Longing for Better Times
Scriptures for today include: Psalm 13, Daniel 8:15-27, and Hebrews 10:32-39. These words of Scripture remind us that trials and suffering are part of human events preceding the time when Christ will come again in his glory. The prophet Daniel sees a disturbing vision in Chapter 8, and the angel Gabriel helps him to understand it. “A king of bold countenance shall arise” and that king “without warning …shall destroy many and shall even rise up against the Prince of princes.” It sounds hopeless until we hear “But he shall be broken, and not by human hands.” So just when the forces of evil seem to be overwhelming the ones close to God, God intervenes and delivers his people from those misguided powers.
The writer of Hebrews, chapter 10, speaks of enduring suffering, persecution, and mistreatment, while extending compassion to those who also suffer or are imprisoned. What makes the listener take notice here is that the one enduring struggles and losses has already been blessed to know Jesus Christ as their Lord. The writer of Hebrews wants us to know that being blessed to know Jesus Christ comes with a confidence about the future. Such confidence gives one the ability to weather human hardship whatever it might be, because God’s promise of a future with him can’t be broken. When you read verse 39, you can see what faith does, it provides the spiritual strength to see the world through God’s continued hope for transformation and renewal. We are told that those without such confidence in Christ will shrink back and be lost in the midst of earthly trials, while those who keep the faith will be saved.
As human beings we, by nature, long for better times. We remember the blessings we have been given, over the years, through family, friends, coworkers, and through our brothers and sisters of the faith. The writer of Psalm 13, speaks of times of apparent separation from God’s presence or God’s favor, “How long, O Lord? will you forget me forever? Four times the psalmist pleads for God to rethink his seemingly distant relationship with him or her by saying “how long.” Doubtless many of us have felt at one time or another an apparent absence of God. But was it God or something about us or the way we were feeling or thinking that made our relationship feel strained or distant? We may never know, but here in Psalm 13, we understand that such moments, when we do experience them, can lead us to grow as Christians. As Christians we know faith as a mystery, being given to us by the gift of the Holy Spirit and something honed and sharpened by life experiences, but more importantly, lived with the confidence of Jesus Christ as our Lord. With the faith of Jesus in our heart we can understand how after a time of longing for God, we too can know God’s presence again in its fullness. Whether it is poor health, the loss of a loved one due to death or the tragedy of divorce, or unforeseen events, we have the confidence of knowing that God is faithful and never far away from our pleas for help. In the confidence of our knowing Jesus Christ as Lord, we can say like the psalmist: “But I trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.”
May you know the confidence of God’s love in Jesus Christ today. This powerful love can turn us toward God and help us endure whatever might come to us as trials in this lfe. This powerful love speaks hope and the promise of resurrection to anyone who believes. Amen.
God’s peace to you,
Pastor Jim Paulson
