Freedom For Today

“A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High. God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed. From the very break of day, God will protect it. The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts! The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.”

Revelation 22 has been one of my favorite Bible passages in the past year. It describes God’s coming kingdom, and it tells of a river flowing through the center of the city. Along the river, fruit trees grow. These are no ordinary trees — they contain medicine that will heal the nations. Today’s passage in Psalm 46 also tells about this river, running through a city that cannot be destroyed. It is a picture of a world where I would like to live.

These verses convey a world of chaos: kingdoms collapsing, the melting of earth. We are currently waiting for God to come in full force to defend his world and his people, ravaged by evil for too long. But God is not a destroyer, he is a healer. His river will restore the nations in chaos. The melting of the earth will be more like a refining than a terrorizing destruction. God’s river will heal the brokenness of our world and his new heaven and new earth will be a place we can thrive.

Here’s your freedom for today: God’s healing work is beyond your imagination. We have a lot of theories about heaven or the end days. Some of it comes from biblical passages, some is purely imagined. We do not know how God will restore, we simply know he will. We do not understand God’s new heaven and new earth, we only know that he is in the process of making them. If your heart is crying out for healing today, imagine yourself sitting by his river. Take a drink and let its supernatural medicine work its way deep into your soul. Then let go of this image, realizing that God’s healing work is even greater than anything you can imagine.

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!”

We continue our exploration of the psalms with Psalm 46. This song was written to be sung by women for the descendants of Korah. In college I sang a version of this song, and I can attest to the fact that there is something powerful about soprano voices declaring these words.

These verses feel like fighting verses. A sort of spiritual, “Do you want to challenge the God of Israel? Do you want to threaten his people?” There is a sense that we refuse to be intimidated by all of the enemy’s schemes. Satan is called the god of this world, and he has real power over things like the weather. He can bring about destruction through earthquakes and fierce storms. Here the psalmist says on our behalf, “Go ahead… Give us your best shot. We’re not backing down!”

Here’s your freedom for today: when Satan picks a fight with God’s people, he picks a fight with God. We have a role in opposing Satan, but his real conqueror is Jesus. Too often we think individually about the battles we face, but if we think about the world as a whole we see more clearly the spiritual battle of good versus evil playing out. You are caught in a war, but the only portion you can fight is the battle right around you. Don’t be afraid and do not back down, but also remember that this war is God’s to win and he has already overcome.

 

“The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken! Calamity will surely destroy the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished. But the Lord will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.”

Often when we read the Bible, it is tempting to look around at our current life situations and say, “This can’t be true! I am facing a lot of trouble right now even though I am doing my best to follow God!” In these moments, many lose heart and sometimes even lose their faith. God’s promises seem empty and powerless. I’ve broken a bone — why didn’t God stop that? Those who are struggling with depression or anxiety often feel this way and are sometimes stigmatized for having mental health symptoms. If God does not seem to be rescuing me, am I doing something wrong?

In these moments of doubt, we need to think bigger. In God’s kingdom, all those who have faith in Jesus are rescued every time. In his kingdom, there will be no broken bones or calamity or condemnation. The eternal perspective is the long view we need to understand the breadth of what God is doing in us and for us. We can claim these words: “The Lord will redeem those who serve him.” That is a guarantee.

Here’s your freedom for today: right now isn’t forever. Whatever you are going through, God is a co-participant with you. He cheers your victories and grieves your losses. He sees your tears and collects them in a bottle. He is in the process of rescuing you and the whole world. His kingdom is penetrating this world of darkness even now and will come in full force to finally overcome all evil and darkness. What you are experiencing right now isn’t going to last. Don’t be fooled by Satan’s lies that tell you you’ll never get past this trial or time of suffering. It will end, once and for all.

“The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”

Good versus evil. It’s one of the most commonly seen movie plots and has been in stories throughout the centuries. God makes it clear that he is on the side of those who do the right thing, but he stands in opposition to those who do evil. Yet we know from Romans 3 that we are all sinners and not one of us can be considered righteous. So before we go using today’s passage as a platform for thinking we are “good enough” for God, let’s take a deeper look.

Those who “do right” are later referred to as “his people,” and at the end of the passage we see the words “brokenhearted” and “those whose spirits are crushed.” All of these words describe the people God is going to stand with: the downtrodden, marginalized, victimized, broken and crushed people who are following God’s ways in spite of the way the world is treating them. And do you know who God opposes? Those who have done the oppressing, abusing, breaking and crushing. God has no place for this kind of evil.

Here’s your freedom for today: God sees you and is drawing close to you. Are you hurting today? Have you been harmed? Are you seeking comfort and protection from God? Then you can be certain he hears your prayers and is in the midst of rescuing you. If your heart is broken, God will mend it. Just hold still and keep doing what is right — in the end God will bring the justice you are longing for.

“Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord. Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.”

We just talked about fearing God in yesterday’s post — the sobering reality that without God we are completely without provision and hope. These verses give us even more of an understanding of what it means to fear God: stay away from evil.

Evil is a pretty loaded word that sounds scary and bad. But the one specific example we have in this passage is lying. We’ve probably all lied at some point in our lives, so we are desensitized by now. Lies are in the “evil” category, as are speaking about sinful things and engaging in anything that destroys peace. How do we avoid evil? Do good. God’s goodness is the model for who we can become.

Here’s your freedom for today: you have the opportunity to live in a different kind of world. Evil surrounds you, but you can turn away from it. Conflict and war are rampant here, yet we can search for peace and work to maintain it. God’s kingdom is real right now even as we continue to live in an evil-driven world. Do good today. Usher in God’s kingdom by bringing peace to those around you. Reject evil in every form as you do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God (see Micah 6:8).