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Tuesday Morning Epistles
Welcome to "Tuesday Mornings," a source of inspiration and
encouragement for Christians everywhere.
Noel ("Paul") Stookey was a popular vocalist and guitarist
of the Fifties and Sixties. He is the "Paul" of the
legendary folk trio, "Peter, Paul, and Mary." After the trio
disbanded and before they re-united in selected concerts a
couple of decades later, the college where I taught was
fortunate to have Noel do a one-night stand on campus to a
throng of college kids whose parents had seen or heard "PPM"
but who themselves had never heard the group in person. What
a night that was! Folk-music fans from Dallas to Kansas City
who had seen the concert notice in a trade publication drove
to campus to be part of the event. Paul sang many of the
favorites from years earlier, but he added a new one—"Turn
it Over." It was a parable of life from rural America. After
the days of Viet Nam protests had passed and America's taste
in music had turned from folk music to other things,
he moved his family to a farm in New England, and this song
was born. It is a story of how a farmer "turned over the
soil" to allow for new crops to grow each year.
The spiritual lesson of the song was clear. "When we reach
the end of our hoarded resources," as Annie Johnson Flint's
gospel song says, "Our Father's full giving is only begun."
But that "giving" requires that we "turn it over" to Him.
Here is a timely promise from Isaiah 43:1-3 (NIV).
"But now, this is what the Lord says--he who created
you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I
have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are
mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep
over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be
burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the
Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior ...'"
This week's "TM" is entitled, "Safe ... in the Hands of
God." It is based on the testimony of David in Psalm
31. Read on whenever you are ready. Then turn your troubles
over to the Lord, and watch him at work in your life.
Tom Barnard
A Senior Encourager
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Safe … in the Hands of God Tom Barnard
he times were not great for King David. He was sad. In Psalm 31 he expressed his frustration to the Lord. Some of the words he used to describe his situation were: trapped (v. 4); afflicted (v. 7); distressed (v. 9); anguish (v. 10a); weak (v. 10b); forgotten (v. 12); slandered (v. 13a); conspired against (v. 13b), and lied about (v. 18). It sounds like he had just received the worst job review of his life.
David did what we all can do when we receive bad news—he sang. He was not in denial. He was in pain. His psalm was a song of affirmation and confidence in God. He knew the source of his strength; it was the Lord God. He proclaimed (in verse 14),
“I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hands.”
In his sermon, “My Times Are in Thy Hand,” C.H. Spurgeon observed that “the Psalmist now stays himself upon a grand old doctrine, one of the most wonderful that was ever revealed to men … he had no fear as to his circumstances, since all things were in the divine hand.”
How comforting is that? Major, I would say. What “times” were included in David’s song? Take your pick; they all were there. They included his highs and lows … his health (or lack of it) … his family … his wealth (or lack of it) … his security (or lack of it) … his enemies … his friends and former friends … his supporters and those who conspired against him … the honorable and the wicked—virtually everything and everyone in his life were in the hands of God.
Apply David’s psalm to your life. Affirm that it is not fate or chance, but God who arranges for the events of your life to unfold. Declare that God is your rock and fortress. Commit all of your “times” to God. Pray the prayer that David prayed in verse 5—the same prayer that was voiced in part by Jesus when he was dying on the Cross:
“Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.”
Spurgeon continued, “If our lives were not appointed of heaven, we should wish they were. If there were no overruling Providence, we would crave for one. We would merge our own wills in the will of the great God and cry, ‘Not as we will, but as thou wilt.’ It would be a hideous thought to us if any one point of our life-story were left to chance, or to the frivolities of our own fancy; but with joyful hope we fall back upon the eternal foresight and the infallible wisdom of God, and cry, ‘Thou shalt choose our inheritance for us.’”
One of the great hymns written by William F. Lloyd sums up the thinking of the Psalmist:
My times are in Thy hand; My God, I wish them there; My life, my friends, my soul I leave—Entirely to Thy care.
My times are in Thy hand; Whatever they may be; Pleasing or painful, dark or bright—As best may seem to Thee.
My times are in Thy hand; Why should I doubt or fear? My Father’s hand will never cause—His child a needless tear.
My times are in Thy hand; Jesus, the crucified! Those hands my cruel sins had pierced—are now my guard and guide.
My times are in Thy hand, I’ll always trust in Thee; And, after death, at Thy right hand—I shall forever be.
Wherever you are in your pilgrimage with God, make this hymn-prayer yours. Beginning today. |