A Godly View of the World

The new year of 2010 is now in full bloom. What it holds for the world’s population is anyone’s guess. Prognosticators, as usual, are having a field day trying to figure out what their crystal balls are telling them. Some point to a financial upturn while others point toward a gloomy financial future. There are also those who hear war drums beating in the halls of nations seeking world domination.

The guessing game will continue around the world and, especially for our concerns, here in America. The more one hears, through the TV tube, reads in the newsprint, or sees in blogs, that troubling days are ahead, the more despondent and fearful becomes society.

And there are those who are full of life, optimist by nature, who looks back upon history and determines that since America has always rebounded from near calamities, we shall see better days ahead. That too can be misleading. There are concerns in place today which haven’t ever been faced before. Standing at the head of the line is the moral decline of the nation’s people.

In the midst of all these uncertainties, Christians have the opportunity to live through anything that is hurled against this new year. Believers, who remembers what the scriptures teach God’s people, will be able to hold onto His hand and allow His guidance in the decisions that are to be made.

With all this bad stuff in our minds, I want to offer you some good news as you enter into this new year. David, in the 37th Psalm, wrote, “Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday”. If the children of God will hold onto the words of this scripture text, they will be ready to weather the storm of any dangers which comes our way.

There are only two points to emphasize. One is to commit and the second is to trust. Actually, these two can be reversed for a clear and concise understanding to what David is pointing out to those who read and hear his Psalm.

First, the word commit is an action word. It describes what should be done. The literal meaning of the Hebrew word is “to roll over onto”. That action can be understood with a physical example. Let’s say you have a large round rock. It is too heavy for you to move, so you back a trailer to the edge of the hill where upon it rests. You then roll the rock onto the weight bearing trailer and move the rock to a new location. You’ve actually rolled or moved the heavy object onto a foundation that could handle the weight.

That is precisely what the song writer is saying about one’s troubles. They are to be rolled over onto the weight bearing shoulders of the LORD. He is the solid foundation Who can carry the load and at the same time, guide the one rolling them over onto Himself.

Second, the word trust is a word of reliance. Christians have the assurance that since God has precisely fulfilled all His promises from the past until this very moment, they can rest assured that He will fulfill those promises which are yet unfulfilled.

The reason for writing that trust can come before committing is because in order to commit to something or to someone, there must be that element of trust. The trustworthiness of our God is beyond debate for the child of God. He has never failed to fulfill His promises.

The latter part of the Psalm is an interesting promise to those who commit their ways to Him and puts their trust in His faithfulness. “And He shall bring it to pass” (v. 5) refers to whatever it is that has been rolled over onto Him. He follows up this part of the text with “He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday” (v. 6). Space doesn’t allow a full examination of those words. So, the short version is, God will make everything right, just as light and noonday reveals clearly, so God will prove at long last one of these days that righteousness does prevail.

Remember the words of this Psalm and you will face the trials of a new year with victory instead of despondency and dread. May the Lord bless faithfulness in your life!

Sun, Jan 3rd - 10:38PM