THE LORD SPOKE (August 18)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Psalms 74-77

Bewildered. Sounds like Bambi stepping out into the big world for the first time. Sounds like me when I wake up from a nap. Sounds like the psalmist (Jeduthun, in this case) when he doesn’t sense God’s ever-present help. He ends the confused bewilderment of the first section (Ps. 77:1-9) of this psalm with six rapid-fire questions which reveal his anguish. Has God completely forgotten me?

Jeduthun remembers (Ps. 77:3,6) previous times of distress when God did answer but that only produces more anguish because no amount of effort or invocation seems to awaken the Divine mercies this time. Could there be a hint of the problem in Ps. 77:2? “My soul refused to be comforted.” There’s truth to the saying: if you find yourself distant from God, there’s no question as to who moved away. Maybe the psalmist’s nostalgia has produced a certain numbness. Is he looking more for a feeling than for a reality? He’s musing (Ps. 77:3,6) and thinking about former days (Ps. 77:5).

“Then” (Ps. 77:10) he focuses on God’s mighty deeds, miracles, and works of long ago (Ps. 77:11-12). It’s when Jeduthun meditates on God’s mighty acts that the bewilderment melts away and confidence returns. A great anthem of praise (Ps. 77:10-20) is the result. How interesting that “no footprints were seen” (Ps. 77:19) but God clearly “led his people like a flock” (Ps. 77:20). When they stopped looking down and raised their eyes to the level of the Shepherd, they could see the way.

Looking back, looking down, looking as circumstances all around - it’s so easy to fall into those traps and we spend our days floundering in bewilderment. The only backward look we should take is to remember what God has done in the past. Remember how He has displayed His power (Ps. 77:14) and look for His path through the sea ahead of you.

What could that mean in practical terms?

• Write it down. Keep a journal of answered prayer or what God has been doing in your life. Establish some mile markers or memory posts on the trail behind you and remember God’s mighty acts in getting you up to those points.
• Review it often. Use visual or auditory aids (e.g. Ps. 77:18!) to remind you of the past.
• Don’t live in the past. Sounds contradictory, doesn’t it? Remember the past but don’t live in the past! Meet today’s challenges head on and quit thinking about the so-called “good ol’ days”. Forge out some future. Write today a page that will go down in the history books of tomorrow.
• Press on now. Don’t pull over to the side of the road to rest. The traffic will pass you by and you’ll find yourself struggling just to catch up again. Be a pace-setter yourself. You’ll love how God keeps showing you the next few steps - usually just a few at a time.

New Testament: II Peter 3

Talk about global warming! Peter’s description of the last days speaks of a fiery holocaust that “will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat” (II Pet. 3:12). That “day of the Lord” has been long delayed, in man’s way of thinking, but God’s timetable is not the same as ours (II Pet. 3:8-9) and, once it begins to happen, the end will be swift.

Just as the flood in Noah’s day caught men by surprise and unprepared to avoid destruction (II Pet. 3:6) so will the coming of this day of the Lord. The delay has caused many scoffers and doubters to arise. Truth be known, many good people have wondered. It does seem that “everything goes on as it has since the beginning” (II Pet. 3:4). But this way of thinking is the result of forgetting God’s Word. It is the result of forgetting what God did in the past. It is the result of forgetting that God is God and in perfect control of all things.

God has made a promise and that sacred covenant included six eschatological developments that we should be looking for:

1. Jesus will return just as the OT prophets and the NT apostles prophesied (II Pet. 3:1-4).
2. A final judgment by fire will take place just as the flood in Noah’s day presaged (II Pet. 3:5-7,12).
3. God’s measurement of time might be different but it is certain. Absolutely certain. Everything is taking place according to a pre-determined timetable (II Pet. 3:8-10,15).
4. Though the present heavens and elements will be destroyed, there will be a new heavens and a new earth (II Pet. 3:10,13; c.f. Is. 65:17-25 and Rev. 21:1).
5. This life is transitory so people who would live holy and godly lives must fix themselves upon God’s promise (II Pet. 3:11-12).
6. Living holy and godly lives will actually speed the coming of the day of the Lord (II Pet. 3:12).

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with him. (II Pet. 3:14)