Psalm 37:1-8

The Lord promises to give us the desires of our hearts. But many people take this passage out of context, forgetting that their own mindset plays a vital part in bringing it to fruition. As my mother once said, “Where your mind goes, your feet go, so be careful what you think about.”

What is your responsibility when it comes to claiming promises from God?

Delight yourselves in the Lord (Ps. 37:4). Christians should rejoice in God and desire to walk in obedience. The Lord must have first place in your life before you can claim the promise in this verse.

Commit your way to the Lord (v. 5). Allow God to change any aspect of your ambition that is not His will. Remember that when He doesn’t answer a prayer as you wished, it is for a reason.

Trust in Him (v. 5). God is merciful, all-knowing, kind, and generous. You can trust Him with your hopes and dreams.

Rest in Him (v. 7). Resting in the Lord means trusting Him to answer prayers in His timing or transform your aspirations so they conform to His will.

Wait upon the Lord patiently (v. 7). Jesus waited three decades before beginning His three-year ministry on earth. According to His example, waiting is one of the key principles of Christian living.

Do your desires align with God’s purpose and plan for your life? He longs to give His followers abundant blessings and fullness of joy. So allow your dreams to be conformed to the Lord’s will, and follow His guidance faithfully. Only when you surrender to Him will you experience God’s best for your life.

We stood in line for the deal we couldn’t pass up. It was well past time to replace our cell phones that were falling apart. Giant red signs told us about the bargain we were about to seize while a multi-media advertising frenzy drew us further into the store and the philosophy. A weekend sale, a mail-in rebate, and an additional store credit made the phones themselves quite reasonable. But reason, we got the feeling after we left the store, was something they hoped we would check at the door. With such a deal on the phones, upgrade after upgrade after upgrade became suddenly attainable and somewhat distressing to turn down. Each step toward a better plan, a better phone, a better way of communicating seemed so small and so necessary.

A few days later, I was confessing my weekend enchantment with upgrades to a colleague with a penchant for technology, and my story was quickly met with stories of his own. Whether looking at smart phones, or iPads, or cameras, I find myself wanting to wait “just one more month” knowing they will soon come out with the next model, knowing whatever I buy today will be outdated tomorrow. Yet even foregoing technology, we seem to live in a culture of upgrades. Cars and houses, flights and meal-deals ever tempt us with the constant option of bigger and better and newer. Whether looking at a computer, a career, or even a relationship, upgrading can quickly become a consuming way of life. In the culture of upgrades, my colleague noted, “contentment is elusive.” We are chasing after crowns that disappear the moment we seize them.

In a world that instills the hope of acquiring more and becoming greater as we move ahead in life, there are some who stand with a hope in dire contrast. John the Baptist stood among the crowds of Jerusalem announcing hope of the coming King. As he offered a testimony far weightier than any status or upgrade, so he revealed a posture in life far different than the one easily held then and today. “The bride belongs to the bridegroom,” he said of his relationship to Jesus. “The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:28-30). In other words, the crown that will most adorn us is not our own.

The apostle Paul says something quite similar. Whatever any of us could dare boast of, whatever we could accomplish as spiritual beings in this life, Paul had us beat. “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.”(1) If there was a way to upgrade one’s spiritual status, Paul would have been sitting in first class. But there isn’t such a category in the Christian story. There isn’t a way to achieve more or to become more than we are already freely offered in Christ. “My grace is sufficient for you,” Paul was told in prayer, “for my power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9a). As followers of the risen Christ, we are to become less; he is to become more. “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me” (2 Corinthians 12:9b).

 

 The posture of the Christian spirit is one that receives her King! Christ’s grace is our identity; his crown is our hope. “I am not the Christ,” said John the Baptist. But there is one who is.

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

(1) 2 Corinthians 11:22-23.

 Morning   “Faultless before the presence of his glory.” / Jude 24

 Revolve in your mind that wondrous word, “faultless!” We are far off from it

now; but as our Lord never stops short of perfection in his work of love, we

shall reach it one day. The Saviour who will keep his people to the end, will

also present them at last to himself, as “a glorious church, not having spot,

or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish.” All the jewels

in the Saviour’s crown are of the first water and without a single flaw. All

the maids of honour who attend the Lamb’s wife are pure virgins without spot

or stain. But how will Jesus make us faultless? He will wash us from our sins

in his own blood until we are white and fair as God’s purest angel; and we

shall be clothed in his righteousness, that righteousness which makes the

saint who wears it positively faultless; yea, perfect in the sight of God. We

shall be unblameable and unreproveable even in his eyes. His law will not only

have no charge against us, but it will be magnified in us. Moreover, the work

of the Holy Spirit within us will be altogether complete. He will make us so

perfectly holy, that we shall have no lingering tendency to sin. Judgment,

memory, will–every power and passion shall be emancipated from the thraldom

of evil. We shall be holy even as God is holy, and in his presence we shall

dwell forever. Saints will not be out of place in heaven, their beauty will be

as great as that of the place prepared for them. Oh the rapture of that hour

when the everlasting doors shall be lifted up, and we, being made meet for the

inheritance, shall dwell with the saints in light. Sin gone, Satan shut out,

temptation past forever, and ourselves “faultless” before God, this will be

heaven indeed! Let us be joyful now as we rehearse the song of eternal praise

so soon to roll forth in full chorus from all the blood-washed host; let us

copy David’s exultings before the ark as a prelude to our ecstasies before the

throne.

 

Evening   “And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee

out of the hand of the terrible.” / Jeremiah 15:21

 Note the glorious personality of the promise. I will, I will. The Lord Jehovah

himself interposes to deliver and redeem his people. He pledges himself

personally to rescue them. His own arm shall do it, that he may have the

glory. Here is not a word said of any effort of our own which may be needed to

assist the Lord. Neither our strength nor our weakness is taken into the

account, but the lone I, like the sun in the heavens, shines out resplendent

in all-sufficience. Why then do we calculate our forces, and consult with

flesh and blood to our grievous wounding? Jehovah has power enough without

borrowing from our puny arm. Peace, ye unbelieving thoughts, be still, and

know that the Lord reigneth. Nor is there a hint concerning secondary means

and causes. The Lord says nothing of friends and helpers: he undertakes the

work alone, and feels no need of human arms to aid him. Vain are all our

lookings around to companions and relatives; they are broken reeds if we lean

upon them–often unwilling when able, and unable when they are willing. Since

the promise comes alone from God, it would be well to wait only upon him; and

when we do so, our expectation never fails us. Who are the wicked that we

should fear them? The Lord will utterly consume them; they are to be pitied

rather than feared. As for terrible ones, they are only terrors to those who

have no God to fly to, for when the Lord is on our side, whom shall we fear?

If we run into sin to please the wicked, we have cause to be alarmed, but if

we hold fast our integrity, the rage of tyrants shall be overruled for our

good. When the fish swallowed Jonah, he found him a morsel which he could not

digest; and when the world devours the church, it is glad to be rid of it

again. In all times of fiery trial, in patience let us possess our souls.

I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.   Jeremiah 15:21

Notice the personal nature of this promise: “I will.” The Lord Jehovah Himself intervenes to deliver and redeem His people. He pledges Himself personally to rescue them. His own arm shall do it, in order that He may have the glory. Not a word is said of any effort of our own that may be needed to assist the Lord. Neither our strength nor our weakness is taken into account, but the lone “I,” like the sun in the heavens, shines out resplendent in complete sufficiency. Why then do we allow ourselves to be wounded by calculating our forces and consulting with mere men? God has enough power without borrowing from our puny arm.

To enjoy peace, our unbelieving thoughts must be stilled, and we must learn that the Lord reigns. There is not even a hint of help from any secondary source. The Lord says nothing of friends and helpers: He undertakes the work alone and feels no need of human arms to aid Him. All our lookings around to companions and relatives are vain; they are broken reeds if we lean upon them—often unwilling when able, and unable when they are willing. Since the promise comes from God alone, it is best for us to wait only on Him; and when we do so, our expectation never fails us.

Who are the wicked, that we should fear them? The Lord will utterly consume them; they are to be pitied rather than feared. As for terrible ones, they are only terrors to those who have no God to turn to, for when the Lord is on our side, whom shall we fear? If we run into sin to please the wicked, we have cause to be alarmed; but if we maintain our integrity, the rage of tyrants will be overruled for our good. When the fish swallowed Jonah, he found him a morsel that he could not digest; and when the world devours the church, it is glad to be rid of it again. In all occasions of fiery trial, let us maintain our souls in patience.

Family Reading Plan    Ezekiel 43  Psalm 96