Friday, July 17, 2015
We all have favorite Bible passages. We cherish these passages because they are God's Word and also because these precious nuggets have served us well to comfort, encourage, and to teach. If we were sitting around a campfire talking about our favorites, this would be one of mine -- and maybe yours.
Psalm 31:1-2 In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me, Deliver me speedily; Be my rock of refuge, A fortress of defense to save me.
PROBLEM SOLVED!
I am a problem solver. Or at least I want to be a problem solver. If one of the doors on the house doesn't seem to be shutting properly, it eats at me until I fix the problem. When the problem is fixed I am satisfied, even happy, until I notice the next thing.
It seems a natural human reaction to fix problems, to make things right. When we sin against God we are at times tempted to promise to "do better next time" or to "make up for it by doing good." It's almost like we think we can barter with God and in some fashion offer something in exchange for our sin and guilt.
There are some things we simply cannot fix; that we cannot make right. It's a part of Christian maturity to recognize this truth and set aside all attempts to do so.
In the most important matter of all, the Spirit of God here helps us remember how it is that we are made right with God. We are not to promise to do better or imagine we can, but to fall to our knees before our gracious God and pray that He deliver us in His righteousness. We have to admit, "I can't be righteous in God's sight ... unless He makes me ... unless He declares me righteous."
In Christ, God declares us righteous and delivers us from the consequences of our sin and from our guilt. So rather than pray, "Help me to make things right this day," I pray with the Psalmist, "Deliver me in Your righteousness, be my rock of refuge a fortress to save me."
I (we) can begin the day with hope and confidence knowing that we are in good standing with God in Christ. What a humbling thought! What an amazing God!
Now the same Jesus also sends us forth to make known this humbling and amazing truth. What a tremendous opportunity to serve the LORD our Righteousness.
