Psalm 52

Frantic.

It is so easy to have a lifestyle of anxiety and worry. We can wake up in the morning and be filled with thoughts of what is wrong. The night will eventually come again, but there is no immediate resolution to our troubles. We shuffle off to bed and wonder whether real joy will ever return.

The worshiper of the Lord is not guaranteed insulation from every trial in this life. Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation.” But then He added, “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”

The troubles we face can seem overwhelming. The psalmist writes, “Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?” A powerful individual may stand against the Lord's servant. Or is the enemy that seems so strong a disease, a spirit, an idea, or a lost nation or way of life?

Where can the worshiper of God find solid ground? “The steadfast love of God endures all the day.”

When we remember the covenant-keeping love of the Lord, we find hope again, and true power for living. God has written your name before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. See Revelation 13:8. In the fullness of time Jesus came to do all righteousness for your sake, and then to die for your sins. Your resurrected Lord is over all people and systems of power, and he will transform your lowly body to be like his glorious body. This is the promise-keeping love of the Lord for you.

This does not mean that the problems that you face are imaginary. They are quite real. But they must be considered accurately. They are no match for the steadfast love of the Lord.

A powerful enemy may be speaking against you quite openly, even plotting your destruction. His words come to your ears. They cut like a sharp razor. But God's promises can heal the wound. He is the God of truth, and he will eventually defeat every worker of deceit, every false report, every system built on half truths and lies. Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The worker of deceit that stands against the Lord and His Christ loves evil more than good. He loves lying more than speaking what is right. He loves all words that devour, But his deceitful tongue is no match for the steadfast love of Jesus Christ for you.

Angels and men may make their proud boasts and their murderous threats, but there will be a limit to what they can accomplish. They will reach some wall of time or space. Their voices will not be heard forever. They will not be able to overturn the eternal purpose of God who long ago decreed to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. The day is swiftly approaching when the glory of the Lord's reunited and victorious kingdom will be known and experienced by every one of His suffering servants.

On that day, the Lord will judge those who have plotted against His people, assaulting them with words and hands. The Lord's enemies will be far away from the fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven.

This victory is already experienced by those in the present heavens, and even by those on earth who wait upon the Lord and see His love in action for them according to His own mysterious will. One day all the righteous in Christ will see with their eyes what they already can believe in their hearts. They will fear the Lord all the more for His glorious judgments, but they will also join the Lord and His Christ in their laughter at proud adversaries who thought that they could overturn the power of the love of the Lord for His people.

They will say, “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches!” During his brief moment of power and glory, he used his wealth to assault the Lord's beloved servants. He felt safety in the shelter of his murderous plots against the innocent. But now his end has come.

Won't you consider today the steadfast love of the Lord for you in the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ? Won't you meditate upon His ascension power, and the glory of His eternal plan? If you will do this, you will find a present powerful help for your vexed soul. Consider how fruitful you are in Jesus who is already reigning in the heavens. He is the vine, and you are one of the branches. His plan for you is very good. You are like a green olive tree in the house of God forever. You can trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.

Consider the good plan of Christ to be what it really is; sure and accomplished, and begin right now to thank Him. He has done it! This will help you to wait patiently and joyfully for the voice of God's encouragement and the glory of His Name.

You don't need to be frantic. “The steadfast love of God endures all the day.”