How are you? How is your week going?
Around three years ago, Huffington Post posted an article, entitled “25 Truths About Life We All Need to Remember.” Here are some of the “truths”:
“You need to love and accept yourself unconditionally.”
“The world is a reflection of your dominant thoughts.”
“Your capacity to love is unlimited.”
“Life is overflowing with beauty and blessings.”
“Your intention is what matters most.”
“The more you give thanks, the more good things flow to you.”
“When you want something, the Universe conspires on your behalf.”
“When you follow your heart, life is effortless.”
“Happiness is a choice.”
The author desires for us to speak these “truths” to ourselves constantly. They should make us feel “good and happy.” While some of these statements have truth in them, most of them are completely WRONG! They do not properly reflect the reality of this world, and they are not found in the truth of God’s word.
Ask the Psalmist of Psalm 42. He would not say that “life is overflowing with beauty and blessings.” He would completely disagree with the sayings, “When you follow your heart, life is effortless” and “Happiness is a choice.”
He’s in the face of turmoil and hardship. He’s thirsting after God alone, and He feels so separated from Him and His people. Life is not filled with skies of blue and clouds of white. The weather can be overcast at times. There will be harsh storms during some seasons. We are broken people with broken relationships in a broken world.
So what does the Psalmist want us to preach to ourselves instead?
“Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation (of my face) and my God.” -Psalm 42:5b,11b
We can have hope, because we have Christ. We can satisfy our thirst, because we can drink from Christ, the Living Water. We will never thirst again, because Christ thirsted once and for all for us. We can be restored to God and can never be separated from His love, because Christ was completely separated from the Father on the cross. We can have God be the salvation of our face, because God turned His face away from Christ on the cross.
As pastors have said in the past, “Most of our troubles come when we listen to ourselves rather than preach the truth to ourselves.” May we constantly preach to ourselves the Psalmist’s hope which is found in Christ.
Have a blessed rest of your week! See you all on Sunday! Pray for our worship and pray for one another!
In Christ,
Pastor Tim
Image source: www.moma.org