Read Psalm 11. 1In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee like a bird to your mountain, 2for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; 3if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” 4The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. 5The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. 6Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 7For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.
Have you ever gotten bad advice in a time of crisis? What about bad spiritual advice? For David it was flee like a bird to your mountain. Run away David! Be safe. Don’t risk the foundation (yourself) because then what will the righteous do?
But there is something greater than safety isn’t there? There are realities beyond what we can see. Like what? Like the Lord is in his holy temple. He’s not running away, so why should we? His foundations are secure. His throne is immovable. And he sees everything.
So why all this trouble? Because the Lord tests the righteous. God’s slow movement is our test of faith. Yes, God will act. Yes, he will rain fire and sulfer as he did on Sodom’s unrighteousness, but not without first pausing to give Abraham and Lot a chance to test their faith.
For the Christian, the daily tests of our faith remind us to do as David has done – find God in his temple, trusting his love of the righteous. But for us the temple is not only in heaven, it is in our hearts. Our bodies are his temple. His love of righteousness rules not only over us but through us.
To live is Christ means others may now look to us to see the righteous rule and reign of God. In Christ, we the upright can truly behold the face of Christ in one another.
Prayer. Jesus, you are dwelling on the throne of our hearts. We don’t have to run away. May we always look to you rather than seek escape. Amen.
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To Live is Christ 