Psalm 40

Compared to the scope of eternity, our lives now are very brief, just a mist that soon vanishes. Yet to the grieving soul, the thought of fifty more years of tears is hard to take. We wait patiently for the Lord, sort of, and God hears our cries. The Almighty brings us up from a pit that has no exit, and He places us on a solid rock. The Lord who will wipe away the tears of His servants gives our troubled souls a new song of praise. All of that helps.

Fifty more years of tears... Yes, but also fifty more years of earthly service, and a worshiper's labors are not in vain. We can expect that many will see our quiet lives of faithful adversity, and they will also trust in the Lord.

Anyway, what is the alternative to trusting the Lord and living faithfully for him? Will the tears go away if we give ourselves over to despair and bitterness. There is nothing good in that choice. Any pathway of sin will certainly not heal a bad heart wound.

We will end up trusting in someone or something. Shall we turn to the proud and trust in them? We would soon grow sick of the lies of those who reject the Author of truth. To trust in God is to believe the truth. No one can compare with Him. He is the Lord of power and love.

When Christ came as the answer to our deepest needs, He did all that God required for the achievement of our salvation. He provided that obedience that was so much more than a religious and ceremonial achievement. He had a ready ear for all that His Father said. His story was and is the theme of the Scriptures. He did not come to offer the blood of bulls and goats from burnt offerings and sin offerings as if God were waiting for someone to do the Levitical system with exact precision, and then He would be happy. God did not want burnt offerings. He wanted His Son to offer up the life of true perfection that those animals symbolized. He did not want a man to kill sin offerings. He wanted a man without sin who could put sin to death. This was Jesus' great delight: to do the will of God.

The Word of His unparalleled achievements of obedience has reached the great congregation of men and angels in heaven. Jesus Himself has come into the sanctuary there to declare the good news of His holy achievement of our salvation. Even upon the earth, the glad reports are circulating everywhere. Our deliverance has been accomplished through the one Man who became the true Lamb of God.

The coming of Jesus, and His offering of Himself as the perfect sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, is not only a great testimony to the faithfulness and love of the Son of God. It also speaks gloriously of the Father's love, for He gave His only-begotten Son for our sake. This message of the Father's love is well known today in both the heavenly and earthly congregations that worship the Lord God Almighty.

The mercy of God has been extended to us through the one Man of obedience. His death and resurrection are a powerful display of His Father's commitment to His own unchanging and eternal purpose, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. This is why we are not consumed by the wrath of God. Christ has become for us the steadfast love and faithfulness of God. We are united with Him. We have the Father's love and grace in Jesus.

Yet still those fifty years may remain, whether we consider them to be far too brief or intolerably long. One day we may think that we are napping for just a moment, and we will open our eyes in the land of glory. Some few will mourn over what has become of us, but our struggle will be over.

Until then, evil seems to be everywhere. We need to love people who do not respect us, and who bring us grief and disappointment. Our own sin is alarming. We bring trouble upon ourselves and annoyance to others who love us because we waste so much timing judging them uncharitably, and boasting about ourselves, and about a tomorrow of earthly success that is far beyond our capacities to deliver. We're swimming in sin.

The best thing that we can do is to to come back to the Almighty King who saved us. He delivered us out of hell. He can also help us to make the best use of our remaining years of trouble, because the days are not only evil, but few. Opportunities for love abound. We should not waste the time that we have.

During these years of waiting, trusting, and serving, there may be some who keep us awake by their attempts to destroy any good work that we might accomplish. God will certainly put them to shame one day, but then, that is much more His business than it is ours. They are making a wretched choice in trying to stop what can never be defeated. We will fail every time, but God's work will prevail.

When the earth is renewed in the coming day of glory, it will be well known to all that our fifty or so years of grief were not really wasted. Some good things that seemed to amount to nothing back in the day of despair, will be found to have been sent ahead to that place where the redeemed see with their eyes that their labor in the Lord was not in vain.

Until that day of sight, we walk by faith. We wait, and we seek God. We cry, but we also love our salvation, and say continually, “Great is the Lord!” We are nobody special to people who seem to be somebody. We are dismissed as failures, cast aside with the poor and the needy. But Christ has us in mind, and He will not forget us when He comes to reward those who wait patiently for Him, hearing His Word, and serving others with quiet love.