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LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, August 19, 2021

I’ve tried lots of techniques, but none of them work. I’ve read dozens of articles and applied the principles they teach, but none of them alleviate the problems. I’ve spent countless hours in self-training to overcome the mental anguish caused by the circumstances of life, but it has been a waste of time because the circumstances of life don’t change. I am like the sons of Korah who wrote, “My soul is cast down within me. Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?” 

There are days when we can all relate to these feelings of oppression and hopelessness. Yet the sons of Korah knew the answer.  “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Psalm 42:5.

I confess that seems trite.  Try telling a hopeless person to hope again and see how they respond. Hope is meaningless unless it is based on a guarantee. God is our guarantee. His promises never fail.  This morning I came across one of those promises that helped me to refocus. It encouraged me to endure. It’s found in Psalm 119, verse 123.

“My eyes long for your salvation and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.”

My very first thought as I read that verse was this…I want Jesus to return. My heart longs for the day when King Jesus puts everything under His feet. My soul cries out for every knee to bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. But until that day comes, I will bow and I will confess that He is my salvation. No matter how the circumstances of life stack up against me, I will keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. No matter how my emotions try to convince me to respond to what people say and do, I will put my hope in God rather than in people. Instead of wallowing in pity I will worship and praise.

Jesus is coming. Circumstances and people cannot stop it, but the contrast they create enhances the splendor of His arrival.

Pastor John