The Safe Place

Wednesday, May 24, 2017, 6:31 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm 57 (NASB).

Refuge in Him (vv. 1-3)

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,

For my soul takes refuge in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge

Until destruction passes by.

I will cry to God Most High,

To God who accomplishes all things for me.

He will send from heaven and save me;

He reproaches him who tramples upon me. Selah.

God will send forth His lovingkindness and His truth.

When we trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of our lives, and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us, we become God’s children, and followers of Jesus Christ. We also become the Lord’s servants and his witnesses. We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. So, we are to let our light shine before all people, and not hide it. Also, we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). We are his witnesses not only in word, as we share with others the truth of the gospel, but we are his witnesses by how we live our lives, day in and day out.

Becoming a follower of Jesus Christ has many spiritual benefits. Our sins were paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, when he took our place on a cross, and he became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. By God’s grace, through God-given faith in Christ Jesus, we are delivered from slavery to sin, and we are set free to now walk with Christ in his righteousness and holiness. We now have eternal life with God and the hope of heaven when we die. Yet, this is promised on the basis of that faith being continuous, and on the basis of us forsaking our former way of living for sin and self, no longer conducting our lives according to our sinful flesh, but now walking (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit of God.

Thus, when we walk in Christ’s holiness, and we are separate (unlike, different, distinct) from this sinful world, and we share the truths of God’s Word with the world around us, and with others who profess the name of Jesus, too, there will be those who won’t like us. They won’t approve of our lifestyles. They also won’t approve of the message. Some will think we are weird, crazy, radical, disconnected, strange, extreme, and just not normal. And, some of them may even make it their job to try to “normalize” us, i.e. to try to get us to be more like them, less solemn about our faith, and to not take life so seriously. Some will try, as well, to get us to compromise our faith in order to not offend people with the gospel, and they will attempt to convince us to “stay in our lane” and to not be concerned about others.

And, so, we will call out to God in prayer, seeking him for guidance, counsel, wisdom, strength, courage, and determination to stand on the Word of Truth, and to not give way to pressure from the enemy to cave in. We will pray for God’s spiritual protection over our lives, and we will trust him to watch over us, and to carry us through every difficult situation we face. We will trust in his sovereignty, and surrender to his will, and believe that He has a plan and a purpose for it all, and that he will supply all we need to endure and to persevere. As well, we will look forward to our future hope in eternity with God, when we know that all this evil will be done away with, and we will live in perfect peace with our Lord, free from all threats.

Soul Among Lions (vv. 4-6)

My soul is among lions;

I must lie among those who breathe forth fire,

Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows

And their tongue a sharp sword.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God;

Let Your glory be above all the earth.

They have prepared a net for my steps;

My soul is bowed down;

They dug a pit before me;

They themselves have fallen into the midst of it. Selah.

Yet, while we still walk the face of this earth, we will have trouble and hardship. When Jesus sent out his disciples to minister to people’s needs and to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, he told them he was sending them out like sheep among wolves. He warned them that they would be handed over to the courts and scourged in their synagogues. He said that brother would betray brother to death, and that they would be hated because of the name of Jesus. Yet, they were not to fear their persecutors. What Jesus told them in the darkness, they were to speak in the light, and what he whispered in their ears, they were to proclaim upon the housetops. Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” [See: Matthew 10.]

Yes, we will be persecuted for our faith and for the sake of the name of Jesus and his gospel. Some of us may be severely beaten, tortured, imprisoned, starved, and killed for our faith. Others of us may face ridicule, betrayal, hatred, false accusations, gossip, mistreatment, mockery, rejection, being ostracized and otherwise cast aside or ignored. Yet, the message to us is still the same. We should not fear what man might do to us, but we must put our faith and trust in the sovereignty of God. These persecutions should only serve to drive us to call on God in our suffering, to make us even more determined in our walks of faith, and to inspire us to keep sharing Jesus Christ with the world so that many will be saved.

Heart is Steadfast (vv. 7-11)

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!

Awake, my glory!

Awake, harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to You among the nations.

For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens

And Your truth to the clouds.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God;

Let Your glory be above all the earth.

In all our sufferings and persecutions, thus, we must have steadfastness of heart, and not give way to fear. We must be unwavering, persistent, and committed to our Lord, to his service, and to his gospel, despite what others do to us, for God is in control. He will see us through, and one day he will take us safely home to be with him forever if we continue in Him to the end.

One of the ways in which the Lord helps me when my heart is troubled is that he puts songs in my mind which counsel me, encourage me, and which strengthen me in my faith, but which also give praise and thanks to God for his many blessings to me. We get down sometimes because we lose focus on Jesus Christ and we get our eyes on our circumstances, instead. So, singing songs of praise, worship and of spiritual encouragement help to lift our spirits and to get us refocused on Jesus and what is eternal, rather than on what is temporal. God has a reason for all that he allows into our lives, so we need to trust him, rest in him, and believe him to accomplish his purposes in and through our lives and through our times of trouble, too. When we do, his peace and calm assurance floods our souls. All is well!

Jesus, I am Resting, Resting

Jean Sophia Pigott

Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,

And Thy beauty fills my soul,

For by Thy transforming power,

Thou hast made me whole.

O, how great Thy loving kindness,

Vaster, broader than the sea!

O, how marvelous Thy goodness,

Lavished all on me!

Yes, I rest in Thee, Belovèd,

Know what wealth of grace is Thine,

Know Thy certainty of promise,

And have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,

I behold Thee as Thou art,

And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,

Satisfies my heart;

Satisfies its deepest longings,

Meets, supplies its every need,

Compasseth me round with blessings:

Thine is love indeed!

Ever lift Thy face upon me

As I work and wait for Thee;

Resting ‘neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,

Earth’s dark shadows flee.

Brightness of my Father’s glory,

Sunshine of my Father’s face,

Keep me ever trusting, resting,

Fill me with Thy grace.

Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.