. If we are flexible with Him, life will present us with plenty of teachable moments. God is always in these plans to help us learn and make progress with Him. All of that is to say this: There are a lot of things I don't know -- about God, about His plan, and about life in general. That can be shaky ground, and it can cause fear and uncertainty to rise up. But, God is faithful... and I'm so thankful for that. He helped to comfort me and show me something from a broader perspective. I hope and pray that it will help me, and you, to better understand and deal with our unique, specific problems we face.
God showed me a verse a few weeks ago, and it was meaningful, but I didn't understand exactly how it applied to my life. It definitely was an inspiring verse, but there wasn't a specific situation at the moment that really clicked in my mind. When I read it today, it totally stood out to me, even more than when I had first read it. Psalm 20:6 says:
"Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand."
I don't know how meaningful that is to you, but it struck a chord with my heart. In this psalm, David affirms that he KNOWS the Lord saves those who live for Him. The anointed remnant will be heard by God, in heaven, and be saved by God's strength. Who is stronger than God? No one. No one comes even close. It's remarkable to me that a God so great and powerful is willing to hear the petitions of His children. That gives me confidence. David had shortcomings in his life. Some of them seem far more egregious than things I've ever struggled with. Yet, despite these issues he had a confidence in what God would do for those endeavoring to serve Him. It's encouraging to read the assurance of someone who experienced God's endless mercy. The next verse is also very special to me.
"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God."
This is what I know now. Trust in other things will not sustain us. Chariots and horses are symbolic of earthly, human help. Those won't be our salvation. We can't let our trust fall in anything aside from God. Our call for help must be to our God -- He is the only deliverer. Too often I let that slip my mind. The person who has called us His own won't neglect our petitions. That's why Jesus' blood was shed for us. He fully intends for us to lay our problems, struggles, and fears at His feet so He can help us deal with our life that isn't as easy as we hope it will be.
It's not like God will shame us for having difficulties. Psalm 46 explains that God is a "present help in time of need." That indicates we WILL have struggles in our walk. What God longs for us to understand is that in those times we can turn to God for help. My flesh naturally wants to run from a vengeful God when I mess up or feel like I'm not doing what God wants of me. But, it's so important to remember that the same God who will be our judge at the end of our life is the SAME God who longs for us to let Him help us. He wants to be there for us when we're struggling. He wants to be a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. He wants to illuminate the way for us. He wants to give us the strength we need to press on through the things in life that are really hard.
Now know I that the Lord saveth.
I know that. I believe that. And I trust that. The word saveth isn't exclusive to our initial salvation. It refers to that, but it also means He will save us from fear, from insecurities, from doubts, from the lies of the enemy, and from every imposition of the devil. Whatever you're struggling with, the Lord saveth from that. Everything I struggle with, the Lord saveth from that. The key is in the second verse, verse 7. Our trust has to be fixed in Him. We have to remember Him when those things come against us.
It's not easy to do. I know, at least for me, it's always hard to get around the fact that I've done something imperfectly. God is ultimately going to be my judge, and it's easy to be afraid that after a mistake, He'll want nothing to do with me. But that isn't the case. As long as we're willing to fix the areas in which we struggle, He's willing to help us do that. It's only by His power and His Son that we're saved in the first place. He wants to keep us free from the bondage that sin requires.
But, even when we know that God is the only fail-proof source of help, it can be hard to accept it. As humans, we want to rely on ourselves and other people to help us. After all, God sends messengers to deliver His word, right? Sis. LaDawna Adams preached a great message tonight titled "What is Man?" One of the stories she read in Act 3 stood out to me. She read the story of the lame man who laid every day at the gate of the temple and asked Peter and John for alms. Verse 6 says:
"Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."
The man was asking humans for earthly assistance. Peter wisely understood that wouldn't provide any meaningful help for the man. Instead, Peter called on a higher authority. Man will often be insufficient to meet our needs, and we need to learn to expect that. But we can point people to Jesus. Peter gave what he could for the man, and that was Jesus. Help from friends, family, or mentors is valuable, but ultimately it can only help insofar as God is involved. The lame man was greatly blessed by Peter being in touch with God. Surrounding ourselves with people who will support us in our walk with God is priceless. The Bible says not to forsake our assembly together (Hebrews 10:25). It's important. But recognizing that it is ultimately God who does the saving is key.
As much as Peter had the heart to help the lame man, he couldn't do it in himself. We have to come to the realization that we can't expect other people to fix our problems for us. They're humans with problems just like us, and we can't put to their responsibility something that is for us to work out with God. I've found that relying on people can take our focus off of the true help: God. That's dangerous. When we don't let God be the focus, we lose touch with Him and place undue burden on others.
I'm so encouraged with this thought. Now I know, I'm confident, that God will save His anointed. When we're living a life in pursuit of Him, serving Him to the best of our ability, He will be faithful to save us. It doesn't matter what we're going through. There are problems other people can't touch. I want to learn better how to trust God fully for the struggles I have in life. I want Him to save me and heal me. I also want to be a faithful servant, and that includes helping others along the way. Our confidence can't be in man, but God wants us to help and encourage each other along the way. God will send people to help us, maybe even to help us understand where our issues are coming from. But the actually healing for those problems and the strength to overcome them come from the Lord himself.
I pray that this can be an encouragement to someone else, too. There are problems that are simply bigger than what we or someone else can handle. We have to go directly to the source of our salvation. We can go with the same confidence David had and say:
"Now know I that the Lord saveth His anointed; he will hear him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand."
Keep encouraged!
"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God."
This is what I know now. Trust in other things will not sustain us. Chariots and horses are symbolic of earthly, human help. Those won't be our salvation. We can't let our trust fall in anything aside from God. Our call for help must be to our God -- He is the only deliverer. Too often I let that slip my mind. The person who has called us His own won't neglect our petitions. That's why Jesus' blood was shed for us. He fully intends for us to lay our problems, struggles, and fears at His feet so He can help us deal with our life that isn't as easy as we hope it will be.
It's not like God will shame us for having difficulties. Psalm 46 explains that God is a "present help in time of need." That indicates we WILL have struggles in our walk. What God longs for us to understand is that in those times we can turn to God for help. My flesh naturally wants to run from a vengeful God when I mess up or feel like I'm not doing what God wants of me. But, it's so important to remember that the same God who will be our judge at the end of our life is the SAME God who longs for us to let Him help us. He wants to be there for us when we're struggling. He wants to be a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. He wants to illuminate the way for us. He wants to give us the strength we need to press on through the things in life that are really hard.
Now know I that the Lord saveth.
I know that. I believe that. And I trust that. The word saveth isn't exclusive to our initial salvation. It refers to that, but it also means He will save us from fear, from insecurities, from doubts, from the lies of the enemy, and from every imposition of the devil. Whatever you're struggling with, the Lord saveth from that. Everything I struggle with, the Lord saveth from that. The key is in the second verse, verse 7. Our trust has to be fixed in Him. We have to remember Him when those things come against us.
It's not easy to do. I know, at least for me, it's always hard to get around the fact that I've done something imperfectly. God is ultimately going to be my judge, and it's easy to be afraid that after a mistake, He'll want nothing to do with me. But that isn't the case. As long as we're willing to fix the areas in which we struggle, He's willing to help us do that. It's only by His power and His Son that we're saved in the first place. He wants to keep us free from the bondage that sin requires.
But, even when we know that God is the only fail-proof source of help, it can be hard to accept it. As humans, we want to rely on ourselves and other people to help us. After all, God sends messengers to deliver His word, right? Sis. LaDawna Adams preached a great message tonight titled "What is Man?" One of the stories she read in Act 3 stood out to me. She read the story of the lame man who laid every day at the gate of the temple and asked Peter and John for alms. Verse 6 says:
"Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."
The man was asking humans for earthly assistance. Peter wisely understood that wouldn't provide any meaningful help for the man. Instead, Peter called on a higher authority. Man will often be insufficient to meet our needs, and we need to learn to expect that. But we can point people to Jesus. Peter gave what he could for the man, and that was Jesus. Help from friends, family, or mentors is valuable, but ultimately it can only help insofar as God is involved. The lame man was greatly blessed by Peter being in touch with God. Surrounding ourselves with people who will support us in our walk with God is priceless. The Bible says not to forsake our assembly together (Hebrews 10:25). It's important. But recognizing that it is ultimately God who does the saving is key.
As much as Peter had the heart to help the lame man, he couldn't do it in himself. We have to come to the realization that we can't expect other people to fix our problems for us. They're humans with problems just like us, and we can't put to their responsibility something that is for us to work out with God. I've found that relying on people can take our focus off of the true help: God. That's dangerous. When we don't let God be the focus, we lose touch with Him and place undue burden on others.
I'm so encouraged with this thought. Now I know, I'm confident, that God will save His anointed. When we're living a life in pursuit of Him, serving Him to the best of our ability, He will be faithful to save us. It doesn't matter what we're going through. There are problems other people can't touch. I want to learn better how to trust God fully for the struggles I have in life. I want Him to save me and heal me. I also want to be a faithful servant, and that includes helping others along the way. Our confidence can't be in man, but God wants us to help and encourage each other along the way. God will send people to help us, maybe even to help us understand where our issues are coming from. But the actually healing for those problems and the strength to overcome them come from the Lord himself.
I pray that this can be an encouragement to someone else, too. There are problems that are simply bigger than what we or someone else can handle. We have to go directly to the source of our salvation. We can go with the same confidence David had and say:
"Now know I that the Lord saveth His anointed; he will hear him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand."
Keep encouraged!
