Read Psalm 74:18-23. 18Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name. 19Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of your poor forever. 20Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. 21Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name. 22Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day! 23Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!
Nothing has changed.
The foolish enemies of Judah still scoff. The poor are still the poor. The downtrodden are still the downtrodden. The violence remains a threat from both man and beast. God’s foes continue to clamor.
But in the midst of it all there remains a fortress, the covenant. Jerusalem has been burned, the temple destroyed, the ark carried off, king and priests enslaved, and yet the covenant is eternal. The promises of God made to Father Abraham and King David could never be burned, looted, or chained.
How much more are the promises made to Jesus and by Jesus eternally secure. In Christ nothing has changed in the chaotic world that surrounds us, but inwardly we can be resolved to stand in faith against the clamoring Foe of God. In the cross of Christ, the cause of God has been defended. In the indwelling of Christ, the souls of his doves have been delivered. Now we, the poor and needy, respond in praise of his name.
Is your confidence today in the potential change that is coming? The prayed for miracle? The break through that God may or may not send your way? Or is it in the eternal covenant love of God in Christ? The promise of Christ’s presence regardless of what storms may blow, and fires burn around us.
To live is Christ is to trust the covenant promises of God, presence, forgiveness, acceptance, love, and not the in the desired changes to our situation that may or may not come.
You: Are you trusting in a future situation change (a breakthrough), or the heart change that has already occurred in your life in Christ?
You in Christ: What does faith look like for the person in Christ whose situation isn’t changing?
Christ in you: What can trusting your new heart look like today?
Pray: Father, may the promises that are mine in Christ strengthen my heart today. Amen.
To Live is Christ 