God Alone
Psalm 62:5-12
"For God alone my soul waits...
He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken...
On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is God." (Psalm 62:5-7)
We put our hope, our trust, our comfort (security) in so many things in this life today. And many of those things are good things... needed things.
I mean... we’ve been told repeatedly, “trust the science” - but science falls short and can’t possibly offer all the answers. Trust the technology... but technology frustrates. Trust our families… our jobs… our friends… our church… maybe, even, our pastor. We even trust the government/politics – even when we claim otherwise – because the proof of trust is always in action. Who do we call on to fix everything that’s wrong in our society today? The Government! I mean, we tell ourselves… if we’d just elect the right person… the right party… the right philosophy… the right platform… everything will be alright! It’s what we often say!
But it’s not what God’s Word says.
The psalmist realized something simple, yet profound. And he calls all who will listen… to put their trust in God. Not in people… not in politics… not even in the Church! The fragility of this life, the temporal nature of everything around us... serves to remind us that everything we have, everything we love and cherish, is perishable. It’s finite. Only God is eternal - God alone is our Rock that cannot be shaken.
Of course, the Psalmist is right... as followers of Christ and Children of God we should "Trust in God at all times," and "pour out" our hearts "before him;" for "God is a refuge for us." (Psalm 62:8) The question is “how?” How do we effectually put our trust in God alone? How do we follow the Psalmist's advice and wait for God alone?
The only way I know is though faithful disciplines. We need to make disciplines of faith a part of our daily lives.
Things like worship, prayer and mediation, Bible study, scripture reading, devotional reading, fasting... They are practices that open our hearts to hear, see, and experience the presence of God in our lives. They’re ways of intentionally pausing our daily routines to focus our thoughts on God; and his grace poured out in our lives through Christ… grace, upon grace already given.
Of course, I’ve heard people say things like, “I can be a good Christian without coming to church” or attending bible study, or fellowship... or whatever.
D. L. Moody was visiting a prominent Chicago citizen when the idea of church membership and the spiritual discipline of corporate worship came up. “I believe I can be just as good a Christian outside the church as I can be inside it,” the man said. Moody said nothing. Instead, he moved to the fireplace, blazing against the cold winter outside, he took the tongs and removed one burning coal from the fire, and placed it on the hearth by itself. The two men sat together and watched the ember die out. After a few moments of silence, the man simply said, “I see.”
The psalmist said, "For God alone my soul waits..." To wait, in a Biblical sense, is to long for… to desire that which we need most... and to long after God means you and I will strive after the things that build-up NOT ONLY our understanding of God, and knowledge about God... but we’ll long for God Himself. His presence. His power. His will and ways. His people! And we do that by fostering a relationship with our Creator… as we accept and mature in God’s offer of abundant life in Jesus Christ.
We do it in unison... together... in covenant... as a communion... a fellowship... the Body of Christ. NOT as solo artists, going it alone.
Remember: NO GIFTING is less important than any other gifting of the Spirit. And no single person possesses every gifting! My shortcomings are enhanced by your strengths! We need each other... I need you and you need me, to be the people Christ has called us to be.
What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for a prince or princess in shining armor to come and take you away from all this? Are you waiting for your ship to come in and make you rich? Are you waiting for the rest of the world to realize how wonderful and talented you are so that they can make you famous?
Well, you will be waiting a long time. As for me I will take the Psalmist's advice. For God alone I will wait... Because He is our rock.
Would you care to wait with me?
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