When You Fall…

"Happiness is walking in God's ways!" —Psalm 119:3

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the psalter, twenty-two stanzas with four lines each arranged around the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The psalmist throughout affirms his love for God and his desire to "walk in His ways" (Psalm 119:3).

But the psalm concludes with a dull thud: “I keep wandering off like a lost sheep—help me!" (119:176).

Nobody never sins. That's where grace comes in.

"When you are distressed by your failures, do not run from the Lord—as if any of us could hide from Him! Instead, run to Him quickly ... and say, ‘I have corrupted myself and made myself filthy, and I hate it because now I’m not like you. I cannot be clean again—I cannot be free from this corruption—unless you come and help me.“ —Julian of Norwich, I Promise You a Crown

When you fall, all you got to do is call…and He'll be there.

David Roper

Light Dawns

Psalm 97

"Light dawns for the righteous..." —Psalm 97:11

This psalm enshrines a theory of knowledge: How we know the good, the true and the truly beautiful.

According to the poet, "the heavens proclaim (God’s) righteousness and all the people see His beauty" (97:6). Truth and moral order are imbedded in the universe and in our hearts. No one has to teach us the knowledge of good and evil. We know. Even idolaters know that their idols are "worthless" (97:7). "They are secretly prostrated by that which they affect to despise (the one true God)," John Calvin said.

But, when men and women turn away from the truth, they descend into darkness and confusion. Their best thoughts become fuddled and inane. Claiming to be wise, they become fools. 

On the other hand, "light dawns for the righteous." The good-in-heart know the good. The more they seek it and obey it, the more of it they know. 

Discernment is not an intellectual problem; it’s a moral problem, a matter of the heart. "Good people see good things,“ George MacDonald said. Bad people see nothing at all. 

Truth eludes the proud and the clever, but the simple, the honest, the humble understand. Having trouble with God? Seek to do the very next thing He’s asking you to do. (Be sure to ask for his help.) If your will is to do His will you will know... (John 7:17). 

David Roper

3,23,17

Courage!

"With God we shall do valiantly; for He it is who will tread down our foes."—Psalm 108:13

As a child I loved The Wizard of Oz and being a timid child was drawn to The Cowardly Lion. In the end, as you know, the lion was given a medal for valor. “Look what it says," he exclaimed, "'COURAGE’. Ain’t it the truth, ain’t it the truth!”

Physical courage is one thing; moral courage is another. Sometimes the hardest battles are fought within. Emily Dickinson wrote, "To fight aloud is very brave, but gallanter, I know, who charge within the bosom, the cavalry of woe..." Fortitude is the name we give to this virtue. 

Fortitude is not simply one of the virtues, it's the virtue that gives strength to all the others. Chastity, honesty, patience, mercy are hard-earned virtues in a world like ours. It's fortitude that enables us to endure. 

Aquinas wrote, ”The principal act of fortitude is endurance, that is, to stand immovable in the midst of dangers.” Fortitude is "a long obedience in the right direction"; it is doing the right thing over the long haul despite the consequences. Fortitude is sticking with a hard marriage; staying in a small place when prominence beckons; refusing to betray a moral principle to get along or to get ahead. We can do these things because God is with us, treading down our foes. 

I think of a scene in C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle: Jill Pole asks, “What do you think is inside the stable?” “Who knows?” Tirian replied.  “Two Calormenes with drawn swords, as likely as not, one on each side of the door... There’s no knowing. But courage, child. We are all between the paws of the true Aslan."

Ain't it the truth! Ain’t it the truth!

David Roper
4/6/17 

The Fools God Chooses

Exaltation comes neither from the east

Nor from the west nor from the south.

But God is the Judge:

He puts down one,

And exalts another. —Psalm 75:6,7

"God gives us the leaders we deserve," is an old saying. We vote our conscience, but God determines the outcome. Aye. “'Tis mystery all!”

We go for the game-changers, the movers and shakers, men and women who get things done. God, however, establishes the human framework of a nation: "I myself set up her pillars" (75:3). He raises up rulers—able leaders, fools and naves—to get His work done.

Here's Paul's take: "For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth" (Romans 9:17).

Pharaoh? A pompous, egocentric, duplicitous fool? God in His wisdom exalted this man to bring salvation to His people and ultimately to the entire world.

So let's not panic when elections don’t go our way, nor should we rail against those God has chosen. He knows what He's about and will render justice at the proper time (75:2). Our part is to pray; His part is to work in and through those He has chosen to accomplish His will. 

That's true of the state we're in right now.

David Roper

3.2.17