Where does you hope sit? In whom does your faith rest? Do you put your confidence in money? Do you put your expectation on family? Do you look to the government to fulfill promises? Do you look for help in people or possessions? None of that can ever meet all your needs, hopes, and yearnings wholly. Only God can perfectly give you what you need, satisfy every promise He made, and give you the desires of your heart. He answers every request perfectly and in your best interest. There is only one God and He is enough.
David knew this. He had money, power, an army at his disposal, trusted friends, and women. But He didn’t depend on any of that to conquer his enemies, to satisfy his longings, or rule a nation. He looked to the One True and Living God. Verses 1-2 read,
“For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.”
Our prayers, our fellowship with the Lord shouldn’t be a one sided conversation. It should have sufficient time of silence, waiting for The Lord, listening to The Spirit’s counsel, and wordlessly giving The God of Justice our hearts. David had many enemies who viciously tried to remove him from his position, who fought against Israel, and who would want nothing more than see him dead.
We have one enemy and he prowls like a roaring lion hunting his prey. (1 Peter 5:6-11). The people he uses are not our enemy they are his prisoners in a war they are oblivious to. The devil makes them think we are their enemies. But it is only him and his minions, who are our true enemies. He is scheming. Verses 3-4 read,
“How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
Satan, our adversary attacks the children of The Lord ferociously. The stronger we are in Christ the more afraid he becomes and the harder he will attack. He wants us to be ineffectual. He wants us to forget who we are. We are royal priests, distinctive, and holy. We belong to Awesome God. (1 Peter 2:9-10). We are the children of Holy Mighty God. (John 1:12-13). We are citizens of Heaven. We are the bride of Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2-3, Revelation 19:6-9).
The devil tries hard to knock us of the foundation of Christ. He lies to us about our identity. He accuses us of wrongs. He twists words and uses partial scripture out of context to try and hurt us. The devil is called the accuser (Revelation 12:9-12) and he is a liar! (John 8:42-45).
We don’t believe the devil. We do not listen to his lies and accusations. We don’t give in to the temptations he dangles to lead us astray. We depend on The Lord God. We know He is Our Victorious Lord of Angel Armies. He is awesome! So we can rest in Him as conquerors. Verses 5-8 read,
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah”
What is it that God of Truth has told us? Who are we in Christ? We know we are a royal priesthood, distinctive citizens of Heaven, children of God, and the bride of Christ. But we are also victorious. We are conquerors with Jesus. United completely with Him and nothing can separate us from Him. He loves us deeply. He is our refuge and our firm foundation. Even the most turbulent earthquake cannot shake us off of the Rock on which we stand. (Romans 8:31-39).
The devil lies, he accuses us of horrible wrongs. But God doesn’t. He brings convicts the lost but then sets us free, He never again considers our sins. If someone is condemning us, accusing us, and filling us with guilt it is not The Lord. The Lord condemned sin and doomed the devil to eternal hell. He rescued believers and set us free. Romans 8:1-4 reads,
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit”
Our wealth or poverty means nothing in the Kingdom of God. Our power and position in the world have no bearing in the Kingdom of God. The world is temporary. Our physical lives are merely a breath compared to eternity. It is Eternal Holy God, our Savior, and our Wonderful Advocate who matters. Our brief life is an opportunity to glorify Him and effect the Kingdom of God by demonstrating the Love of God to everyone, rich or poor, prince or pauper, believer or prisoner. Verses 9-10 say,
“Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, set not your heart on them.”
We will all be judged on the same criterion. It will not be how good or bad we were. It will not be how many people we led to Christ or how many people we killed. It will be only whether or not we covered by Jesus’ righteousness. Did we accept or reject Christ? That is the only measure that matters.
We can put our hope in money, but money cannot save us. We can put our faith in power but the power of the world is nothing compared to God. Seeking more worldly money, power, and influence gains us nothing. We set our hearts on God. We put our hope in Jesus. We set our feet firmly on the Rock. We let God be God. We are still and we know that He is God and we know who we are in Christ.
Verses 11-12 read,
“Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12 and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.”
Power is God’s. And the only thing that will matter when we face Him is did we make Jesus our Lord and did we put our faith in His resurrection. That is the choice that gives us eternal life or eternal hell. When we accept Christ, we enter God’s rest. We don’t worry. The enemy is defeated. He can’t hurt us unless we allow him to do so.
But there is another judgement. This judgement doesn’t affect salvation but it will show us how much we allowed the devil to keep us from God. This judgement tells us where we chose to store our treasures. Was it on Earth or in Heaven? 1 Corinthians 3-10-15 reads,
“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
Trusting The Lord leads us to glorify Him and brings people to Him. It is by our dependence on Him and our unity with Him that we pour out His love on the desperate prisoners of war and on the suffering brothers who try to fight the enemy alone. Our works which depend on God lead to eternal treasures. Our dependence on self, money, and earthly power leads to unproductive and futile accomplishments that will burn away on The Day of Fire.
Where is your hope? Where are your treasures? Is your life glorifying God or pleasing Satan?