Psalm 131

Your suffering, by the gracious hand of the Holy Spirit, produces the good kind of humility. Arrogance is a bad disease. The defeat of that enemy can require strong medicine. There is no substitute for trusting the Lord. The righteous person lives by faith. When you turn away from the obedience of faith you sin.

The remedy for sin is repentance. By the grace that the Lord supplies, you can trust Him and obey Him.

We can make this all very complicated in our minds. What is the connection between God's sovereignty and our responsibility? Why did sin ever enter the world at all? Why did God create Satan? If I change, in what sense will it be God who was at work in me doing it? Won't my efforts at obedience have the danger that I might become arrogant about my improvement? Why have I received one set of suffering providences, and you have received another? Interesting questions...

Yes, we can make this very complicated in our minds, but that won't really help us. What is necessary is to lean on our heavenly Father in every providence. I will only have peace when I have stilled and quieted my soul, not with answers to every deep question I could wrestle with, but with the reality of Christ in me, the hope of glory.

Christ is the hope in me that brings healing. He is the answer of first importance.

The great Redeemer has come. He lived and He died. Every law I could not even figure out He has already fully obeyed. Every debt I could ever have with God, He has entirely paid through His death on the cross for me. When He rose from the dead it was a great victory for me. All of the Scriptures are about Him. He has all power and authority. He reigns from heaven as the great King over all. He prays to the Father for me, and my heavenly Father hears Him. He is coming again with the brightness of heavenly glory. I do not need to be afraid. He is the only answer that brings peace.

All of Israel should hope in the Lord and be saved. All the ends of the earth will see the saving power of God. The whole church will be filled with the joy that comes from resting in God forever. The whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God when He comes here again with His heaven.