Thursday, May 16, 2013
It’s been a
trying week, to say the least, in San Jose.
A seven year old girl was run over and tragically killed. A young man
took a gun onto a high school campus. Fortunately, he was caught. On Wednesday,
four people were murdered in San Jose.
We are quickly losing our reputation as the safest City in the U.S.
We live in a
broken world. Broken on many levels and in many ways. All of this bad news leaves us reeling in our
minds. Even the most mature believers in
Christ begin to fear. Questions linger.
What’s this world coming to? What’s next? Or worse, we become numb to evil, we
aren’t that surprised by it.
As always,
in times like these, we must turn to the Word of God. The truth. His wisdom.
Our comfort.
Psalm 31
spoke to my concerns of living in an evil world. What do we do when evil seems
to be prevailing? I believe some reflection on the first five verses of Psalm
31 is comforting (all 24 verses are great, by the way).
In you, O Lord, I have taken
refuge;
Let me never be put to shame;
Deliver me in your righteousness.
Turn your ear to me,
Come quickly to my rescue;
Be my rock of refuge,
A strong fortress to save me.
Since you are my rock and my
fortress,
For the sake of your name lead
and guide me.
Free me from the trap that is set
for me,
For you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commit my
spirit;
Redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.
That last
sentence is probably very familiar to you. Jesus said it on the cross, “Father,
into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Think about that. Under
extreme pressure, with intense anguish, in the most pain filled moments of his
life, Jesus quoted this text from Psalm 31. What a lesson for us!
When we face
uncertain times, when we face mounting fears, we should do the same – we need
to commit all of this into God’s hands.
The
word "commit" means to entrust; specifically, to entrust into
another’s safekeeping, to turn over something to someone for their watchful
care. Trusting God is one of the most
important things we can do in life. Conversely, it’s one of the most difficult
things we can do in life. God our Father not only wants us to commit our spirit to him, but every other area in our life as well.
For example:
·
Father,
into your hands I commit my children. We
can’t watch them 24/7. But God can.
·
Father,
into your hand I commit my problem. God
can do the impossible!
·
Father,
into your hands I commit this fear. His perfect love can cast out all fear.
·
Father,
into your hands I commit this disappointment. God takes all things and makes
them good.
·
Father,
into your hands I commit this joy. If life is good, He’s the reason!
Isn’t
this a wonderful practice? Not just when we face a week like we are here in San
Jose, but every week, every day, is a day to trust God completely.
What
do you need to commit to the loving hands of the Father today? Will you pray
like Jesus did? Father, into your hands
I commit...
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