Finding Faith Inside Faithfulness

A couple of years ago I wondered why how Turkey (the country) and turkeys (the birds) came to have the same name. No matter how hard I thought I could not find a connection. It roused my curiosity so I did a bit of research. It turns out that in Chinese the word “turkey” means nomad. Oh, of course. Now it made sense. The ancient Turkic people were nomadic. I already knew that. And the birds that we call turkeys wander, so they could easily take that name as well. All I needed was a little bit of context or cultural insight, not naturally at my fingertips.

The other day the Lord brought to mind the two words, faith and faithfulness. Faith, in my mind was about trust and in particular I understood it as opening up the spiritual realm to us. Faithfulness, on the other hand, was associated with loyalty, at least in my mind. I was curious that one word was found within the other, and yet there didn’t appear to be any connection between them. In the end, the Lord gave me the link between them. Faith and faithfulness both involve seeking. Later, I went to the Bible to look it up. He was right. Funny that. There it was, faithfulness and seeking, and faith and seeking.

Trust in the Lord and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:3-4

How do we cultivate faithfulness? We need to delight ourselves in the Lord. As we seek the Lord, we become by definition, more faithful. Faithful is not a stiff and starched loyalty, something like the Beefeater guards at Buckingham Palace who stand unmoving and at attention. It is more like the loyalty of  hound that will not rest until he it at our side. I had a dog once who would move from one window of the house to another as I moved from room to room in my house. He was not satisfied until he was as close as possible to my side. Faithfulness in marriage should not be defined as the lack of roaming eyes or the absence of affairs or adultery. We cannot say, “I am faithful, I’m here, aren’t I?” Faithfulness is to seek, to not be satisfied. If I want to be truly faithful to my wife, then I will be always seeking an ever closer intimacy. The same is true if we desire faithfulness to the Lord. I will be seeking him, delighting myself in him, and wanting to be close to him. You can see this in Hezekiah’s life:

Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah; and he did what was good, right and true before the LORD his God. Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered. After these acts of faithfulness Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and thought to break into them for himself.

2 Chronicles 31:20-32:1

He sought the Lord. It was seen in his choices and his acts. His seeking acts were performed with all his heart. And these seeking acts were called acts of faithfulness. Loyalty pales beside true faithfulness.  In Hebrews eleven, the great faith chapter, we see that faith itself also involves that same passionate quest. To have faith is to seek.

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Hebrews 1:6

We associate faith with trust. The idea of that trust might be best understood as we see a child throw themselves through the air into the arms of their father or mother. That faith is satisfied by an embrace. The wonder of it all is that God is called faithful towards us and that means that he is deliberately and constantly seeking us. In fact, the author of these verses finds him reaching out every day, they are new every morning.

This I recall to my mind,

Therefore I have hope.

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:21-23

Faith requires a relationship. We seek another through faith. Faithfulness is seeking faith as a pattern of our life, an unchanging habitual faith. I consider this and I feel complacency has deadened my faith. Too often my quest for God has no energy to it and I am stagnant, comforting myself that I am standing firm, deceiving myself that my faith, although fossilised, is enough. I want faith that is like the Lord’s, new every morning. I want to be refreshed and re-energised in my quest for the Father every morning. I want that passion to ignite my faith, and keep it burning. Wouldn’t it be delightful if he said of me and you, what we can say of him, “Great is your faithfulness!”

Our Heart has a Door

My heart has an inside door, but there is another way in. My heart is the seat of my feelings. It’s there that both love and hate are felt. Joy causes my heart to soar. Discontentment is received in the same place and drags it down into emptiness. Peace and fear find a hearing in my heart, one creating a lush garden and the other a cold dark prison. Feelings that are so vivid and contrasting. How can a single heart receive both? We know the feeling, don’t we? One minute we are up on the mountain, ecstatic with the emotion of a connection with the Lord. The next we are lost and lonely and sad, hopelessly lost in the dark valley.

It is a fallacy for me to think that I feel because of circumstances. When everything is as it should be, surely I should feel peace. When good things happen, that is the way to feel joy, right? Do I love when something attractive and lovely is before me? We go out of our way to find peace, love and happiness, and we find them so elusive. That is because circumstances don’t cause emotions. Our environment is a real factor, but we give it too much credit. Our heart has a door.

…he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name…

John 10:2-3

There is a doorway between our spirit and our soul. Our soul, made up of our heart (emotions), mind and will is transformed when our saviour come to call on us. The Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit. He is our connection with heaven. Jesus, by the Spirit within us, comes to us. The Spirit is the doorkeeper, and he opens for Christ. Our experience when Christ visits, touches our mind, emotions and will. He brings heavenly wisdom that conforms our desires to his, so that we can approve of the perfect will of God. He comes with heavenly gifts of joy and peace and love to be received in our heart, and we rise up. He transforms our mind with his truth

To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

John 10:3-4

We hear his voice and he draws us back through that doorway into the spirit. In the spirit we enjoy the glories of our inheritance and blessings in the heavenlies. We rise heavenward to dwell in the Father’s house. Our heart has a door, a portal that is fundamentally important to all our enjoyment and experience within our Christian life.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Revelation 3:20-21

Jesus knocks on the door. It is ours to respond and open that door. He will come in to dine and we will be transformed. Then we will lead us out, heavenward to share his throne, and all the wonders of our destiny in Him.

My heart and yours has an inside door, but there is another way in.

…he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber….A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.

John 10:1,5

All those negative emotions get into our heart when we let in another guest. He does not come bearing heavenly gifts. He is a thief and a robber. He steals our joy and leaves us with empty discontentment. He takes away our love and the vacuum of hate is what we feel. He robs us of our peace and we are overcome with feelings of fear. He does not enter by the door. He attacks our soul directly. He strikes our minds and sows lies and doubts, and steals away the seed of truth planted there. He misdirects our desires and will so that we are driven to chase mirages in a desert. He will destroy us if we let him have his way. Jesus said:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

John 10:10

I feel a desire to have Christ dine with me. I want to listen. I long to be transformed. I want to open the door to him, enjoy him and his gifts and then follow him and he leads me into blessing and abundant life in the Father’s house. For me, I desire this today, and every day.

A Sword Out of Our Mouth

In Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness he used his mouth to quote scripture. In so doing he defeated the evil one. Three times he spoke and three times he prevailed. We are to arm ourselves to fight against spiritual forces in the heavenlies. A spiritual enemy requires spiritual armour and spiritual weapons. Our sword is not in our hand. It is in our mouth. It is the word of God on our tongue.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf…

Ephesians 6:10-19

Look how prayer and petition follow our armourment. We receive our sword, and then we use it. We use our tongue to fight. There is a sword coming out of our mouth! It was and is the same for Jesus.

In His right hand He [Jesus] held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

Revelation 1:16

[Jesus speaking to the church in Pergamum] Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

Revelation 2:16

From His [Jesus’] mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron…

Revelation 19:15

And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him [Jesus] who sat on the horse…

Revelation 19:21

We have spiritual resources to battle against spiritual adversaries and we take hold of them with our mouth. Just as we handle physical objects in the physical world with our hands, we wield spiritual things in the spiritual realm with our tongue. We often feel helpless because we do not realise that there is spiritual power in the tongue. However, when we approach the challenges of spiritual warfare in the correct way, we find that we can make a real difference.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12

The weapons at our desposal are powerful because they are spiritual weapons to counter a spiritual adversary.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6

Nothing we hold in our hands helps at all, but we are armed and we can and will overcome.

The Real Problem

Sometimes we get angry at what is happening around us. Bad things happen all the time. Always there are people involved. Sometimes they are nameless and faceless, but human hands are so often responsible for the evil goings on around us. People say things. People do things. We look on, sometimes helpless and often livid at the injustices that we see.

It is a horrible historical fact that Christians have gotten angry. Many times, as a result of misplaced anger, Christians have become part of the problem. Whether its Catholics and Protestants hurting and killing each other in Ireland, or the bloody Crusades, or a bitter feud in a small church community in a remote country town, often righteous anger gives way to injustice and unrighteousness acts. It’s okay to be angry, but the question is what we should do with the holy rage that rightly grips us at times.

The key is to look beyond the physical manifestations of evil, and see what is happening in the spiritual realm.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12

The evil in our world, in our communities, in our families, and in our churches and workplaces is a spiritual problem with a spiritual source. We battle against the cause and not the symptoms of this planet’s disease. We battle not against John and Harry and Sally and Kurt, even though they appear to be the problem. No we don’t battle against flesh and blood. We have no fight, anytime, anywhere with any person. We need to stop right now and sheath our tongue, our fists, our ballot paper, and our pen; if we are using them to fight a fight against flesh and blood.

For two long we have wasted our energy in a futile fight against people. The invisible enemies smirk at us as we lash out against our brothers, sisters, friends and neighbours. When we do that we are doing their work for them and they are let off the hook. Satan is the Destroyer. We look at the destruction around us and we respond emotionally. Satan is also the Accuser. He tempts people and uses them to hurt and destroy. And then he steps back and points the finger at them. He accuses them and we buy it. We blame the flesh and blood people that Satan accuses and we strike out. We want justice, but we punish the accomplice, and not the mastermind behind it all.

Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

2 Corinthians 5:16

We have been used. That makes me angry too! We are vulnerable because there is a whole lot going on spiritually and it’s not tangible. We can’t see it, hear it or touch it with our hands. We need faith to see the invisible. We need to learn to fight against spiritual foes. In Christ we are empowered to fight the real enemy and by his authority and in his name we will conquer. Our victory is sure. We will not be driven by hate. We will be compelled by love. We are not part of the World. We are part of the kingdom of light. The battle against flesh and blood is futile. The injustice will continue and we contribute to the problem. Through spiritual means we can make a real difference…

for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

2 Corinthians 10:4

We are well equipped for victory. Let’s face the real enemy, and have mercy on their miserable pawns; broken people, oppressed and hurting. Heaven knows what kind of a revolution is possible if we will take up those spiritual weapons and strike out against the real problem.

Open Handed Discipleship

Discipleship is hard work. We invest so much of ourselves as we try to guide a new believer towards growth. Pastoral care of any kind comes with a dilemma. We are dealing with sheep, and sheep are not so easy to control. They have a mind of their own.

Unfortunately, when faced with the difficulty of an uncooperative discipleship protégé, there is an opportunity to do harm rather than good. Often we default to the wrong response because it is the natural thing to do. This is best understood when we consider the objectives of discipleship. The disciple is facing two struggles. One is against the dominion of the flesh, and the other is against the dominion of the World. Our approach to losing control of the process naturally tends to align itself with the methods of the World. It is a tragedy that we can become the World in order to free someone we dearly love from the clutches of the World. When we think of it that way, we know, of course, that we have already lost. How could we lose our way to such an extent and actually become part of the problem?

Biblically speaking, the World is a system that stands against the will of God. It is a system that crushes and controls. It will stop at nothing to have its way. It wants nothing more or less than conformity. In the last couple of years I have seen the World in a new light.  I have been living with my family in the Middle East, trying to run a business there. There were all sorts of moral struggles as we went about that. A number of times it was suggested to me that if I would conform in certain ways, then my business would thrive, and if I did not it would fail. The threat to conform or perish is common the world over, and I had seen that in my home country of Australia often enough. The difference in this situation was the way that religion was using economics as a carrot and stick to “guide” their people’s behaviour. I had this moment of revelation where for the first time I saw the evil sceptre of the World for what it was. It was so strong I wondered what could stop it. It harmed us a little, but we watched it ruin lives around us. We watched it crush the fight out of anyone who raised their head to question the system in any way.

I watched the squeezing pressure that was applied to force friends to conform. To lose your job in Australia is unfortunate and bad for the ego, but much more severe in this part of the world. Here it is a severe penalty for attempting to be something different from what is the accepted norm. I looked on wondering whether the people  in the system understood what they were doing. Would they really turn that family out into the cold, and to poverty? Was control of the people really meant to be achieved this way? Did the end justify the means? I learned in just a few months to hate the World. It brought to mind this verse:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

At the same time as I was witnessing this, I was beginning to see the contrast of the World and the Father’s house – Be conformed or be transformed. I suppose I saw the World for what it really is. To be worldly is not about going to nightclubs or drinking or smoking because those things are bad choices. Those things are called worldly because when we go to those places and do those things we are making those choices to please others and appease the system. The world is about compromise rather than sin and evil desires. Jesus would not conform, and that enraged the system so much that they set out to end his life. We can expect no more from the system for ourselves if we follow in his footsteps. 

It is startling to look back at the Church from over here and see more similarities than differences. Doctrines and beliefs aside, our methods tend to be the same. We don't want trouble. We want things to be in control. I looked at the foreign culture in which I lived and I saw the World so clearly. Upon reflection I saw startling similarities back in my home country. It was different but it was the same in many ways. I saw the World functioning back in my home country – in workplaces, churches, families. It appeared to me insidiously invading so many areas of life. Most importantly of all, it influences the way we disciple others. All is not lost. We get to choose the way we disciple our friends. Have a look at this contrast that Jesus laid out for us:

No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.

John 15:15-18

We choose transformation or conformity.

• When we bring our protégé before the Father to be blessed, they are called friends. There they become fruitful, and their prayers are answered and they start to contribute to a truly loving society. 
• Otherwise, we can treat them as slaves. We can be the system, and to us they will be just a statistic. We want to control them, and that physical tension operates through anger and hate.

If we are focussed on physical control when we disciple others we are part of the system, no matter what we are trying to achieve, and no matter how good our motives are. The thirst for control eats up our soul, and so quickly we respond with negative emotion when we lose control. We punish those we are trying to help. Of course, it is for their good because sin and bad habits will harm them, and their bad example may also lead others astray. We hate what they are doing and strike out to “make them” come back into line. We make them conform and strive for power in these situation to make things the way they should be; to make people the way they should be. We

…weigh men down with burdens hard to bear…

Luke 11:46

However, there is another choice. We can release those who we disciple into the freedom of transformation in the heavenlies. We can trust the Lord for the spiritual prosperity of our disciples. We can choose love over hate, and believe that anyone can be transformed as they dwell before the Father. Let’s encourage them to come before him, to draw near to experience divine friendship, and fruitfulness springing out of spiritual blessings lavished on them by the Father. Perhaps we too should draw near so that we can experience that ourselves.

Our discipleship of others can be a beautiful display of the desires of the Father, or an ugly disappointment that hurts more than it helps. Our choice to go against the flow may make unpleasant waves, because the system hates to be disrupted, but as we escape its clutches, we can take others with us. Our discipleship can be a partnership with the Father in the transformation of our friends.

The Sole of Your Foot

When Joshua and the people of Israel entered the land they were given a promise:

…cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you…

Joshua 1:2-3

As we enter in to experience all that the Father has for us in the heavenlies, that is true for us as well. We grow spiritually as we realise and possess more of our inheritance. As you receive something in the Father’s house it is yours…forever. That’s how we lay up treasure in heaven. Moth and rust cannot diminish what is ours there. In fact nothing can. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads he has given to you. We should reach out to possess more of what is ours...

 Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me…

1 Chronicles 4:9

...but also remember what we have already been given. We have an accumulating store of life-transforming resources, always at hand and available. It may be possible that we feel as though we have little yet possess much already, because of what has gone before. Yes, we should seek to enlarge our borders, but sometimes it is good to survey our borders and appreciate what the Lord has done in our life already.

For us men, it is a temptation to go to the hardware store for that new and absolutely essential tool to tackle the latest fix-it job on our list. The truth is, that often this may be unnecessary. We might be able to get along alright if we just looked in our toolbox. Jesus said that we should store up for ourselves treasure in heaven because you and I really do have the ability to store things there. Are we feeling defeated and ill-equipped? Do we feel like we haven't been given something fresh to tackle the new problem that just arose? We might be surprised to find that we already have the answer. Remember. Take a trip back through your spiritual experience. What have you received of the Lord? All of those things were life-changing and powerful when you received them. They are no less potent today. You have much more at your disposal that you thought! Perhaps today's problem might be less trouble than you thought.

And this perspective does not take away from our desire to experience more and receive fresh revelation and resources from our Father. It means that we value each new gift as immensely precious. Each spiritual blessing that we take hold of in the heavenlies is an eternal possession. This realm is no consumer society, with everything designed to be thrown away two days after the warranty expires. Think about the way that people used to value the hand-made treasures of the "good-old-days". Things were made well; made to last. All of our Father's good gifts are of flawless quality and they will last eternally. There is abundant variety and rich supply of fresh spiritual blessings whenever we approach the throne to ask for more. The Father lavishes his grace on us and we are truly blessed.

A New and Living Way

Christ stands for us in Heaven. There He intercedes for us. But His intercession there does not involve Him speaking for us in the way a lawyer might defend a client. Instead, he stands for us in Heaven, and we are in him - right there, in Christ, in the heavenlies. His being there allows us to be there; now we too may draw near to God through him.

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God [the Father] through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25 ESV

When we take hold of that potential and draw near to the Father through Christ, then he can save us to the uttermost. To come to the Father is to get the complete package, all he has on offer, the uttermost salvation available. He stays there and always lives, so that this will always be available. His body, standing there for us is the key. He is the way to the Father not just because his death satisfied him at the cross. He Himself, there in the Father's presence, is actually the way to the Father as well.

When Jesus was speaking to Nathaniel, he claimed to be the stairway to heaven that Jacob saw in a dream centuries before.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” John 1:50-51

We respond to that by thinking of the veil that was torn as a result of his death. He died and opened the way, right? So he is the way to God. But Jesus claims more than that …

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. 
John 14:6

That verse is not referring to the Cross. He is speaking of us drawing near to the Father in his body as he sits at the Father’s right hand. To be there before the Father is to live in his house, but we live there in Him. He is the way and the life. And in John’s gospel he uses truth in two ways. One is as we expect: truth vs. lies or falsehood. The other meaning is interesting. It is a word that stands for a body of truth: for kingdom truth, spiritual truth or heavenly truth. He is not just the way and the life, but also the truth. As the stairway to heaven, and the means whereby we experience the Father’s dwelling he is the truth. Within his body is all the potential for spiritual experience we will ever desire.

Essentially, when we begin to value him seated in heavenly places and what that means for us, we begin to not just value his death and resurrection, but also his ascension as well. By his death he brought us forgiveness, and by his resurrection he set us free from bondage. Through his ascension he brings us to the Father’s house. Jesus says that he is the door.

I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9

His body is the door. We enter through him and as sheep we find not just salvation, but pasture as well. We are not just saved from Egypt, we enter the Promised Land. And it all happens through his body – On the cross, in the tomb, and seated in the heavenlies.

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh. Hebrews 10:20-21

The way by which we enter heaven is his flesh, his body. It is a new and living way to the Father. To go through that door is to open our spiritual eyes from within Christ as he is seated in heaven. His body is living…a living way into that place. He took his body through the veil first, so that we could follow him and have access through him. It is so different than what we first thought. We follow in his footsteps, not by trying to emulate him, but by following him through the veil.

Touched by Psalm 23

What is it about the 23^rd Psalm that gives it universal appeal? Somehow it lifts us from our circumstances to a place of escape. Most of us are accustomed to stepping outside to grab a coffee in the middle of a day of turmoil, or to taking in a gripping movie at the cinema when we have just a few too many worries. We escape … at least for a moment.

The truth is that escapism is a necessity in today’s world, and we want plenty of it. We just can’t keep up with the pace and demands of life. There is dissatisfaction everywhere. Day to day, my life and yours probably wouldn't be described as green pastures or quiet waters. Most of the time my house is anything but quiet, except for during the early morning hours. Our souls feel fatigued and dry, and fears overwhelm us. Often we are too busy trying to hold it all together to even think of having an overflowing cup. And then, those well-known words are heard and Christian and non-Christian alike are soothed.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

What is the power behind these words? Isn’t it the promise of heaven touching our lives? We are swept away by the strong tides of worldly cares. We wonder how we can make it to tomorrow, let alone face it. And then this psalm come as a divine beam of light that awakens hope within us.

In the Father’s house, we want for nothing.  There our hunger and thirst are sated at his plentiful table. We can escape to His house and have our souls restored. In fact, even if the shadow of death has fallen over our lives, we can retreat to His home, only to find that all fear is gone. In the heavenlies there is comfort in the worst of circumstances. There our cup overflows. There the welcome never ends.

I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

These words move us because we know they are true. They speak of a better place where you and I are welcome. The Father is waiting and watching for us to return. When will we grow weary with the tension, confusion and worry of the far country? When will we come home to find relief from a world in want?