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Our Best Hope
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, I tell myself. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God even with my dying breath. Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When their breathing stops, they return to the earth, and in a moment all their plans come to an end. But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. Psalm 146:1-5
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What a great contrast this psalm articulates. It contrasts the faithfulness of God and the instability of people, his unchanging nature and our fickle, flighty nature, the insecurity of trusting in people and the security of trusting in God, the injustice of humanity and the justice of the Lord! God delivers the helpless, the oppressed, and the hungry. He frees prisoners and gives sight to the blind. This is the One in whom we are to put our confidence. The Lord who cares for orphans and widows and foreigners is our helper. He is the best hope for all those needing support and help, and he has the ultimate victory over the wicked. Powerful people can’t save us. People, no matter how influential, will die, and all their influence will go with them. But God’s authority and power remain throughout all generations. In him we have an eternal, unchangeable source of security. People will disappoint us. But if we put our hope in God, we’ll know real blessing and joy. Spend some time thanking God for how faithful and true he is. As you pray today, let this psalm fill you with confidence and hope.
Prayers:
DEAR LORD, forgive me for putting my confidence in people instead of in you. You made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. You are unchanging and all-powerful, and you give justice to the oppressed and help to those bent beneath their loads. You keep all your promises. I put my hope in you, and I praise you, Lord!
Quotes:
In God alone is there faithfulness and faith in the trust that we may hold to him, to his promise, and to his guidance. To hold to God is to rely on the fact that God is there for me, and to live in this certainty.
Karl Barth (1886–1968)
The One Year Bible Readings for today are: Zechariah 10:1–11:17; Revelation 18:1-24; Psalm 146:1-10 and Proverbs 30:33.
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