June | 2018 | Pedestrian God

Because of God’s Faithful Love

Jun 27 2018

In Psalm 6, David cries out to God for mercy. Actually, he’s begging for mercy. He’s crying out that he is weak, his bones are shaking, and his whole being is shaken with terror.

In verse four, he begs, “Turn, Lord! Rescue me; save me because of your faithful love.”

This cry is a strong reminder of David’s understanding of the Lord’s faithfulness. He doesn’t ask the Lord to rescue him so that he, David, could escape his pain and fear. He doesn’t ask for rescue because of how many tremendous battles victories he had won.

He asks for rescuing based solely on the fact that God’s love is faithful.

David knows that God would keep His promise. He also knows that he, David, is unworthy. There’s nothing that he had done or could promise to do that would change God’s plan.

We should approach God in prayer the same way. When we are in distress, we should turn to God – not to worldly comforts like food, entertainment, or relationships.

Don’t be afraid to cry out to God. Tell Him exactly how you feel. And say out loud that you trust that He will be true to His faithful love.

Living Sacrifice

Jun 05 2018

Romans 12:1 tells us to present our bodies as a “living sacrifice.” Now that’s a great example of an oxymoron! An oxymoron is a grammar term where two completely opposite terms are brought together in one phrase.

My favorite example of an oxymoron is “jumbo shrimp.” Some other great examples are “deafening silence,” “alone together,” and “found missing.”

Enough of that grammar rabbit trail. Back to “living sacrifice.” A sacrifice requires a killing. So how do we have a “living sacrifice?”

An excerpt from Elisabeth Eliott’s book, Through the Gates of Splendor gives us some thoughts on the subject. She tells us that Jim “limited his extracurricular activities, fearing that he might become occupied in nonessentials and miss the essentials of life…he did, however, go out for wrestling…[explaining] … I wrestle solely for the strength and co-ordination of muscle tone that the body receives while working out, with the ultimate end that of presenting a more useful body as a living sacrifice.”

As Christians, we are to have this same radical mindset. No matter what we do – even if it’s wrestling – we do it to glorify God.

We use our bodies to better serve Him. We take care of it so that it will be ready to obey whatever He calls us to do.

Being a “living sacrifice” is a difficult way to live life. It’s completely against the selfish culture that we live in. But it’s the life that God has called us to live. We can know with confidence that He will equip and guide us along the way.

Archive - June 2018

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