Posts Tagged ‘Trust in God’

Trusting in God…completely

Posted: December 18, 2012 by Pam Larson in December, Devotionals/Commentaries, Job
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Though the fig tree do not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like hinds’ feet, he makes me tread upon my high places. —Habakkuk 3:17–19

Here is a part of a sermon from John Piper on Habakkuk 3:

In other words, no matter how severe the tribulation when the Chaldeans invade the land, Habakkuk will never stop trusting God. Even though God himself has roused this “bitter and hasty nation” (1:6), Habakkuk is confident that in wrath God will show mercy to those who trust him and rejoice in him alone when all else fails.

When a man and a woman marry, they pledge their love and faithfulness to each other “for better or for worse, whether rich or poor, in sickness and in health, ’til death do us part.” And if that’s true between husband and wife, how much more between us and God! That consecration is so important to Noël and me that we used Habakkuk 3:17–19 as a wedding text 14 years ago. We are each other’s, and we are God’s, no matter how severe the tribulation. We trust each other, and we trust him absolutely.

The Main Point of Habakkuk

Now as we step back from our survey, it shouldn’t be too hard to see what the main point of this little book is. Negatively it is this: Proud people, whose strength or ingenuity is their god (1:11, 16; 2:4, 19), will come to a woeful end, even though they may enjoy prosperity for a season either as God’s chosen ones in Judah, or as the victors over Judah. All the proud, whether Jew or Gentile, will perish in the judgment. But Habakkuk stresses the positive side of his main point, namely, “the just shall live by his faith.” He states it as a principle in 2:4, and then he celebrates it as his own song in 3:16–19. When Habakkuk says, “Even when all the fruit and produce and flocks and herds are destroyed and my very life is threatened, yet will I rejoice in God,”—when Habakkuk says that, he shows us what he means by faith in 2:4: “The just shall live by his faith.” He means banking your hope on God no matter what.

To read or listen to the rest of the sermon, click here:

Be a fool or be delivered.

Posted: September 21, 2012 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, Proverbs, September
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Proverbs 28:26 Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool,
but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Trusting in your own mind, in your own heart, is the opposite of trusting in the Lord.  Look at the contrast:  be a fool or be delivered.  Remember the words of Proverbs 3:5 and 6?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him,  and he will make straight your paths.

So why are we all so prone to keep on trusting in ourselves?  Jeremiah 17:9 lends some insight-

The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Posted: August 3, 2012 by Pam Larson in August, Devotionals/Commentaries, Proverbs
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Trust.ProverbsI grew up in a home where we were urged to memorize scripture, including Proverbs 3:5:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

What a great reminder: Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

We need to make not only the positive choice to trust in God,  but also the negative choice to refuse to lean on our own understanding…at the same time: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and deliberately refuse to trust yourself.

Notice the word “all” in Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, in all your ways acknowledge him.

We need to look at our lives and examine where it is that we have said, “Keep out!” to God.  We need to give Him all of our heart, all of our ways.

We must depend on Jesus and only on him. We must resist the urge to live life in our own strength.  We must be humble and rely on His strength.

 

The connection between TRUSTING and HAVING

Posted: November 19, 2011 by Pam Larson in 1 John, Devotionals/Commentaries, November
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Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:12

John Piper gives this illustration to help us understand:

In the film, Passage to India, there was a young Indian doctor who had been arrested for allegedly assaulting a young English woman in India. The case became an explosive point of tension between the Indian people who longed for independence and the colonial English government. The whole colonialist power structure seemed to make the doctor’s case hopeless even though everybody knew his integrity was above question. He was too poor to afford a lawyer.

But the most famous and able lawyer in all India got word of the case. He had a reputation of liking to take on the British and standing up for the Indian underdogs. For me one of the most powerful scenes in the film was when two of the doctor’s friends bring him word in the jail that the famous lawyer is willing to defend the doctor—and then, as if it were too good to be true, they say, “And he’s not even going to charge a fee!”

Now the doctor has a lawyer. He HAS a lawyer. The lawyer is going to do his thing for the doctor. All his reputation, all his eloquence, all his skill are now going to be used to save the doctor.

How did the doctor come to HAVE this great lawyer? He never had met him before. He had no money to pay him. He was far away from him in a different city. And yet now he could say to all his enemies, “I HAVE a lawyer!” How did he come to have the best lawyer in India?

It starts with the motivation of the lawyer. He has two goals: the liberation of India from the British, and the glorification of his own legal skills. When the camera picks him up in a tumultuous courtroom scene, he is sitting at his table utterly calm, as though in sovereign control of the situation. And to show that what he really loves is the liberation of India and the display of his skills for the helpless patriot, his services are not for sale. He will not be paid. That would call into question what he really loves.

And so how does the doctor come to have this lawyer? The lawyer makes a free offer, and the doctor hears the offer and accepts it. He trusts that the lawyer means it, and he believes he can do it. He HAS the lawyer because he TRUSTS the lawyer.

Two Goals of the Son of God

And so it is with the Son of God. He has two goals: the liberation of his people from sin and death, and the glorification of his own powers. That is the origin of salvation. That is the source of eternal life. And to show that what he loves is the liberation of his people and the magnification of his power, his services are not for sale. He will not be paid.

So how do you come to HAVE the Son of God? He makes you a free offer, and you accept his offer, you trust him. He does his thing for those who trust in him. He who has the Son has life.

Will you turn on the windshield wipers and use the washer fluid?

Posted: October 11, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, Jeremiah, October
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John Piper, with an analogy to help us fight against the unbelief of anxiety:

muddy_windshieldSuppose you are in a car race and your enemy who doesn’t want you to finish the race throws mud on your windshield. The fact that you temporarily lose sight of your goal and start to swerve does not mean that you are going to quit the race. And it certainly doesn’t mean that you are on the wrong racetrack. Otherwise the enemy wouldn’t bother you at all. What it means is that you should turn on your windshield wipers and use your windshield washer.

What I mean is this: when anxiety strikes and blurs our vision of God’s glory and the greatness of the future that he plans for us, this does not mean that we are faithless, or that we will not make it to heaven. It means our faith is being attacked. At first blow our belief in God’s promises may sputter and swerve. But whether we stay on track and make it to the finish line depends on whether we set in motion a process of resistance. Whether we fight back against anxiety. Will we turn on the windshield wipers and will we use our windshield washer?

The Testimony of Scripture

Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee.” Notice: it does not say, “I never struggle with fear.” Fear strikes and the battle begins. So the Bible does not assume that true believers will have no anxieties. Instead the Bible tells us how to fight when they strike.

For example, 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you.” It does NOT say, you will never feel any anxieties to cast onto God. It says, when the mud splatters your windshield and you lose temporary sight of the road and start to swerve in anxiety, turn on your wipers and squirt your windshield washer.

To the One Who Struggles Daily with Anxiety

So my response to the person who has to deal with feelings of anxiety every day is to say: that’s more or less normal. The issue is how you deal with them.

And the answer to that is: you deal with anxieties by battling unbelief. And you battle unbelief by meditating on God’s Word and asking for the help of his Spirit. The windshield wipers are the promises of God that clear away the mud of unbelief. And the windshield washer fluid is the help of the Holy Spirit.

Without the softening work of the Holy Spirit the wipers of the Word just scrape over the blinding clumps of unbelief. Both are necessary—the Spirit and the Word. We read the promises of God and we pray for the help of his Spirit. And as the windshield clears so we can see the welfare that God plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), our belief grows strong and the swerving of anxiety smoothes out.

He will be the STABILITY of your times!

Posted: September 12, 2011 by Pam Larson in Devotionals/Commentaries, Isaiah, September
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Isaiah 33:2-6 O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.
3 At the tumultuous noise peoples flee;
when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered,
4 and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
as locusts leap, it is leapt upon.

5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,
6 and he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is Zion’s [4] treasure.

God’s people had looked for help everywhere other than God.  To alliances with other nations, to Egypt, to themselves and their armies and walls.  Now, in light of the Assyrian threat, they look to the LORD, and cry out, “O LORD, be gracious to us.”   They say:  we will wait for YOU, we will trust in YOU, we will look to YOUR arm, to YOUR strength every morning.  Look at verse 3: it appears that they are voicing a confident expectation that GOD will indeed be their salvation in the time of trouble (v2)

During this tough time, as difficult as it was, the people were humbled, brought low.  It was in this time that they saw God for who He really is.   Because they have been brought low, they see that the LORD is exalted.

He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness: God’s people pray this in anticipation of the answer. They know that the answer may not be exactly what they want, but God will be just and righteous, no matter what happens.

BADNEWSThen comes a phrase to underline in your Bible: He will be the STABILITY of your times! There is nothing like reading the newspaper or watching the news to bring on the reality that we live in an unstable world:  war, crisis, chaos, terrorism – instability in our economical or political systems – the tearing apart of families.  Headlines induce fear.  War, recession, bombings, plane crashes, H1N1, natural disasters, famine, people losing their lives and jobs.  We live with new challenges that daily test our faith. Where do you turn for comfort? There is a treasure of wisdom, knowledge and salvation found in one place only: GOD

Verse 6 says the fear of the LORD is a treasure!   Honor, respect, and reverence towards the LORD is His treasure. It is a gift from God, not so we will tremble in fear, but so we will rightly honor and respect Him.

Trust in the Lord, not in yourself!

Posted: August 3, 2011 by Pam Larson in August, Devotionals/Commentaries, Proverbs
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Steve Zeisler, of Peninsula Bible Church, in a sermon, “The Heart of Wisdom”

Trust.ProverbsProverbs 3:5 is a memory verse for many of us. Perhaps you grew up in a Sunday School class or some other place where you were urged to memorize Proverbs 3:5: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” This is the great reminder: Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And make not only the positive but the negative choice, and refuse to lean on your own understanding. Do both at the same time: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and deliberately refuse to trust yourself. The word “all” is prominent in Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, in all your ways acknowledge him. Don’t allow areas of your life where God has no access. You need to give him all your heart, all your ways. This decision to place God first and not lose sight of the giver of gifts is very important.

We read the story of Joseph (Genesis 39) this morning. He’s an example of the wisdom of Proverbs in many ways. He was raised by a good father, but at an early age underwent a series of tragedies. At the hands of his brothers, as you know, he was sold into slavery in Egypt, in Potiphar’s house. And yet everywhere he went things came up roses for him. He was a brilliant young man, capable, handsome, a “golden boy.” His activities brought riches to his master, so Potiphar kept giving him more responsibility, and everything that Joseph touched turned to gold. He was succeeding, gaining power and authority, doing well in his field of endeavor. It’s exactly at that point that an offer was made, not only to have the riches of Potiphar’s house, but to have the wife of Potiphar. He was being given the opportunity to supplant his master.

Those are the dangers that come along with success, always at an oblique angle, something unsuspected, if we’re not well defended against them. But Joseph was very clear-headed, wasn’t he? “How could I sin against God?” His master didn’t deserve to have him treat him this way, but the heart of his statement to Potiphar’s wife was that he couldn’t sin against God. He lived his life in the presence of a God whom he respected utterly. Because of that he would not give in to her, to the point of running out of the house and leaving his cloak behind.

Honor God First

He had so deeply chiseled into his own heart the wisdom of the Lord that he didn’t forget it in the midst of great success. The practical exhortation of Prov. 3:9-10 make the point in just one area of life. It’s very pointed: “Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.” If you wouldn’t have your financial success overtake you, seduce you, and keep your heart from the Lord, then give from the very first of your produce. As the first choice in what you do with material blessings, give to God’s work and honor his name, as a way of reminding yourself of the lesson that the grandfather now speaks to his son.

Humble Obedience

Finally, remember the words of Jesus to the Pharisees. He said, “You pay tithe of mint and rue [the smallest seed in the garden] and every kind of garden herb….” (Luke 11:42.) The Pharisees would count out 10 cabbages, 10 carrots, 10 sunflower seeds, 10 of everything. And very meticulously, they’d take one of each batch of 10 and set it aside for the Lord’s work. He also said the Pharisees broadened their phylacteries (Matthew 23:5). The phylacteries were devices used to bind the word of God to your bodyyour wrist or forehead or some other place. They’d take little portions of the word of God, put it in a pouch, and literally fix it to their head or arm with leather straps. But the Pharisees weren’t just concerned with getting the thing attached; they did it with broad phylacteries so that everyone could see. This business of putting God first was all done for show. It was done mechanically, it was done with pride, and Jesus said it would send them to hell.

The last word I would offer us in considering Proverbs 2 and 3 is that even hearing “trust in the Lord with all your heart” and determining to do it is not enough. Even in that we can become Pharisaical if we do not proceed with humility and recognize our own capacity for failure, self-love, and sin. We must depend on Jesus and only on him for everything. This business of living life in the streets, learning the wisdom of God, has to everlastingly be attended by enough humility that we never assume that we can live it out in our own strength.

To read the rest of the sermon, click here:

Trust in the Lord and not in yourself

Posted: July 18, 2011 by Pam Larson in 2 Chronicles, Devotionals/Commentaries, July
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At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.  Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”  —2 Chronicles 16:7

Asa, like us, learned a lesson the hard way.  He did NOT rely on the Lord, but on human strength, and lost big-time. Hanani had to remind him of the time he DID rely on the Lord, and the enemy was handed over to him.  How many times do we need to see this in our own lives?  How often I am stupid, forgetting the providence (God SEES all, KNOWS all and PLANS all) of God and I choose to rely on my own wisdom (foolishness really!) and make a mess of things.

Challenge for today:  whatever problem or enemy you face today, hand it over to God and rely on Him to fight the battle for you!  TRUST in God!  Pray the prayer of the Psalmist David that is also in our reading for today, Psalm 143:7-11

Answer me quickly, O Lord!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
I have fled to you for refuge!
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!

For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!

Spurgeon: He wants no help from you; No mixing with Jesus

Posted: July 7, 2011 by Pam Larson in 1 Chronicles, Devotionals/Commentaries, July
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Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.”  So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. —1 Chronicles 15:13-15

Charles H Spurgeon, in a sermon, “Importance of Small Things in Religion”

It was a right thing in David to wish to bring up the ark, but perhaps he was ignorant of the way to bring it, and see what inconvenience he had to suffer: the ark was jolted, the oxen shook it. Now if you are not clear as to the plan of salvation, you will have many jottings, much shaking, many doubts, many fears. Let me ask and intreat you, then, to search the Scriptures; for in therein ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of Christ; and let me beg you to endeavor, by God’s help, ever to keep in your mind a clear view of the fact, that you are to be saved, if saved at all, by trusting in Jesus Christ, and in Jesus Christ alone. The plan of salvation is, “Trust in Jesus.” Make mistakes about other things, you will suffer inconvenience; but make a mistake here, and it will be fatal to you. Methinks I hear some man saying, “Sir, I have longed to be saved, but I am still uneasy and troubled in my mind, I think if I were to do good works, and then to save myself by them, I might trust in Christ.” Stand back, Uzzah, stand back, thou art about to touch the ark of God, beware, lest thou shouldst die while thou art doing it other mistakes will make you uneasy; that mistake will be fatal to you. Touch the atonement of Jesus Christ, and there is no salvation if you touch it with a legal hand, seeking to add to it your own self righteousness.

“None but Jesus, none but Jesus,
Can do helpless sinners good.”

He wants no help from you; leave him to do it all; take him as he is, and go to him just as you are; do not seek to bring anything, but go as you are, and you will be saved. Seek to help Christ, and saved you cannot be. Until you have done with that thought, you must abide in your sorrow, and in your death. No mixing with Jesus; he never came to be a make-weight. Christ must be all, and you must be nothing at all. If you attempt to patch his perfect robe that robe shall never cover your nakedness. It is begemmed with jewels; put one paste jewel of yours upon it, and it is not yours. You must have a whole Christ, and nothing but Christ. You know the old proverb, “Betwixt the two stools he came to the ground.” When a man hopes to rely partly on Christ, and partly on himself, he will come to the ground with a vengeance. Rest on Jesus simply, and you are saved; rest on Christ and self, and you are like Uzzah, you have touched the ark, you have sought to mingle man’s works with God’s works, man’s merits with Christ’s merits; and tremble, lest the wrath of God should come forth against you, and destroy you.

But after all, my dear friends, you have no merits. Christ freely offers himself to you, if you will take him for nothing. You thought to buy him with your merits. Why you have no merits. Shall I tell you a little parable which shall show you your position. There was a rich man who had a generous heart, and once upon a time he resolved to give a large estate to a poor neighbor, so he sent for him, and said, “My friend, I am willing to give you a large estate for nothing.” The man felt grateful and retired home, but as he lay in his bed he thought, “I should like that estate, but I should not like to be beholden to anybody for it; I think I will pay for it.” So he set out the next morning with a bag_of_coinsheavy bag on his back, and when he came to the rich man’s door and the friend came out, he said, “Sir, I value your estate very highly; you promised to let me have it for nothing, but I do not want to be obliged to you, so I have brought a bag all full of gold to buy it with.” The rich man said, “I never offered to sell it to you; I said I would give it to you; but come, let us look at your bag of gold.” So the poor man opened wide the mouth of the sack; he blushed and stammered, and said, “Oh sir, be not angry with me; now I come to look at it; it is nothing but a bag of silver.” The friend said, “Look at it again.” He looked again and blushed, and cried, “Let not my lord be angry, but I find it is nothing but a bag of copper.” “Look once more,” said he. He looked once more into it, and he fell down on his knees, and said, “Forgive me, forgive me; I find, sir, it is a bag of filth. You see I have brought you a bag of filth with which to buy your rich estate.” You know the meaning of that parable, do you not? You have brought to God what you thought were good works, golden works; look at them you will see them pale before you, and you will say, “My Lord, they are not so good as I thought they were, they are only silver works after all.” Look at them again, and they will become dirty, frown, copper works. “Oh!” say you, “they are not worth more than a farthing now.” Look again, and you will see that your prayers, your tears, your good works, are nothing better than filth after all. They are only another form of sin, another shape of iniquity. Oh! sinner, take Christ as he is; take him now, just as thou art. The gospel is just this—trust Christ and you are saved. Rely on what he did, and you are delivered. Just leave off trusting to any ceremonies, to any doctrines, to any forms, to any works, but rely on Jesus and you are saved.

To read the rest of the sermon, click here:

Can You Feel the Wonder of God SINGING over you?

Posted: December 20, 2010 by Pam Larson in December, Devotionals/Commentaries, Zephaniah
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The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love [literally: be silent in his love]
he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

John Piper:

From this amazing verse I get the title of this morning’s message: “The Pleasure of God in the Good of His People.” God does not do you good out of some constraint or coercion. He is free! And in his freedom he overflows in joy to do you good. He exults over you with loud singing.

What Would Happen If God Sang?

Can you imagine what it would be like if you could hear God singing? Remember that it was merely a spoken word that brought the universe into existence. What would happen if God lifted up his voice and not only spoke but sang! Perhaps a new heaven and a new earth would be created. God says something almost just to that effect in Isaiah 65:17–18,

Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth . . . I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

When God spoke at the beginning, the heavens and the earth were created; perhaps at the end, the new heavens and the new earth will be created when God exults over his people with loud singing.

When I think of the voice of God singing, I hear the booming of Niagara Falls mingled with the trickle of a mossy mountain stream. I hear the blast of Mt. St. Helens mingled with a kitten’s purr. I hear the power of an East Coast hurricane and the barely audible puff of a night snow in the woods. And I hear the unimaginable roar of the sun 865,000 miles thick, one million three hundred thousand times bigger than the earth, and nothing but fire, 1,000,000 degrees centigrade, on the cooler surface of the corona. But I hear this unimaginable roar mingled with the tender, warm crackling of the living room logs on a cozy winter’s night.

And when I hear this singing I stand dumbfounded, staggered, speechless that he is singing over me. He is rejoicing over my good with all his heart and with all his soul (cf. Jeremiah 32:41)!

Can You Feel the Wonder of This?

Can you feel the wonder of this today? That God is rejoicing over you with loud singing?

“I Am Too Guilty”

“No,” you say, “I can’t, because I am too guilty that God should rejoice over me.”

But will you not believe verse 15: “The Lord has taken away the judgments against you!”

Can you not, then, feel the wonder that the Lord exults over you with loud singing today?

“I Am Surrounded by Enemies”

“No,” you say, “I can’t because I am surrounded by enemies, and obstacles beset me on every side.”

But will you not believe verse 17: “The Lord is a warrior who gives victory”; and verse 19: “Behold, at that time I will deal with your oppressors”; and verse 15: “He has cast out your enemies”?

Can you not, then, feel the wonder that the Lord exults over you with loud singing?

“God Feels Too Far Away from Me”

“No,” you say, “Still I can’t because he is a great a holy God and I feel like he is far away from me.”

But will you not believe verse 15: “The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst”; and verse 17: “The Lord, your God, is in your midst”? He is not far from you.

Can you not, then, feel the wonder that the Lord exults over you with loud singing?

“I Am Enslaved to Shame”

Still you say, “No, because I am enslaved to shame. I have been endlessly belittled by my parents (cf. 2:8, 10). I have been scoffed at and threatened and manipulated and slandered. Inside this cocoon of shame even the singing of God sounds faint and far away and indecipherable.”

But again I ask, Will you not believe the promise at the end of verse 19: “I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth”?

Can you not, then, feel the wonder that the Lord exults over you with loud singing?

“How Can God’s Joy in His Own Name Apply to Me?”

And now you say, “Almost I can let go and feel this unspeakable wonder that God exults over me—even me with loud singing. But there remains one obstacle. You have said that God loves his own glory above all things. You have said that God takes pleasure in his own name. How then am I to imagine that he should be interested in me? How does the joy that God has in his own name apply to me?

If that is your last obstacle, then make ready to sing! For the answer is given clearly in verse 12. If you knew that God delights in his name above all things, and if you wanted to be folded into that joy and be a part of the pleasure of God yourself, where would you go? Where would you seek refuge?

Verse 12 gives the answer: The Lord says “For I will leave in the midst of you a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord.” Here is the connection between God’s delight in his name and his delight in you. When you take refuge in his name, he exults over you with loud singing.

If you seek your own glory among men, truly you have your reward on the earth. If you exalt your own name among men, truly you have your reward on the earth. If you bank on your own righteousness, truly you have your reward on the earth.

But if you humble yourself and seek the glory of God above all things, and if you hide your name in the name of God, and if you clothe yourself with the righteousness of his Son, then your heavenly Father who loves his name above all things will reward you beyond all imaginings and exult over you with loud singing.

So put aside all pride and boasting in self today. Take refuge in the name of God. Bank your hope on the righteousness of Christ and not your own. And let yourself awaken to the wonder that the Lord, the King of kings, rejoices over you with gladness and exults over you with loud singing.

(For further study see Micah 7:18; Psalm 35:27; 149:4; Jeremiah 32:37–42; Deuteronomy 30:9; Isaiah 62:5; 65:19.)

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