Misplaced hope

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”  Psalm 43:5

Let’s face it: we’re nervous, aren't we?  Fearful, even.  Petrified, anyone?

Ebola, a horrific disease, is no longer merely someone else’s concern.  It’s here.  It’s our problem now.

ISIS gains strength, numbers, financing and territory while the respective “leaders” of the world wait for someone else to lead the opposition.

A cyber attack from Russia nets 1.2 billion internet credentials, including usernames and passwords of businesses and individuals, while China relentlessly chips away at our national security, hacking into not only the US government but also the private companies on which it relies for support.

Freedom-suppressing nations expand their oppressive reach, unchecked by democracies that proclaim liberty as a human right.

We’ve seen a whole lot of change, but not the kind we want.  And as for hope ...

... maybe that’s our problem.  Maybe our hope has drifted.  Better yet, maybe our misplaced hope has been exposed!

Maybe we’ve taken all the credit for our country’s past successes, instead of thanking and glorifying God for his protection and provision.  Maybe we’ve venerated “the human spirit” to the point of decoupling “In God” from “we trust.”  Maybe “how we feel” isn’t the final arbiter of truth, after all!  Maybe we’re seeing what happens when we chase God out of our classrooms and our courtrooms.  It’s not pretty.  Not pretty at all.

God is faithful.  He loves us.  But when his people reject him – or worse, purge him – from every vestige of public life, he leaves us to our choice.  Moreover, he is right when he judges us.

God will emerge from our rebellion unchanged.  And he will be glorified, both in his judgments and in our repentance.  We see glimpses of his judgment now, and we will see more than we want to see.  But God will return us to a point at which we have no choice but to trust him.  For with his judgment comes a merciful clarity that brings us to our senses ... and from our senses to our knees.

As one people in Christ, let us stand together, kneel together, intercede together.  Let us praise his name, for he is good.  And let us put our hope in God.

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”  Psalm 43:5

[To see the daily reading, Psalm 43, click here.]