Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the three-year lectionary.
People sure hate it when they’re proven wrong. For that matter, they hate it when we have a difference of opinion and won’t capitulate to agree with them. This angry response has become possibly more forceful in recent years. It is certainly easier to provoke than it was in my youth.
Psalm 62 draws a sharp contrast between those who trust in themselves and those who trust in God. We are to trust in God. Make no mistake about it. People, whether strong or weak, rich or poor, finally bear no weight (v. 9). Riches, power, extortion, robbery, whatever we may gain in this life comes to nothing. None of that will make us powerful before God.
It is only trusting in the Lord which will secure our future. Yet it’s also precisely the thing which secures hardship in our present.
Some people will say that Christians are immune to hardship, that they can’t be touched by evil, that they always live a cheerful and victorious life. Everything comes up roses! After all, in verse one we read that God is our fortress. We’re safe, right?
In verse two we read that we will not be badly shaken. I wonder if you have ever been in a fortress, a secure place, but one under attack? Or maybe you have been in a nice safe boat during a storm? There’s a particular sort of comfort that we can gain while huddled in the basement with a flashlight and a battery powered radio during a tornado warning. Is it possible that we will receive a pounding? Absolutely. Hidden in the basement I have no idea whether a tornado will take the roof off the house, throw trees down, turn my car over, or just possibly miss us entirely. Statistically, it’s the latter.
In Christ we will not be badly shaken. We might be shaken some. We might receive a pounding. There are forces in our world which would like to use riches, power, extortion, or robbery against us. Being a Christian will not stop that. But being a Christian will stop that from being our final destiny. In Christ we are safe, at least in the end. We may suffer in the meantime, but by his resurrection Jesus has promised that his people will rise like he is - immortal and present with God the Father. This is the hope of the Christian.
Meanwhile, we take heart. Our Lord has not abandoned us. We trust in him and He will show us His love (verse 12). He’s good that way!
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