(Read 1 Peter 1)
Being disappointed in something insignificant is hurtful, but experiencing the same from something we cherish can shatter our whole world. I went through this on a few occasions recently, and I did something I never would have done ten years ago — I turned to God.
We place so much value in things they become iconic. Things like work, money, and accomplishments all too often take the place of the only thing, the only one who really matters. As a professional who provides creative services, I know that I put way too much personal weight on things that I create. In my shallow mind, they are extensions of me, so therefore, they are me. When I take the time to pray and reflect, I’m reminded that they are just things. Worship the Creator, not the created, I learn.
I remember writing something a while back that my wife absolutely loved. It’s not life or death, what others think of me or my work, but those feelings do creep into my head. What mattered wasn’t a lack of feedback I received from anyone else; that was irrelevant —the only opinion that mattered was my wife’s. I placed my hopes and values in her validation. Being accepted by her meant everything. This is how we should feel in our relationship with God. My wife’s approval was just a slight hint of what it’s like to be sitting right with God.
The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
Psalm 37:23-24
King David is attributed as the author of this Psalm, which offers guidance, wisdom, and encouragement for righteous living, even in the face of challenges and despair. It is one of the many psalms that King David composed, reflecting his deep faith, relationship with God, and his experiences as a leader and shepherd in ancient Israel.
These two verses from Psalm 37 provide profound insights into the relationship between a person’s life and their trust in the Lord. David reminds us that God is actively involved in our life journey, but in order to experience God’s guidance, we must “delight in His way.” There is joy in following God’s will and seeking His righteousness. Our hearts become aligned with His purpose.
“Though he may stumble,” is God’s way of saying when you fall, not if. God’s not sugarcoating life here. We will be heartbroken, disappointed, and isolated, but the Psalm assures us that when we stumble or face setbacks, God will not abandon us or allow us to be utterly defeated. He is there to lift us up, sustain us, and prevent us from falling into self-destruction. He is leading us on a path that is good for us, even though it doesn’t always seem like it.
God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all – life healed and whole.
1 Peter 1:5
If any of Jesus’ flock understood adversity, Peter was the most likely candidate. He had a fiery temper, often overreacted, argued with Paul about gentile behavior, was the most corrected disciple of Jesus, and was even called “Satan” by Him. Peter was also the most transformed by Christ. He understood and lived the Gospel as well as any of the others in the early church.
In Peter’s epistle, there is security for all Christians. It speaks of a very special promise: that we are kept by God only through our faith. No matter how impressive our strength and abilities, it’s our faith that powers our salvation. Followers of Christ can rest assured that the same power that created the heavens and the earth guards and sustains us.
A close friend of mine is going through a life crisis and a crisis of belief right now. She experienced decades of verbal and physical abuse in a toxic marriage. A once confident, focused woman eroded into an enabling victim. After years of recovery, she regained so much of what she had lost. After years of accusing God of the ills in her life, she now guardedly looks to Him. She can see His goodness again. Just four years ago, at a Christmas service, she had tears in her eyes during a particularly moving song.
Unfortunately, a recent event in her family has turned her life upside down again, and her PTSD has resurfaced. Without the promise of God’s watch in her life, I would have worried that despair would overtake her. But her faith will help her navigate her family through this and connect her even more closely to the power of God. Her faith helps her put her values in perspective, letting God handle the details of her worries.
Peter assured believers going through persecution (and my friend) that God “IS keeping careful watch” over them. This protection gained through faith in Christ is in the present tense, indicating that God’s protection is ongoing and forever. During life’s challenges, temptations, and trials, we should take comfort in the fact that God is always guarding us, offering us a living hope.
If we’re always seeking something more, someone’s approval, or something better to validate us, then we haven’t found the living hope Peter was writing about.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
The key to the verse in Philippians above is in God’s promise to complete the work that He has begun in us. He never starts something He won’t finish. Our transformation, “the good work,” in us began with God’s calling, and the process continues throughout our lives. Before we do anything on Earth, God already loved us. Someone once wrote, “We rested on God’s bosom before our mother’s breast.” Paul, the writer of Philippians, exposed his utmost confidence in God’s transformative work that is evident in the lives of all believers. His text urges us to look forward, not down, towards the time when Jesus returns.
Victor Frankl was a Jewish-Austrian psychoanalyst imprisoned in Auschwitz. He wrote an eye-opening book about his trauma called “Man’s Search for Meaning.” He described the tragic experience in terms of levels of hope. He wrote that some lost it immediately, and many held onto it to regain their status and possessions someday, only to be devasted when they found that missing after the war. But some held on to something larger and timeless. Frankl wrote that the ones who overcame the horrific Auschwitz tragedy were people who could see things beyond their immediate world.
Some people trust in their own intellect, some rely on their own skills, abilities, and creative talents, some in friends, careers, and family, and some have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. After my recent disappointment, God made it so clear to me that my heart was pointed in completely the wrong direction. For a believer of Christ, what does it matter if I don’t have approval from another human being or in an action or event? I prayed to let go of how others value me and focus on how my Lord values me.
God loves us, and He will protect His investment in the same way we protect ours. When it comes to a keychain we purchased at a gas station, we probably don’t care where it is or if it gets broken. But, if there are keys on the keychain, we pay a lot more attention to its whereabouts. We keep it safe and protected. God treats us the same way.
Why should we place our acceptance and trust in God instead of in people, fame, and the things we do? Because He knows more, He sees more, He loves more. He provides because He promised He would.
When God saw Jesus get Baptized, He was “well pleased.” We have an identity in Christ. We are not only accepted but valued and loved. I need to do better at remembering this.
And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:17
Key Applications:
- Where do you put your value and trust? Is it in something created or in the Creator? We all struggle with this at times. Pray that this week, God is the sole recipient of your heart, soul, and mind.
- Show others that your faith in Christ is imperishable, incorruptible, and unfading. God will see this. “Where I hear worship, God hears praise.”
Where else in your life can you live out the teachings of Christ? Look for next week’s Devotion.