The Lord watches over those who fear Him

Psalm 33:11, 18-23  (NLT)

But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; His intentions can never be shaken.  But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.  We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield.  In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.  Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in You alone. 

Reading and reflecting on these verses as well as reflecting on all of the Psalms in the Bible makes me agree with what William McDonald said about the them.  He said that if he were imprisoned or marooned and could only have one book of the Bible, he would choose the Psalms.  John Calvin wrote this about the Psalms:  “I may truly call this book an anatomy of all parts of the soul, for no one can feel a movement of the spirit that is not reflected in this mirror.  All the sorrows, troubles, fears, doubts, hopes, pains, perplexities and stormy outbreaks by which the hearts of men are tossed have been depicted here to the very life.”

Just look at the above verses again, carefully read them again.  Realize all the facets of life that they cover.  All of nouns above that John Calvin used to describe what the Psalms target are within these 7 verses.  Whatever you are facing in your life right now as you read this, do not these verses give you hope, comfort, and new resolve to keep your head up and face your challenges?  Are you not comforted by the reminders that the Lord is overall in control of everything, He is watching out over you if indeed you believe in Him, He rescues and sustains you, you can put your hope in Him, He will help you, He will protect you, He loves you.  Renewed realization of what the Lord promises to His followers should give you reasons to rejoice.  These are beautiful words to all of us dealing with pain and sorrow and fear and doubt and trouble and so on. 

Note that to experience relief, joy, hope, renewed optimism to face whatever you are facing in your life, you must trust in the Lord.  What does this really mean, that you must trust in the Lord?  It means to believe in and claim the promises of God in His Word.  It is not blind trust, it is trust based on studying—reading, meditating, questioning and praying over His Word—and concluding in a positive way, not in a resignation kind of way, that God’s Word is true and He will come through on what He has promised. 

Joyce Brothers said that the best proof of love is trust.  While the context of her quote was human relationships, this also is true of your relationship with God through Christ.  You say you love Him?  Then trust (and obey) Him.