“When I thought, ‘My foot slips,’ Your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, Your consolations cheer my soul. Can wicked rulers be allied with You, those who frame injustice by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.” Psalm 94:18-21
Devotional Thought For The Day
The psalmist again reflects upon the dire circumstances that at times befall children of God, and the fearfulness that enters our hearts because of the weakness of our faith. Most of us have had these times, whether because of something we did or said [whether right or wrong], or just because we were in the wrong place at the wrong time and someone evil targeted us. We like security and stability, knowing that when we set our foot down it is going to hold, that we are not going to slip. There are times, however, when our circumstances feel exactly like we have stepped on ice. At such times God steps forward to hold us up, through His Word, whether we flee to His Word in our own devotions or His Word comes to us through a faithful and loving friend, who is God’s servant to us at that moment.
We also know times when the cares of our heart are many. These are times when we know it would be more comfortable to just go away and become a hermit somewhere. With the advent of technological communication, we are aware of many things of concern every day. We may slip into thinking that we are like God, able to control or at least influence everything, and that we are responsible for making things turn out right even when we have no power or control. The cares of our heart can overwhelm us – and then God must console us, with the reminder that He is God, that He is almighty, that He is love, that He has a plan, that He will deliver us, that no one and nothing can do us permanent harm, that all will turn out gloriously well in the end for His dear children of faith. It is at times astonishing just how greatly God cheers our hearts in the midst of a flood of troubles and disturbing concerns. Praise be to God!
The psalmist raises the question of the relationship between God’s kingdom of the left [government] and the church [His dear people of faith, His kingdom of the right]. The question often arises as to whether wicked governments, and wicked governmental officials, are in fact “allied” with God – since they have authority and power, and there is no authority except from God [Rom. 13:1]. There are wicked rulers, who enact wicked and evil laws and press them against the very life of the righteous [God’s people of faith, Christians] and the innocent [like the unborn]. The question arises as to how God looks at this, and how we are to look at this – whether God expects us to accept that He would be complicit in and supportive of such wicked violence. The answer in the next verses is a resounding NO! So the psalmist raises this question solely to move God to clarify for us, to uplift, uphold, rescue, and protect His people, and to remove from power all governments that engage in such wicked violence against His people and against what is good. And God, with His steadfast love and consoling promises, does just this – in His own time and in His own ways.
So, regardless of the nature of our fears and cares, where they come from and how they are impacting us, God continues His steadfast love toward us and seeks to console us through faith. His Word encourages us to hold fast to Him, to ride out the storm on His Words and promises, assuring us that He will indeed hold us up, that He is in no way “allied” or “banded together” with the wicked, regardless of their position, power, or prerogatives. What they seek, not just our physical destruction but our utter and eternal ruin, they will never accomplish. We experience God’s deliverance numerous times in this earthly life; we will surely experience His ultimate deliverance in the life to come, when the glory of His grace and love will be fully seen and will embrace us completely. Nothing can bring greater cheer to our souls!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, You know that it is the principle goal of those who are evil to drag us away from faith and trust in You, and down into the dregs of desperation, depression, and despair. Their oppression and persecution is aimed precisely at demeaning Your steadfast love and denying Your commitment to Your people. So we pray that You uphold Your Name and Your glory, by delivering us from their plotting. Grant us deliverance and consolation, especially when cares pile up in our hearts. Strengthen our faith that our souls always be filled with cheer, with Your peace and joy. Amen.