January 24
“Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait I say, on the Lord!” Psalm 27:11-14.
Because we have to contend with the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh, it is very important that the Lord teaches us to go His way, as it is revealed for us in Holy Scripture. If we insist on going our own sinful way, we are headed for trouble. We ask God to lead us in a smooth path – that is, that He lead us on an even, level road, so that we will not stumble and fall and hurt ourselves.
As we journey along through life, we ask God to protect us against all those who seek to hurt and harm us physically and spiritually. We ask Him to protect us against false witnesses who seek to ruin our reputation as Christians and who seek to intimidate us in an effort to silence our Christian witnessing to a dark and dying world. We ask to be protected from those who breathe out violence, whose numbers are increasing everywhere in the world.
Where is our hope and security? The psalmist says, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Unless we believe in the goodness of God, we have no hope. However, with our faith and trust in the almighty God, who is the Rock of our Salvation, we are standing on a firm foundation. We are encouraged by God’s many promises for body and soul.
In both the Old and New Testament, God gives us His gracious promise: “‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” Hebrews 13:5-6. So, with the psalmist, we can say confidently, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your Keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore,” Psalm 121:1-5.
Day and night, round the clock, God is watching over His children. Therefore, the psalmist says, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait I say, on the Lord!” Wait on the Lord! He will not let you down! Trust Him! He is the God of promises who fulfills His promises.
After our first parents sinned, God promised to send a Savior. He kept His Word. “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” Galatians 4:4-6.
We wait on God our Father to continue to bless us in the future as He has done in the past. We pray that God will keep us in the faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lived and died to redeem us and who sacrificed Himself on the cross at Calvary to deliver us from sin, death, and the devil.
“O faithful God, thanks be to Thee,
Who dost forgive iniquity.
Thou grantest help in sin’s distress,
And soul and body dost Thou bless.” Amen.