Our Hope Is in The Lord

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms 

October 31, 2022

Our Hope Is in The Lord

 

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,

    for he will speak peace to his people,

    to his faithful,

to those who turn to him in their hearts.

Psalm 85:8 (NRSV)

In Psalm 85, the psalmist is interceding for the people of Israel. The nation is facing a crisis, probably brought on by a military defeat. The psalmist is looking forward to Israel once again resting within God’s favor:

Unfailing love and truth have met together.

    Righteousness and peace have kissed!

 Truth springs up from the earth,

    and righteousness smiles down from heaven.

Psalm 85:10-11

This intercessory prayer of the psalmist evidences a great hope that God will restore Israel. The foundation of this hope is Israel’s experience with God. This is not the first time Israel has strayed away from her covenant relationship with God. In her past, God’s unfailing love and His mercy restored Israel to a right relationship with God. Based on these experiences with God’s grace, the psalmist has a confident hope that God will, once again, act on Israel’s behalf.

When Christians gather in small groups for study and nurture, the most important question before each person is, “How have you experienced God in your life since we last met?” How we answer this question is vitally important because without a past and present experience of God, we will have little hope to experience God in our future. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and this assurance is based on how we have experienced God working in our lives. (Hebrews 11:1)

The Bible says, “Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10). Without this hope to experience God, our life withers: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Proverbs13:12).

In our life today, we are, once again, in transition as we wait for the next step in our future to unfold. At the end of last year, Cheryl and I sensed God’s leading to begin worshipping in a new church and denomination. While I do not have certainty for what the future may hold for us in this new setting, I know very well who holds our future. God has been faithful in our lives. Repeatedly, he has manifested his presence in our life, and shown himself strong.

My Takeaway: While we are most assuredly curious about how we will be serving the Lord; we are not anxious. Our hope is in the Lord.

“We put our hope in the Lord.

    He is our help and our shield.

 In him our hearts rejoice,

    for we trust in his holy name.

 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,

    for our hope is in you alone.”

Psalm 33:20-22

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.