My Hope is in God

My Daily SOAP from today, from Psalm 121

Scripture

Psalm 121:1 A song of ascents, for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.

“I look up to the mountains – does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!”

Observation

I imagine a pilgrim on his or her way to Jerusalem for a festival or sacrifice reciting this Psalm. Israel is a hilly country and Jerusalem is built on a mountain. You literally have to “go up” or ascend to get there. And a pilgrim could be thinking or hoping that Jerusalem, the safety of the mountains, or the leadership or government on the hill of Jerusalem would protect them from their enemies.

The Psalm itself calls out to the false or potentially misplaced hope and reminds the pilgrim: “My help comes from the Lord!”

God may (and does) use human institutions, governments, churches, and people to assist, but the help is ultimately from God and through his sovereignty.

These  pilgrims faced many dangers on their journey: the elements of nature, bandits, injury on rough terrain. The Psalm reminds us that God is watching over us, he doesn’t slumber sleep, he’s a protective shade over us and he’ll watch over us in the comings and goings in life, and in the dangers and risks and trials we face.

Application

The question is always “Will I trust God?”, “Will I put my hope in Him?” Or is my hope falsely in circumstances, men or government?

Prayer

Today God I tell you that my hope is in you, and and you alone!

Inspired Mentors

Over the years, the greatest gift to my life, other than the people God has put into my life (especially my wife and family, as well as my church, The Rock) has been books.  It’s been books that have brought the greatest contribution to my life.  They have inspired me, they’ve sharpened me, they’ve corrected me, they’ve taught me.  They’ve encouraged me and I wouldn’t be the man today I am without many of them.

Some day I hope to begin to write about some of the books that have been the most influential in my life and why. 

But whenever I look at my bookshelf and consider the wealth of knowledge they contain, I’m reminded that there’s been one book above all that I am seeking to pursue and understand and know. 

According to Google, there are 130 million books in the world.  So in all of those books, which one should I read and more importantly, which one should I trust and allow to shape my life?

As I was reading through the life of Joseph today in the Book of Genesis in the Bible, I was freshly reminded of how only the Bible speaks to every person uniquely, to every life circumstance and situation a person many find themselves in.  It can encourage, inspire, correct, shape, enlighten, and guide each person through each circumstance in life.

Joseph was treated unjustly, he was betrayed by his own family, he was sold into slavery, he was convicted for a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison for 10+ years.  

People who have written the Bible have written it from every possible range of human emotion - from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.  Jeremiah, saw his entire country obliterated, destroyed and carried into exile, and forced to watch unspeakable horror and anguish.  And yet there’s also the great hope for a perfect, eternal kingdom one day to come and swallow up all the evil, sin and injustice we see all around us.    We read about the reality of the Kingdom that will come, certain of it because of Jesus conquering sin and death through the cross and resurrection.  

It’s also full of flawed humans (just like me!) who make mistakes, learn from them (or not) and doesn’t sugar coat the reality of the world we live in - ideas have consequences, choices have consequences, and I would do well to heed the lesson from the lives of the men and women in the Bible, so I do not have to suffer the consequences that they faced.

The Bible inspires me as a father, husband, pastor, friend, and person.  It helps me to understand and sympathize with others with whom I am friends with and am ministering to.  It matures me and is the most inspirational piece of work every written.  

They provide the inspired mentors that God would have me influenced by in my life.