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68. Strength and Peace

 Psalm 29:11

The Lord will give strength unto his people;

The Lord will bless his people with peace.

 The Lord loves his people and promises them blessings for their life that come from His own character, in this case He gives strength and peace.

 The strength God gives to us would be His own strength from Himself, not some alien, pulled-out-of-the-air, strength. God shares His life, He shares himself, and He shares His own strength. Now we His people share the very strength of God Almighty. We can make good use of God’s Strength from time to time when we need it, when we feel the weakest and when we are under threat or in trouble from our enemies. “When we are weak, then He is strong.” We need to utilize the strength of God when we are overwhelmed, when we are sick, when everything seems to go wrong, when the enemy is coming in like a flood, when we are down and depressed, or any time we feel in need of a physical or emotional pick-me-up. With the Strength of God within we are able to rise, stand up and be courageous. We can live with the attitude that nothing can topple us or make us fall. The Lord gives strength.

The peace of God, with which He blesses us, is the strong peace that is God’s, that is in God. “My peace I give unto you,” says Jesus (John 14:27). “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7). Is God at peace? Of course He is, always. The kind of peace that is in God is way beyond our ability to understand. When He gives us His own peace it would settle so strongly upon that we know we could never be moved or shaken, but we would be like a calm rock in a violent storm. He puts His Peace in us.

This promise is possible; this promise is real; this promise is meant for us to take hold of and by faith stand strong and calm like a rock. Can you believe we have such a Wonderful Savior God?

67. Strengthen

 Psalm 27: 14

Wait on the Lord:

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart:

Wait, I say, on the Lord.

 If you wait on the Lord, then He will strengthen your heart. Wait is the command; strengthening is the result. The period of waiting and maintaining your courage does the strengthening of the heart. If answers to prayer, rescue, deliverance, help and victory came immediately there would not be time to strengthen the heart while we wait.

The longer we wait on the Lord without fainting, complaining, giving up, forgetting, or wavering the stronger we grow in our faith and trust. God will answer our prayers in His time and in in His way. Even though we know that we still tend to lose heart and forget that we once prayed for something. Instant gratification is not God’s way; He would rather use the needs and prayers that we talk to God about to develop a relationship, grow our faith and strengthen our heart. When we ask the Lord for help and the help is delayed or deferred He is telling us to “Wait!” While we wait we maintain our faith and courage, trust and confidence, and we do not become disheartened, discouraged or disappointed. That is how we wait; if we know how to wait God promises to strengthen the heart. More value and benefit may come to us during the waiting time than would come to us when the answer actually unfolds.

The Lord is always looking for ways to develop inner character and strength. Strength in this case means unwavering trust in the Lord no matter how opposite it appears to our hopes. When we endure through the tempting time of doubt and still maintain faith and courage the heart is strengthened, that is, trust is firmed up. God is interested in answering your prayers, but He is more interested in firming up a strong trust relationship with you. That is why He says, “Wait on the Lord.”

66. Take up

 Psalm 27: 10

When my father and my mother forsake me,

Then the Lord will take me up.

 The unconditional promise of being taken up by the Lord means that the Lord himself will support, provide, care for, love and nurture me; it means that He will never, no never, forsake me. The greatest fear children have is the fear of abandonment.

It is expected that other supports, props, nurturers and caretakers we need during our temporal lives on earth will eventually leave us, disappoint us, or be unable to help. Even our own parents who have been there and cared for us all our life long will probably die before we do, if they have not willingly or unwillingly neglected us during their lifetime. Eventually and ultimately, every one of us humans on earth will be forsaken; since no one lives forever, the ones we are counting on will abandon us at some time or another. We will feel alone and weakened.

But the Eternal God comes in and promises He will take me up. I can never be, nor be afraid of being, abandoned, forsaken, left alone, uncared for or unloved. If it ever happens that I have no one to be there for me the Lord will take me up. He will take me up in His arms to love and nurture and comfort me and make me feel safe.

We can extend and expand the metaphor to include every bad thing that could possibly happen to me: no matter what happens, no matter how catastrophic, my Lord and my God will be there for me; I will be taken up and cared for. Every child, adult, and elderly person can take this promise to heart: you will never be alone. This promise is meant to carry us through all the days of our lives until we see Him face to face.

Jesus says: “Don’t worry; I’ll be there; I will be with you always, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

65. Hide

 Psalm 27:5

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion:

In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me;

He shall set me up upon a rock.

 The unconditional promise from God that He will hide me means that He will keep me safe from the enemies. “Hide” does not necessarily mean that I can’t be seen, but it means that I cannot be touched. If the Lord sets me on a rock I am still hidden although I am visible, because the enemies cannot reach me. To be hidden in his pavilion is to be protected by armies and bodyguards. A “pavilion” is like the tent of the general’s headquarters behind the battlefield, the safest place to be during the battle. Being hid in the secret of his tabernacle is being kept in the very presence of God into which no evil enemy can ever enter; so I am safe in God’s presence even if the enemy knows I am there. Being set up on a rock puts me out of reach of the enemies and my defenders easily push them back.

This promise of “hiding” means that God places me in a place of safety from the temptation, threat, scare, attack and danger from Sin, Death and the Devil. This Hiding Place is available to me in the time of trouble. When I run to the Lord He hides me in the secret place in His presence for security and safety until the trouble passes and the enemy leaves.

Both the presence of Sin and the presence of God are at all times surrounding me and even inside me. It is helpful to develop a more conscious awareness of the one and the other; I need to know when and where and how to jump into the hiding place. Through repentance and forgiveness, confession and absolution, I run into the waiting arms of the Father by remembering the “hiding place promise.” There solutions to my problems are worked out, prayers are answered, sins forgiven, and the troubles dissolve and pass away; Jesus remains.

64. Light, Salvation and Strength

 Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

 The unconditional promise for all of us is that the Lord is (and shall ever be) my light and my salvation and the strength of my life.

• My Light: Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12); Jesus also says, “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14). This means that Jesus shines in us and out of us as light. The promise is that the Lord is my light, meaning that he will push back the darkness for me and I shall walk in light for the way. If the light of the Lord is always in me and around me there will be nothing for me to fear; I will not fear the darkness for “the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) In truth, if the Lord is my light all around me I cannot even see the darkness: whom shall I fear? I see darkness with my eyes and sometimes I can feel darkness with my emotions, but I walk by faith and I can only see the light. God is with me; He is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If He is here then no darkness can be here either: what is to fear? Faith does not see the darkness.
• My Salvation: Jesus is my Savior, the God of my Salvation. He has already saved me from sin, death and the power of the devil. He is daily and constantly saving me from the troubles these three enemies get me into; God is my salvation today and in every situation. He will save me from eternal death and hell. Jesus is actively saving me daily from trouble and distress every day, for He is my salvation. If He is always there to save me, whom shall I fear? He has saved, is saving, and will save me from all my enemies.
• The Strength of my life: the Lord, according to His promise, is not only my rock and my fortress upon which I can stand and in which I can hide, He is also the strength of my life on the inside, my inner strength. As my strength He makes me strong to stand against the attacks of the enemies, sin, death and devil; He makes me strong to drive them back and tear down their strongholds. If this is true, of whom shall I be afraid?

 The Lord promises Light, Salvation and Strength, and because of these three aspects of God’s Presence there is nothing to fear. What is to be afraid of? What can my fear-instilling enemies do in the face of God’s light, God’s salvation, and God’s strength? I think nothing. Therefore, I will not fret, worry, stew, or be anxious for anything; for what my God promises He delivers.

63. Pluck my feet out of the net

 Psalm 25:15

Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

 God unconditionally promises to pluck my feet out of the net; that is why I trust Him and pray to Him constantly. Because He promises to save me and deliver me from all trouble I am always looking to the Lord; my feet are continually get caught in nets and I am trusting the Lord to know how to extricate me from these webs and traps. Therefore, my eyes are ever toward the Lord: I am instantly ready to pray to Him to rescue me from another net. And God plucks.

The nets are various kinds of complications, webs, traps, difficulties, and troubles that I regularly get caught in; the nets may be relational, financial, emotional, material, physical, mental or social. Sin and the Devil weave the nets and tempt us to get our foot caught. Sometimes it may be other people’s sins that draw us into the web of circumstance. Either way, the Enemy is always making nets to put along the path of life, and avoiding them all is nearly impossible. In rare instances, we may be able to figure out how to extricate ourselves, but it most cases it is the Lord who knows the net and how to pluck my feet out of it.

God promises to do this on a regular basis in answer to our prayer, so why don’t we pray to Him in every trouble, net, snare, trap and web? Turn you eyes to the Lord at all times, especially in the day of trouble. God plucks.

62. Secret is with them

 Psalm 25:14

The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

 The conditional promise for those who fear the Lord is that the secret of the Lord is with them. The “secret of the Lord” is no secret; it is an open secret; the secret is proclaimed openly to all, but it is still secret to those who do not hear, do not want to hear, and in stubbornness and rebellion shut up their ears and refuse to understand. The one who fears the Lord, loves and trusts Him, and desires to keep His covenant hears, understands, believes, and keeps the secret of the Lord.

The “secret” is simply this: God loves you and makes a covenant promise to you. God whispers this secret in the ear; “I have a secret for you: I love you; I will save you, provide for you, keep you, protect you, and give you life.” The Lord is so intimate with us that He makes us feel as though He and I are the only two in the universe; the miracle is that He makes countless others feel the same way.

Those who believe in Jesus are them that fear him. Each one of us, in a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus, shares a secret with Him. Shared secrets seem to enhance the soul tie between “best friends forever” and romantic lovers. God uses this figure of speech to help us understand the intimate bond our Lord has with each of us as His special friend.

He promises to show them his covenant, that is, to make it clear to them so that they understand it and fully grasp the eternal significance of the covenant that Jesus sealed with us in His blood. He shows, explains, declares, makes clear his covenant every time we hear the gospel, receive absolution, and participate in Holy Communion. For example, when we receive the blood with the wine in Communion Jesus is whispering His Love into our ear as if sharing a secret with us.

“I’ve got a secret,” and if I share it with you we are bonded closer to Him and to each other. Everyone loves to hear “I love you” whispered in his ear; so also does everyone need to hear the whispered secret, “Jesus loves you.”

61. Inherit the Earth

 Psalm 25:13

And his seed shall inherit the earth.

 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5). Jesus famously proclaimed this promise in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus quotes several Psalms and other Scriptures in which the meek inherit the earth. Here in Psalm 25 the offspring of the one who fears the Lord will inherit the earth. “Earth” can mean either the Promised Land or the entire earth. Both are true as symbolic of the eternal inheritance of the Kingdom of God reserved for believers.

Most people want prosperity and blessing for their children and descendants. The Lord promises such to us so that we may fear the Lord (by faith in Christ). The promises for those who keep the covenant extend also to our future descendants. One prayer all believers have in mind is to pray for their children and grandchildren that they remain faithful to the Lord so as to receive the promises and inherit the land. We want to enjoy our entire family in eternity.

This desire motivates us to “fear the Lord” through daily repentance and faith and to pray regularly for the spiritual faith of our family members. The believer can take heart in this promise of God for “his seed.”

60. Dwell at ease

 Psalm 25:13

His soul shall dwell at ease;

 The man who fears the Lord will abide in well-being, or “his soul shall dwell at ease.” This is another conditional promise for the one who fears the Lord. The promise of ease is set for the one who fears the Lord, trusts God, loves Him with all his heart, and keeps all His commandments. Only Jesus has actually done this, and those who believe in Him have received the gift of being a God fearing person. Therefore, the Christ believer has a claim to this “his soul shall dwell at ease” promise.

Every person on earth has the natural desire to dwell at ease. We all want life to be easy, fun and enjoyable without having to work too much for the easy times. For most people “dwelling at ease” would be having enough money for anything I want any time I want it; it would be having the time and ability to do pretty much whatever I want whenever I want to do it; it would be relaxing and enjoying life without having to work too hard for it. In other words “ease” = prosperity.

For some people “dwelling at ease” means not having a worry or care in the world and enjoying a stress-free existence; money would help, but it would take more than just money to make it happen.

For the believers “dwelling at ease” would mean the soul having no worry, fear, stress, doubt, anxiety about enjoying what they need for life and well being; it would mean security and comfort and joy and peace in the presence of a loving God; it would mean having “needs, not “greeds,” provided for in adequate measure; it would mean taking Jesus yoke upon one for His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

 This utopian, ideal, paradisiac existence is promised by God, but it will be on His terms (which are wiser than ours) so it will take some adjustments in our own minds regarding definitions of ease, happiness, and paradise. The Lord will teach these necessary readjustments and redefinitions and keep His promise to those who fear the Lord (believe in Jesus). It’s worth taking time to reflect on the meaning of “dwell at ease.” It is a promise we can claim by faith in Christ.

59. Teach in the way

 Psalm 25:12

What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

 If a man fears the lord, then the Lord will teach that man in the way that God will choose. No one fears the Lord above all things, that is, keeps all God’s commandments perfectly. But Jesus did, then died as an innocent, righteous and perfect human to earn God’s gift of righteousness and blessedness for us. By faith we are accounted as those who fear the Lord. Thus the believer is entitled to claim the promise that God Himself will teach him in the way; and by “teach in the way,” He means that He will not only teach him the facts about living in the way, but He will also give him the power in real life to live in the way according to the teaching: he will not only listen but also do. The man’s actual behavior will begin to conform to the right way of living that He chooses.

Fearing God includes repenting and believing. One aspect of repentance is when the Holy Spirit changes our desires so that we actually want to walk in His way and avoid the way we would naturally choose. Do you think it would be God’s will for you to ask Him to make you a better person? He is waiting for you to ask. He loves to answer that prayer; God would love to teach you in the way that He shall choose. Give Him a shot. Allow yourself to be humble and meek enough to be teachable and moldable. He promises to hear your prayer and change your life. Let Him teach as He is wont to do and He wants to do.