Glory Seed Devotional’s, 2017: Anticipating and Experiencing God...
“My only hope is in You.”
Shalom!
In Psalm 39 the Psalmist slices us off a piece of humble pie. "LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to You; at best, each of us is but a breath. We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in You.” (Psalms 39:4-7 NLT)
While it’s true there are times when we do need a reality check and discover wherein our Hope is anchored to by eating a slice of humble pie. On the surface, it seems as if the Psalmist is writing an epitaph however it if far from being an epitaph instead he is using the first 86 words to illustrate and promote the last 6 words, “My only Hope is in You.” I am sure you’ve heard the phrase “You can’t take it with you,” in reference to what we accumulate in life as humorous as it is used when used in its entirety there is an important truth. “You can’t take it with you, but what you accumulate in life can impact you in the hereafter.” Jesus used the following parable to illustrate the point I am trying to make.
“At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man's table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. "Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side. "The rich man shouted, 'Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.' "But Abraham said to him, 'Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.'” (Luke 16:20-26 NLT)
In our day and age, there is a tendency to condemn those who are considered rich, however we cannot put every rich person in one “basket” because it is not a person’s wealth that is a problem instead it is wherein they put their hope, dependency, and how they use their wealth.
“May God be merciful and bless us. May his face smile with favor on us.” **
Grace and PEACE,
Gary
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“Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.”
**Psalm 67:1, New Living Translation
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