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A Contrast: God’s Faithful Love and Human Leadership

A Contrast: God’s Faithful Love and Human Leadership

Last updated on: August 21, 2024 at 10:50 am by Rick Rice

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A Contrast: God’s Faithful Love and Human Leadership 2024-08-21T10:50:01-04:00 Rick Rice

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God’s faithful love lasts forever. Would-be human leaders try to scare us into following them. Psalm 118 says, “It’s far better to take refuge in the Lord!”

Scripture:

Psalm 118; Jeremiah chapters 21, 24, 27; 1 John, chapter 2

Psalm 118:5-9 (CEB):

In tight circumstances, I cried out to the Lord. The Lord answered me with wide-open spaces. The Lord is for me – I won’t be afraid. What can anyone do to me? The Lord is for me – as my helper. I look in victory on those who hate me. It’s far better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust any human. It’s far better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust any human leader.

Observations: Take Refuge in the Lord

Most Christians are familiar with Psalm 118 because of a passage at the end of the psalm. Verses 22-23 say, “The stone rejected by the builders is now the main foundation stone! This has happened because of the Lord; it is astounding in our sight.” Jesus applied this passage to Himself in His discussion with the religious leaders (Matthew 21:42 and parallel passages). Peter also used it to describe Jesus in both his speaking (Acts 4:11-12) and his correspondence (1 Peter 2:4-8). Psalm 118:24 is also familiar: “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

But I’m focusing on an earlier part of Psalm 118 today, verses 5-9. That may be because we’re in the midst of yet another election season. Everywhere we look, we see warnings of the doom that will happen if one or the other candidates wins. When we turn on our TVs and radios, we hear advertisements telling us that the future of our country is at stake. Very few of these messages actually tell us anything specific that the candidates will do; everything focuses on the danger of the ”other side.”

Surrounded by these doomsday prophecies, let us hear the word of the Lord: It’s far better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust any human. It’s far better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust any human leader. Why? Because human beings are finite, limited in understanding and power. Politicians promise to do all kinds of things, but they cannot deliver because they don’t have the power to do them. (At least in our system of checks and balances; dictators may have the power to do things, but they also don’t make promises in the first place.)

“His Faithful Love Lasts Forever”

We can trust God, because He has proven Himself to us throughout time. He did not have to reveal Himself to us, but He has done so – first through his prophets and messengers, and now through His Son Jesus (see Hebrews 1:1-2). Scripture is full of prophecies which God issued and then fulfilled, but even that is not the most compelling evidence for His faithfulness:

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life” (John 3:16).
“But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

God created us to be in relationship with Him. When sin estranged us from God (see my post, “The Harsh Reality: How Sin Separates Us from God”), God bridged the gap to reconcile us to Himself. His faithful love lasts forever!

Application: God’s Faithful Love Lasts Forever

Psalm 118 opens by repeating this phrase four times: his faithful love lasts forever. “Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good, because his faithful love lasts forever. Let Israel say it…Let the house of Aaron say it…Let those who honor the Lord say it…” (Psalm 118:1-4). That’s why we trust in the Lord rather than in any human leader – because the Lord is good!

One of the challenges that believers face is “proving” that God’s Word is true. In truth, the greatest proof is found in human transformation. Our arguments cannot break through the walls that people build. We cannot soften stony hearts; only God can do that. Jesus says in John 16 that the Holy Spirit will convince people of the truth regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment. We’re not the prosecutors who present God’s case; we’re supposed to be the evidence.

John touches on this in our reading from 1 John 2 today. If we know Him – if what we say about God is true – we will:

Keep His commandments (1 John 2:3).
Keep His word (1 John 2:5).
Live in the same way as He lived (1 John 2:6).
Love our brothers and sisters (1 John 2:10)
Remain in relationship to the Son and the Father (1 John 2:24)

Light and Darkness

John uses the imagery of light and darkness in 1 John, just as in his Gospel. “If we live in the light in the same way that he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin” (1 John 1:7). On the other hand:

“The one who claims to be in the light while hating a brother or sister is in the darkness even now” (1 John 2:9).
“But the person who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and lives in the darkness, and doesn’t know where to go because the darkness blinds the eyes” (1 John 2:11).

If we live as Jesus lived, and love as He commanded us to love, that is the greatest proof of the truth of the gospel. People can’t do that unless God has transformed them! We can trust in God, because He has proven Himself true – His faithful love lasts forever!

Prayer:

Father, thank you for reminding us that we can trust in You. You have proven Yourself true to us; it is far better to trust You than any human leader. Help us to live so that others can see Your faithful love at work in us and through us. Amen.

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