|
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life; You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands. (Psalm 138:7-8)
The psalmist is very confident. It is a fact, and he is certain of it: “The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me.” The Lord will not forsake him and He will not forsake us. God’s ultimate purpose for us is our eternal salvation. Through the death and resurrection of His Son, that purpose has been fulfilled, as we learn in His familiar promise: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). We can join the psalmist in being absolutely certain about this great gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus.
Yet now and then along the way, we stumble in that certainty. We are not so sure about God’s purpose being fulfilled in us. Like the psalmist we find ourselves walking “in the midst of trouble,” and that raises questions. Our prayers are not filled with joy in the Lord’s fulfilled purpose but with doubt and questions. Why is this happening to me, Lord? What possible purpose can there be in this grief and trouble? Where did I go wrong? I struggle constantly against sin and temptation. Is there any purpose in that? Yet through these troubles in life, through the sin and sorrow, the questions and fear, God is working to fulfill His purpose for us. He constantly seeks to call us to repentance and draw us closer to Himself. Like a shepherd seeking lost sheep, the Lord pursues us in love, always seeking to strengthen our faith through the hope and promises of His Word and through the gift of His body and blood in Holy Communion.
Jesus promised: “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40). The Savior’s arms were stretched out and His loving hands were nailed to the cross. He took our sins onto Himself and gave His life to preserve ours. By God’s grace through faith in Jesus, we have been raised from death to life. God created us anew as His own people: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Each day His purpose is fulfilled in us as we walk in His ways and His final purpose will be fulfilled when we live forever in His presence. We are the work of His hands and He will never forsake us.
WE PRAY: Lord, when I walk in the midst of trouble, preserve my life and fulfill Your purpose in me. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
Reflection Questions:
- Do you think your life has a purpose? If so, what is it centered on?
- What do you think is God’s purpose for your life? Is it different than yours?
- Does knowing that we are God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” bring clarity to how you want to live your life?
|
