September 17 I Friday

Proverbs 27-29

2 Corinthians 10

“‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed,’ says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”   —Isaiah 54:10

Sometimes as we pray, we are desperate for God to answer and deliver us. David, in his despair before God, cried out, “Look on me and answer, LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall” (Psalm 13:3-4). As we observe what David said, we will notice the verbs that he used are in the imperative. In Hebrew, when an imperative verb is used, there are ones that are command or demand imperatives, and there are ones that are desperation or urgent imperatives. David used the latter.

      The text of Psalm 13 does not include a response from God to David’s request, instead, David’s prayer closes with a choice. He chooses to trust God. This is not trying to muster up wishful thinking or even looking back on past faithfulness. Rather, David is declaring confident hope of answered prayer as it pertains to his imperative cry. He said, “But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing the LORD’s praise, for He has been good to me” (Psalm 13:5-6). Have we wondered how much time passed between verses 4 and 5, from the time of David’s desperate call to his trust in God’s unfailing love? Was it a second? A minute? An hour? A week? A month? A year? A decade? A lifetime?

      Maybe we are in that place today, where our hope is looking for a resting place. We may have been seeking a place to plant it in, but it all seems so insecure these days as we look around the world. In the midst of the insecurity, we can rest in the promises of God found in Scripture.

      God promises us in Joshua 1:5, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” In Isaiah 41:10, God declares, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” In the New Testament, Jesus comforts us, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

      We can have hope in God’s promises because of Jesus’s finished work on the cross. Paul tells us, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20). No matter where we are today, may we find rest in God’s sure promises.

Prayer: Glorious God, thank You that I can find rest in Your sure promises. Strengthen my heart as I trust in Your unfailing love. Amen!