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Psalms 62:1-2 ESV
As followers of Jesus Christ we have no cause to fear what others might do to us or say about us or what might happen to us, etc. Our lives are in the hands of God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – and our trust is in him. He is not only our salvation from our slavery to sin, but he is also our salvation from the effects of our circumstances upon our lives.
We can turn to him in everything we might go through in this life, and trust him, and rest in him, and believe that he is absolutely sovereign and in control over all things, and we will be at peace. After all, no amount of worrying, fretting, and fearing has ever changed anything for the good. Many things are out of our control. Peace comes when we rest in Jesus.
We often end up fearing people or circumstances when we lose sight of who God is and who we are, and when we lose sight of God’s ultimate plan for our lives. We are subject to responding in fear particularly if we are out of fellowship with the Lord, so it is critical that we remain in his word and in walks of obedience to him, for there we will find perfect peace.
Psalms 62:3-4 ESV
When we are following Jesus Christ with wholehearted devotion to him, and we are walking in obedience to his commands, and when we are daily denying self and dying to sin, by the Spirit, we are going to be opposed, and we will be persecuted for the sake of righteousness. And many of our persecutors will come from within the institutional church.
For, who were Jesus’ greatest persecutors? They were those of his own race, of his own faith, from the temple of God, and among the leadership, rulers, and teachers of the Scriptures within the temple of God. They were primarily the ones who were harassing, hounding, attacking, criticizing, falsely accusing, and trying to trick and to trap so that they could accuse him.
So, this should not surprise us if our own brothers and sisters in Christ (or those making such a profession of faith) are the ones who are opposing us the greatest, who are mistreating us, who are rejecting us, and who are casting us aside, telling us that they not only have no need of us, but that they don’t want us and that we should go someplace else.
And why are they doing this? Mainly it is because so many of them have gone the way of the world and so they have rejected the gospel as Jesus taught it and as Paul and the other apostles taught it, though many are trying to prove that Paul taught a different gospel which is like the modern one that many are promoting today which is absent of the fear of the Lord.
But it isn’t that all our persecution will come from the institutional church, but that much of it will also come from people in positions of rule and authority in the world. And it will come from those who do not believe in Jesus and those who are living sinful lifestyles (professing Christians or not) who do not like these messages of repentance and obedience to God.
They will find our teaching an offense to them because it tells them that they must forsake their lives of sin and that they must follow Jesus in obedience. For they want to be able to continue living how they are living without anyone telling them that they need to change course or that there is a better way to live. Yet no one is forcing them to read these teachings.
But the message of the cross of Christ is an offense to them, and so there are those who will take it upon themselves to go after those of us who are sharing the truths of the gospel, for their goal is to instill fear in us and to silence us. And so they will lie and falsely accuse and slander and try to trick and to trap us in hopes to shut us up and/or to make us afraid.
Psalms 62:5-8 ESV
So, when we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and people reject, hate, abandon, attack, falsely accuse, mock, and/or just ignore us and want nothing to do with us, we wait on the Lord, and we rely on his strength to endure unjust suffering, and we pray for wisdom to respond in a godly manner, and we love those who do not love us in return.
We put our hope and trust in the Lord, and in him alone, and we trust him to work it all out for good and for the glory of God and for the salvation of lives. For we don’t usually see what God is doing behind the scenes. We only see what is visible to us, but God works in mysterious ways, and so what may seem a tragedy to us God may turn into a blessing in disguise.
We don’t run away in fear and escape from our problems so that we don’t have to face them. We don’t turn to fantasy to shut out reality, nor do we escape into drugs or alcohol or any other substances to help numb our pain. And we don’t retreat and end up going back into sin. Yet I am not saying that none of us have ever done that, but that this is not the right way to go, and it will only cause greater pain and suffering, not only to ourselves, but also to others whose lives we impact. So, please don’t go there!
Go to the Lord in prayer and pray for help and for protection and for wisdom and for faith to remain strong and to endure and to keep pressing on in going where he wants us and in doing what he says to do and in saying what he gives us to say. Trust him at all times, no matter how bad it gets. Rest in him. Don’t let fear overtake you. And let him direct your path.
The Prayer
Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager,
Alberto Testa and Tony Renis
I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know
Let this be our prayer
When we lose our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.
I pray we'll find your light
And hold it in our hearts
When the stars go out each night
Remind us where you are.
Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.
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P.S. This is not an endorsement of the singers other than as musicians
“For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.”
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.”
As followers of Jesus Christ we have no cause to fear what others might do to us or say about us or what might happen to us, etc. Our lives are in the hands of God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – and our trust is in him. He is not only our salvation from our slavery to sin, but he is also our salvation from the effects of our circumstances upon our lives.
We can turn to him in everything we might go through in this life, and trust him, and rest in him, and believe that he is absolutely sovereign and in control over all things, and we will be at peace. After all, no amount of worrying, fretting, and fearing has ever changed anything for the good. Many things are out of our control. Peace comes when we rest in Jesus.
We often end up fearing people or circumstances when we lose sight of who God is and who we are, and when we lose sight of God’s ultimate plan for our lives. We are subject to responding in fear particularly if we are out of fellowship with the Lord, so it is critical that we remain in his word and in walks of obedience to him, for there we will find perfect peace.
Psalms 62:3-4 ESV
“How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah”
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah”
When we are following Jesus Christ with wholehearted devotion to him, and we are walking in obedience to his commands, and when we are daily denying self and dying to sin, by the Spirit, we are going to be opposed, and we will be persecuted for the sake of righteousness. And many of our persecutors will come from within the institutional church.
For, who were Jesus’ greatest persecutors? They were those of his own race, of his own faith, from the temple of God, and among the leadership, rulers, and teachers of the Scriptures within the temple of God. They were primarily the ones who were harassing, hounding, attacking, criticizing, falsely accusing, and trying to trick and to trap so that they could accuse him.
So, this should not surprise us if our own brothers and sisters in Christ (or those making such a profession of faith) are the ones who are opposing us the greatest, who are mistreating us, who are rejecting us, and who are casting us aside, telling us that they not only have no need of us, but that they don’t want us and that we should go someplace else.
And why are they doing this? Mainly it is because so many of them have gone the way of the world and so they have rejected the gospel as Jesus taught it and as Paul and the other apostles taught it, though many are trying to prove that Paul taught a different gospel which is like the modern one that many are promoting today which is absent of the fear of the Lord.
But it isn’t that all our persecution will come from the institutional church, but that much of it will also come from people in positions of rule and authority in the world. And it will come from those who do not believe in Jesus and those who are living sinful lifestyles (professing Christians or not) who do not like these messages of repentance and obedience to God.
They will find our teaching an offense to them because it tells them that they must forsake their lives of sin and that they must follow Jesus in obedience. For they want to be able to continue living how they are living without anyone telling them that they need to change course or that there is a better way to live. Yet no one is forcing them to read these teachings.
But the message of the cross of Christ is an offense to them, and so there are those who will take it upon themselves to go after those of us who are sharing the truths of the gospel, for their goal is to instill fear in us and to silence us. And so they will lie and falsely accuse and slander and try to trick and to trap us in hopes to shut us up and/or to make us afraid.
Psalms 62:5-8 ESV
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
“Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah”
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
“Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah”
So, when we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and people reject, hate, abandon, attack, falsely accuse, mock, and/or just ignore us and want nothing to do with us, we wait on the Lord, and we rely on his strength to endure unjust suffering, and we pray for wisdom to respond in a godly manner, and we love those who do not love us in return.
We put our hope and trust in the Lord, and in him alone, and we trust him to work it all out for good and for the glory of God and for the salvation of lives. For we don’t usually see what God is doing behind the scenes. We only see what is visible to us, but God works in mysterious ways, and so what may seem a tragedy to us God may turn into a blessing in disguise.
We don’t run away in fear and escape from our problems so that we don’t have to face them. We don’t turn to fantasy to shut out reality, nor do we escape into drugs or alcohol or any other substances to help numb our pain. And we don’t retreat and end up going back into sin. Yet I am not saying that none of us have ever done that, but that this is not the right way to go, and it will only cause greater pain and suffering, not only to ourselves, but also to others whose lives we impact. So, please don’t go there!
Go to the Lord in prayer and pray for help and for protection and for wisdom and for faith to remain strong and to endure and to keep pressing on in going where he wants us and in doing what he says to do and in saying what he gives us to say. Trust him at all times, no matter how bad it gets. Rest in him. Don’t let fear overtake you. And let him direct your path.
The Prayer
Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager,
Alberto Testa and Tony Renis
I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know
Let this be our prayer
When we lose our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.
I pray we'll find your light
And hold it in our hearts
When the stars go out each night
Remind us where you are.
Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.
P.S. This is not an endorsement of the singers other than as musicians
