We put our hope in the Lord
Psalm 33:12-22
View commentary related to this passage
12 What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. 13 The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. 14 From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. 15 He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. 16 The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. 17 Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory for all its strength, it cannot save you. 18 But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. 19 He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.
20 We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.
New Living Translation (NLT)
When facing hardship we may think, "I just can't hold out." We may convince ourselves that, to expect someone to continue under our circumstances without sinning, would be expecting the impossible. So we may justify ourselves for disobeying God. But consider the Bible teaching that we can endure.
Bible Promises
1 Corinthians 10:13 - God will not allow you to face a temptation that is beyond your ability to endure. Every temptation will be accompanied by a way of escape so you can endure it.
This means we can endure every trial without sinning. If you think you "can't do" what God said to do, or if you ever justify disobeying God, you have believed the Devil's lie. What we need to do is to quit looking for excuses and look instead for the way of escape!
Psalm 34:19 - "Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all." God may not remove all the afflictions, but He makes sure we are able to endure them faithfully - all of them.
Romans 8:35-39 - No temptation or trial can separate us from God. In them all, we are "more than conquerors." If we endured the temptation without sinning, we would just be "conquerors." But we are more than conquerors because the problem can actually make us better people. (See also 1 Pet. 5:8,9; James 4:7; Eph. 6:10-18; Prov. 24:10.)
Bible Examples
Not only does the Bible promise that we can endure faithfully, it gives us examples of many people who DID so. If they did, we can too.
James 5:10,11 - Job and Old Testament prophets are our examples of suffering. Have we suffered as much as Job? Surely not. Yet he remained faithful and so can we.
2 Timothy 1:8 - Paul suffered great hardship for the Lord, and we should share in those sufferings. If he endured without falling away, we can too. He is the example we should imitate (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Hebrews 12:1-4 - Jesus (and faithful Old Testament characters) are witnesses to what we can do under trying circumstances. Our temptations are no worse than theirs. All these examples show that God will keep His promises to help His people endure faithfully. (1 Pet. 2:19-23)
View commentary related to this passage
12 What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. 13 The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. 14 From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. 15 He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. 16 The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. 17 Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory for all its strength, it cannot save you. 18 But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. 19 He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.
20 We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.
New Living Translation (NLT)
When facing hardship we may think, "I just can't hold out." We may convince ourselves that, to expect someone to continue under our circumstances without sinning, would be expecting the impossible. So we may justify ourselves for disobeying God. But consider the Bible teaching that we can endure.
Bible Promises
1 Corinthians 10:13 - God will not allow you to face a temptation that is beyond your ability to endure. Every temptation will be accompanied by a way of escape so you can endure it.
This means we can endure every trial without sinning. If you think you "can't do" what God said to do, or if you ever justify disobeying God, you have believed the Devil's lie. What we need to do is to quit looking for excuses and look instead for the way of escape!
Psalm 34:19 - "Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all." God may not remove all the afflictions, but He makes sure we are able to endure them faithfully - all of them.
Romans 8:35-39 - No temptation or trial can separate us from God. In them all, we are "more than conquerors." If we endured the temptation without sinning, we would just be "conquerors." But we are more than conquerors because the problem can actually make us better people. (See also 1 Pet. 5:8,9; James 4:7; Eph. 6:10-18; Prov. 24:10.)
Bible Examples
Not only does the Bible promise that we can endure faithfully, it gives us examples of many people who DID so. If they did, we can too.
James 5:10,11 - Job and Old Testament prophets are our examples of suffering. Have we suffered as much as Job? Surely not. Yet he remained faithful and so can we.
2 Timothy 1:8 - Paul suffered great hardship for the Lord, and we should share in those sufferings. If he endured without falling away, we can too. He is the example we should imitate (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Hebrews 12:1-4 - Jesus (and faithful Old Testament characters) are witnesses to what we can do under trying circumstances. Our temptations are no worse than theirs. All these examples show that God will keep His promises to help His people endure faithfully. (1 Pet. 2:19-23)
posted by Michael A. Redwine at Monday, February 12, 2007
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