Lets face it, because things are pretty crazy and distorted in this world we are constantly faced with a choice, 1. we can obsess over all that is wrong; unfaithful friends, corrupt governments, high taxes, “civilization and its discontents”, and on and on until finally death, or 2. we can focus on this magnificent creation designed for life, the gift of life, God’s wonderful, amazing provision of salvation for us, adopting us as his children, us, who certainly didn’t deserve the promise of an abundant life both here and in eternity. And we can also delight in the fact that God not only gave us the promise of life but put us in a community of believers, and gave us the privilege of calling everyone, who does not yet know God, out of their darkness and ultimate despair and into God’s Kingdom of life.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
| Psalm 16 (NIV)
A miktam of David. |
Facing Life and Death with Confidence |
|---|---|
|
1 Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” |
1. Our Relationship With God
a. God is our refuge, He keeps us safe through all that this life throws at us and as verse 11 will tell us, God takes us safely into eternity. b. And if we really take the time to think about creation, life and salvation we will agree with David, apart from God we have no good things. |
|
3 I say of the holy people who are in the land, “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.” 4 Those who run after other gods will I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods or take up their names on my lips. |
2. Our Relationships with Others
a. Do not give up meeting together…encouraging one another. – Hebrews 10:25 Do you delight in the people of God, those that, with you, God has brought into the Kingdom? b. If sinful men entice you, do not go with them. If they say, “Come along with us, lets lie in wait for innocent blood…we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder … do not set foot on their paths. – Proverbs 1:10-14 Are you tempted to run with unbelievers, those who chase after that which cannot ultimately satisfy? |
|
5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; 8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord. |
3. God Blesses His Children a. portion and cup, as in. God provides us with all we need for life. – Matthew 6:11 b. Because God has provided us with a wonderful inheritance, we, of all people can be content, at peace, in a world of discontents. c. God counsels us. Faced with difficult decisions where do you go for counsel? Ask God, who gives generously – James 1:5 d. God walks right beside us always providing counsel and stability such that we cannot be shaken! |
| 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. 11 You make known to me the path of life; |
4. God Guarantees Our Future
We live in a beautiful world surrounded by people who “all their lives are held in slavery by their fear of death” – Hebrews 2:15. “The weariest and most loathed worldly life, that age, ache, penury and imprisonment can lay on nature, is a paradise, compared to what we fear in death” – William Shakespeare Yet God has promised his children that he will never abandon us to death, but will fill us with eternal joy and pleasure. Rejoice! |
Larry Norman sang:
“Think back to when you were a child, Your soul was free, your heart ran wild, Each day was different and life was a thrill, You knew tomorrow would be better still!”
Beautiful thoughts, but we don’t have to think back to when we were children to find joy. We have been granted new life as the children of God. We have been given refuge and provided with every good thing from God our gracious father.
Do not be tempted to envy or imitate those who have not yet turned to God. Do not be a grumbler, complainer, or discontent. With new eyes see the inheritance that God has provided you, both in this life and in the life to come and invite everyone to join you.
By Richard Loper