In spite of all we see and all that escapes our focus and attention, we make it a point to stay focused on the grace and glory of our God, the everlasting love of our Almighty Father.
The Lord is good and great and gracious – He is enthroned above all and there is nothing or no one above Him. He is mighty and wise and full of mercy and truth – He IS the Truth.
I may sound like a broken record but I will just choose to continue to bless His name through the hardships, through the toil and the trouble, through fear and anxiety. It is our natural state, as we walk and move in the Spirit, to rejoice, to give thanks, and to pray.
We flow as the Spirit flows in and through us, naturally giving thanks to our God, naturally proclaiming our trust in no one else but our Father, above all.
We give Him thanks for life, we trust in His great love. And in all of it, we flow.
Indeed, in Him we live, move and have our being. We are never without Christ, and Christ is always with us. We do not imagine ourselves possessed, nor as puppets on a string, but freely moving, as the Holy Spirit moves in us and with us.
Indeed, whom Christ has set free, is free indeed – and with this freedom, again, we choose to praise and glorify our Father. Even in chains, we give Him glory. Even under pressure, we give thanks to Him. Even in distress, we continually pray, constantly communicating with the God and Lord of all.
For the freedom we have is no ordinary, earthly freedom, but one that has been established in the eternities beyond this reality. We are infinitely and eternally free from the bondage of sin and from the demands of the flesh. We are infinitely and eternally free from the end – from death, from oblivion, from the wages of sin.
And we do not look at this freedom as one that implies what we’re free FROM, but also what we’re free INTO – we are infinitely and eternally free into the rhythms of grace, and into the grace and glory of the Holy Spirit. We are infinitely and eternally free, righteous unto eternal life.
So, great as the stress may be in this existence, heavy as the shackles may be in this reality, terrifying as the darkness is in this doomed world… we have what Christ has gave us: ‘peace beyond all understanding’ – a peace that goes beyond all this world threatens to give and take from us.
Shaken in this life, but established firmly in eternity – Not because of anything we are or anything we do, but all because of Christ and His finished work. To Him we give thanks and praise, now and forever. Amen.
Psalm 118
Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy
1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
2 Let Israel now say, “His mercy endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron now say, “His mercy endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the LORD now say, “His mercy endures forever.”
In all our flowing and trusting and thanking God, here’s another line, another thought to keep on dwelling on – Not only for the people of Israel, but for all of us who have begun in the fear (respect and reverence) of the Lord: That His mercy endures forever.
Troubles persist, but His mercy endures forever.
Trauma keeps coming back, but His mercy endures forever.
Unresolved memories pop up at random, but His mercy endures forever.
Symptoms persist, consult your doctor but His mercy endures forever.
I have reason to believe that beyond all that was mentioned regarding the Holy Spirit and His conviction towards the world, we are also reminded from the outside, if not from within – that no matter what we face, God’s mercy endures forever.
His mercy endures in crisis, in fires; I believe His mercy contains us and sustains us, even in sudden setbacks. And when we arrive at complications and undesirable conclusions, we are stirred up to keep in mind – God’s mercy endures forever.
5 I called on the LORD in distress; The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
7 The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
Though we know and keep in heart that God’s mercies endure forever, it really shouldn’t stop us from calling to Him. He is our Father, after all, and He is willing and able to help us and direct us in our distress, and/or in the presence of those who call themselves our enemies.
In these verses we read that our Father not only listens to us, but answers us. How? By placing us upon His firm Foundation, and being by our side. He secures us twice – by keeping us from being shaken, and by not leaving our side. True, and Faithful. Faithful, and True.
8 It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in princes.
Thank You, Lord, for You are trustworthy! Thank You, Lord, for You are faithful.
Placing our trust in men and princes is ultimately placing our trust in fellow creations – We would do better to place our trust in our Creator, who is our God, our Maker… Our Father.
As such,
10 All nations surrounded me, But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
11 They surrounded me, Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
12 They surrounded me like bees; They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
Not only are we secure, not only are we in His presence – Not only are we in a superior defensive position, but we are able to set out and strike as well.
We spoke of the mercy of the Lord enduring forever. Now, we speak, in the face of obstacles and hindrances – in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
Against the tall mountains and the deep valleys before us – in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
…actually, against the same threats that try to pull us down – in the name of the LORD, we shall destroy them.
Troubles persist, but in the name of the LORD we shall destroy them.
Trauma keeps coming back, but in the name of the LORD we shall destroy them.
Unresolved memories pop up at random, but in the name of the LORD we shall destroy them.
…is ‘destroy’ the word? Are we to pursue the distress, and address all that surrounds us, threatening not to ‘resolve’ but to ‘destroy’ them?
Perhaps. After all, the power of sin, our obligations to the flesh, the threat of death – ALL these things have not been merely resolved by Christ at the cross, but utterly destroyed.
And for that, here and now, we give thanks. I suppose we would do well to remember, thus far:
His mercies endure forever, and
we live, move, and have our being in the name of the LORD.
13 You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation Is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.
17 I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the LORD.
18 The LORD has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death.
Yea, we do not help ourselves, without being aware of the fact and truth – that it is the LORD who helped us, He helps us first.
He is our Strength, our Song, our Salvation. By the valiant, exalted right hand of the LORD we sing, as my own dad sung in the past – ‘I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD‘
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD, Through which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This was the LORD’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
We go through these verses, verse 22 in particular, and we are confident in our calling Christ our Cornerstone… and, sure enough, He IS our Cornerstone – the beginning. He is the Basis for the rest of the structure, the temple, the new creation.
But look at the opportunity here to praise the Lord, and to recognize Him – not only as our powerful Cornerstone, but as our Salvation. Our Answer. He is our Gate, and I’m pretty sure I’m taking this out of context but I would also like to try calling Him our Day – that is, He is our present, not merely peace for our past and hope for our future, but present in today – He IS our Day.
His mercies endure forever. Our trust is in Him. We are not fearful, nor are we shaken – Our Savior is all we would ever need, as He is who we need Him to be.
We are in awe of Him, thankful to Him for all He has done, and for all He will do. We are amazed, knowing that He is present in the present, and as such, we reinforce our trust in Him, conforming the rest of our being to trusting in Him alone.
The pressures of the world, the pain of circumstance, the regret and repercussions of past decisions, and the fear and dread of the future bear down on each and every human being… but we in the body of Christ are secure.
And sure, we stand firm, but we are by no means rigid and tense – we groove, we grow, we thrive. We flow… we overflow, as I imagine the Psalmist overflowed in these final verses.
25 Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.
27 God is the LORD, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.
29 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Amen.
To God, our Father, to Christ, His Son and our Savior, and to His Spirit and our Guarantee – To God be the glory, now and forever.
In our hindrances, in our frustration, in our anxiety, in our frustration, may the name of the Lord be blessed to the maximum.
In our trouble and our toil, we give thanks. It is our pleasure to be immediately directed to heartfelt gratitude, peace beyond understanding, no matter how strong the winds and rain beat down on us.
In all there has been, is and will be in this finite existence, let the infinite Life flow in and through us.
In the great and glorious name of our Lord Jesus… Amen, and amen.
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