Bible League: Living His Word Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.Things don't always work out the way we want in life. Sometimes, instead of the blessings that were promised, we see problems. Sometimes, instead of the victories that were guaranteed, we see defeats. What should a person of faith do under such circumstances? Should we give up? Should we quit the calling that has led us to this point? After all, things haven't gone according to plan; things haven't gone the way God said they would go. Is it time to finally allow despair into our hearts? Indeed, things may even degenerate to the point where there seems to be no possibility of return. We may even approach death. What should we do then? Stop believing in God altogether? Stop having faith in Him? If the promises of God have no cachet in this life, then what's the point of life anyway? If we seek His presence and it doesn't translate into anything concrete, then what's the point of seeking His presence at all? For the person of faith, however, none of these options have any real meaning or bearing. When it comes to faith in God, it's an all or nothing proposition. There is no other option. There is no alternative to faith in God. We can't exercise any of these other options because we know God. We know that despite everything He has our best interests at heart. We know that He is on our side. We can't, as a result, give up on Him. Thus, though there seems no hope of victory, though death rears its ugly head, we trust in God. We're not in it to simply get things for ourselves. We're not in it just to live and not die. We're in it because we believe in God. We can't help ourselves. We have made the decision to follow Him and rely on Him and there is no turning back. Death may swallow us up, but we trust Him to lead us through it to victory on the other side. Today, meditate on the words of Job: "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him." There is probably nothing you are going through that supersedes what Job went through, yet he never gave up hope. There is always hope. There is always, therefore, hope for you. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 116-118 Psalm 116 -- I love the Lord, because he listens to my voice, and my cries for mercy. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 117 -- Praise the Lord, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples! NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 118 -- Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his loving kindness endures forever. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Corinthians 2 1 Corinthians 2 -- Reliance upon the Holy Spirit NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus's sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.”Insight Any trial a believer faces can ultimately bring glory to God because God can bring good out of any bad situation. Challenge When trouble comes, do you grumble, complain, and blame God, or do you see your problems as opportunities to honor him? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon 2 Samuel 23:1 The sweet psalmist of Israel.Among all the saints whose lives are recorded in Holy Writ, David possesses an experience of the most striking, varied, and instructive character. In his history we meet with trials and temptations not to be discovered, as a whole, in other saints of ancient times, and hence he is all the more suggestive a type of our Lord. David knew the trials of all ranks and conditions of men. Kings have their troubles, and David wore a crown: the peasant has his cares, and David handled a shepherd's crook: the wanderer has many hardships, and David abode in the caves of Engedi: the captain has his difficulties, and David found the sons of Zeruiah too hard for him. The psalmist was also tried in his friends, his counsellor Ahithophel forsook him, "He that eateth bread with me, hath lifted up his heel against me." His worst foes were they of his own household: his children were his greatest affliction. The temptations of poverty and wealth, of honor and reproach, of health and weakness, all tried their power upon him. He had temptations from without to disturb his peace, and from within to mar his joy. David no sooner escaped from one trial than he fell into another; no sooner emerged from one season of despondency and alarm, than he was again brought into the lowest depths, and all God's waves and billows rolled over him. It is probably from this cause that David's psalms are so universally the delight of experienced Christians. Whatever our frame of mind, whether ecstasy or depression, David has exactly described our emotions. He was an able master of the human heart, because he had been tutored in the best of all schools--the school of heart-felt, personal experience. As we are instructed in the same school, as we grow matured in grace and in years, we increasingly appreciate David's psalms, and find them to be "green pastures." My soul, let David's experience cheer and counsel thee this day. Daily Light on the Daily Path Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Psalm 91:4 He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. Hebrews 6:17,18 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, • so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. Deuteronomy 7:9 "Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; Psalm 25:10 All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. Psalm 146:5,6 How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, • Who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever; New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |