Ascribe to the Lord Glory and Strength ...

Monday, May 12, 2014. Who is mighty and just and full of faithfulness? Often, in our daily challenges, we look for the mighty guys who can order their area with wisdom and strength, with a supportive attitude. The leaders and bosses in our world, what character features do they have? What skills? Who does not want to be part of some nice group, where your work is not waisted but put into an effective structure which is successful and bears fruit.

The Lord is Powerful …

We are all human. We have skills and gifts, but also we have weaknesses and points which hurt us. So are our leaders (perhaps you are one of them). We are all not perfect, we all need support and guidance as well - just to make the right choices, to find the right words, to make the right decisions.

I believe that we really need the Lord himself. We need God in our life. We need his wisdom. We need his guidance. We need his help. And he is mighty to help. God has given everything to Jesus (see for example the long passage in Hebrews 2, where this is worked out in more detail). Everything - that includes all what exists, all what is, all what causes us worries and sleepless nights. All.

His salvation is mighty in our life. It has shown this might already, many times. And it will show itself in the middle of our current worries as well. He is mighty does not mean that he wants to destroy, but that he can help. He will find wise solutions. He will help us, since we truly need his help, day by day!

Glory to the Lord …

Let us read Psalm 96: 1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! 9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;1 tremble before him, all the earth! 10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.” 11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness. (Psalm 96)

We are called to rejoice. Perhaps you think now: I do not feel like that. I am even unsure about what type of help I can get. And I feel the same often. But also I have seen the mighty hand of the Lord, today. I have seen it to be just the same as it used to be in the past. Everything is put under his feet.

We are invited to believe. We are invited to trust the Lord. We are invited to give him our worries, and our fear, and our concern. Of course, we still work actively on our problems. But it is only him who can give blessing to our efforts. He can help, he can support, and he eagerly wants to be there for us. Let us ask him to help, and trust him that he will make things good. He will. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts