Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watchword for today is taken from Psalm 37, verses 23 and 24, “Our steps are made firm by the Lord, when He delights in our way; though we may stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the Lords holds us by the hand,” (NRSVB). David, the writer of Psalm 37, saw how many situations turned to the good of those who waited on God, even when the situation appeared to benefit those who acted wrongfully and in contradiction with the Laws of the Lord. He comforts the readers and listeners in this psalm by stating that one must not envy the fortune of those who commit wrongful deeds, for their prosperity will be only for a short period of time, God will not allow those who commit evil to continue to be successful and oppress the righteous. In these times we’re living in we have seen the rapid rise to power and fame of oppressive regimes and power hungry leaders.
We have seen the demise of those who labour hard to earn a living through the onslaught of the deathly virus that caused unprecedented hardships world-wide. Our minds and hearts are filled with questions. We wonder why those who create evil are so successful. When we look at the situation of the world with our earthly eyes we get desperate, but when we look with spiritual eyes at the world and what is happening on this earth we can discern something different. Despite what things seem to be from looking from outside, the Lord God is in control. He is always working to bring things in order and conquer evil through good. Christ conquered the last battle of death and destruction. The evil one is a slain foe, he still roars and scares the faithful, but his power has been contained through Jesus’ death and resurrection. We are like little children, learning to walk on a road of steep slopes, dangerous cliffs and rocky terrain, but God holds our hands, and walks with us. He will not allow us to fall off this journey of life, as we stumble. He is our strong Father who holds our hands and pulls us out of danger and puts our feet on a wide and open place. God does not only protect us from physical dangers of walking this journey on the road of life, but he cares for our spiritual needs. He pulls us out of the miry clay of despair, of losing our faith and yielding to doubt. Through God’s indwelling Spirit our fears are calmed. He tells us to cast our fears on him. He will bring our souls to a place of peace beyond our understanding. Despite the realities happening in the world we can rest in the Lord and wait patiently on him, for he will deliver us, He is our hope.
The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans in Chapter 8 verse 37, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us,” (NRSVB). Living in Rome in the First Century after Christ, being a Christian, was living on the edge. Persecutions were rife and the economic and political terrains were equally dangerous. We know that the early Christians were fed to the lions in the arenas, others tarred and set alight as living candles at garden parties of rulers; the evil plans against the Christians knew no bounds. Despite these horrendous realities, the Christians community grew in number. The writer, Tertulian wrote in 197 AD, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Faithful people have suffered for the good they were doing, but the evil one could not overcome them, for they conquered all things through love, even unto death. Even though we do not know what our future holds, we cannot become fearful and doubt our loving Father. He will not let us suffer beyond what we can endure. Let us cast our cares and fears on the shoulders of the One who died for us. Let us believe that with Him we will be able to conquer every obstacle we have to overcome.
Father, we thank you that you have conquered, through Jesus, every obstacle that causes us to stumble. We need not fear, you hold us in your mighty hands, Amen.