GOD HAS AN ETERNAL PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES!

THANK GOD THAT HE DEALS WITH US ACCORDING TO HIS LOVE!

Psalm 119:121-128

I have done what is just and right;

do not leave me to my oppressors.

Give your servant a pledge of good;

let not the insolent oppress me.

My eyes long for your salvation

and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.

Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,

and teach me your statutes.

I am your servant; give me understanding,

that I may know your testimonies!

It is time for the LORD to act,

for your law has been broken.

Therefore I love your commandments

above gold, above fine gold.

Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;

I hate every false way.

The psalmist is again asking God to come to his rescue. He is dealing with oppressors and insolent men. He is totally dependent on God to find help and to show him reprieve. He knows the promises of God and is willing to wait for God’s timing. He expects God to act by coming to his rescue.

I love his humility, that although he claims to have done what is just and right, he yet asks God to deal with him according to His steadfast love. There are never times when we can go to God and demand anything. Any kindness in dealing with man on the part of God is always because of His immeasurable grace and love.

Ephesians 1:3-12

        Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

        In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

We live our lives, knowing that we have been blessed already. The love of God for us was initiated by God, Himself, before we could even ask for it. His work in us is a tribute to His glory and grace. The cost for such love was immeasurable: the death of Jesus Christ. He received the full wrath that we deserved, and because of His work, we may have the forgiveness of our sins.

The world around us behaves according to nature, and only because of God’s gracious work in our lives can we know and understand the work of God and the Word of God.

The psalmist is asking for understanding, realizing the same way we do, that if we have any understanding, it is the gift of God in our lives.

God has a purpose and a time for all things that happen on earth. He knows exactly when and how long to permit the difficulties we deal with in our lives.

As I deal with the ungodly behavior of some people in my life, I need to remember that even this is being allowed by God for my benefit. There is no doubt that I would much rather they stopped, but I also have no doubt that God will not allow it to last a minute longer than He wants, nor a minute short of its benefit that He intends. God is continually working in our lives to conform us to His Son, and to loosen our grip on material things.

I watch even professing believers, driven by money, who are also encouraging others to set their goals on earthly possessions. Our love should be for God’s Word, that produces in us heavenly goals and heavenly endeavors.

The writer knows that left to himself, his evaluations will very likely be wrong, and  thus he has decided to hate what is wrong.

May God help us to be driven by heavenly goals, and not by earthly ones. We should love to see God working in us, because His work is always motivated by His great love, set upon us from eternity past.