peace

From Ray Ortlund:

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” Psalm 62:1

This is my wife’s life-verse. What might that say about living with me? In any case, it’s a great life-verse. The only rest our souls will ever find is in God alone. And the peace he gives no one can take away.

David wrote this while under attack (Psalm 62:3-4). Many reading this post have been attacked, betrayed, cheated, slandered, robbed, divorced, molested, abandoned, lied to, and more. Our souls have been shaken to the core, as David’s was. He was a spirited man. Rest in God alone did not come naturally to him. But he got there. We can too.

We might think God’s remedy is for our attacker to have a change of heart, apologize and make everything better again. That rarely happens. The offender usually finds a way to justify it. They have to, to live with their conscience. So they add the further sin of blaming the one whom they wronged. You were mistreated, and it’s your own fault. Or so they say. Saul did this, projecting his own hostility onto David (1 Samuel 22:13).

But what if the offender did own up? Would it really make everything better? It could make some difference (Luke 19:8). But don’t count on getting your former life back. We sinners aren’t capable of restoring what our misbehavior takes away. We are greatly capable of destruction, but little capable of restoration. This is our solemn dignity as moral agents in God’s universe. Therefore, we must be very, very cautious in how we treat one another. Whatever we take away is probably gone for good. This being so, our souls will find no rest in anything people can do (Psalm 62:9). Our souls will find rest in God alone. Let’s look to God alone.

God’s peace is for real people living real lives in this real world. That’s what Psalm 62 is all about – a peace for life in this world that comes from far beyond this world. It is God’s own presence, given freely through Christ to anyone who will stake everything on the refuge he alone offers and is.

When under attack, go to God, and hang on.

“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8