Readings for today: Deuteronomy 9-10, Luke 8:4-21, Psalms 69:19-36, Proverbs 12:2-3
“When the humble see their salvation they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.” (Psalms 69:32)
The great faithfulness of God should elicit humility in our hearts. When we come face to face with God’s greatness. God’s righteousness. God’s holiness. God’s unconditional love and grace. We should fall to our knees in gratitude and thanksgiving. We know ourselves. We know our sins. We know we are not perfect. We know our struggles. We know what we’ve suffered. We know the choices we make. We know the ways we’ve treated others or failed to reach out to those in need. We are a broken people. Our history is a tragic one.
God’s Word is clear. It is not because of our righteousness that God saves. It’s not because of our goodness that God delivers. It is not because we are better than anyone else that God reaches down to us. God’s love comes to us in the depths of the darkness of our condition and lights the way. God’s grace is unmerited. It cannot be earned or achieved no matter how hard we work. It cannot be bought no matter how much we give. God’s favor is not something we can ever lay hold of in our own strength no matter how hard we try. It simply comes to us as an act of unconditional love.
This was true for Israel as much as it is true for us. Not your righteousness. Not your righteousness. Not your righteousness. Over and over again like a refrain. God making it clear He is not acting on their behalf because they are good. In fact, it’s the opposite. They are stubborn and sinful and prone to wander. Just like us. No, God acts purely out of love and this should humble us deeply. It should set us free to be honest with ourselves and one another. To acknowledge our fears and our failures. To be transparent about our doubts and struggles and heartaches. Our relationship with God through Christ provides a secure foundation on which we can build our broken lives.
Pride lies at the root of every sin. Pride warps our view of ourselves and others. Warps our view of the world around us. Makes us think wrong is right and right is wrong. Pride makes us think down is up and up is down. Pride exchanges the truth of God for a lie and we see the results all around us. Our world is suffering. Depression. Anxiety. Fear. Suicide. Substance abuse. Divorce. Sexual promiscuity is destroying relationships as well as contributing to the rise of STD’s. It’s like humanity has made a covenant with death. This is breaks God’s heart. It is not what He intends. So He reaches down to save us from ourselves. Lift us out of the holes we dig for ourselves. Set us free from the prison we find ourselves in. Praise be to God for His great faithfulness and love!
Readings for tomorrow: Deuteronomy 11-12, Luke 8:22-39, Psalms 70, Proverbs 12:4