One Thing Remains
Pause:
Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus.
Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.
Read:
Psalm 4:
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
2 O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.
6 There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
7 You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Going Deeper:
How can David say in this Psalm, “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound” (vs. 7)? He was in the middle of terrible circumstances, in almost constant distress, and dealing with suffering and injustice. He acknowledges each of these things, crying out to God in indignation. And yet, he ends his Psalm with joy and peace.
What do we have when our “grain and wine” is not abounding? What do we have when supplies aren’t keeping up with the panic-buying, or when it’s dangerous for us to go to the store? What do we say to our friends and family and neighbors, who are crying out, “Who will show us some good?” (vs. 6)?
We have one thing: The Lord alone. Our Father and Savior is not just a consolation prize, or what’s left at the bottom of our barrel after we’re out of pasta and toilet paper. Instead, Jesus is our greatest treasure and our most precious gift. The joy of relationship and security and intimacy with Him is not worth comparing to the joy of restaurants and freedom and visiting friends, as sweet as those gifts are.
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Romans 8:35). In the middle of loss and fear, one thing remains: the love of Christ. We have perfect access to our Father all day and all night, in the middle of pain and in the middle of extra days off. We have his listening ear, his voice singing over us, and his constant love toward us. We have the full assurance that we are sinless and perfect in his eyes, and that our eternity with him is secure.
We have losses that need to be grieved. We may cry out to God for relief, or mourn the sinful and evil responses that we see around us. We might be angry. And yet, when a neighbor or friend asks us, “Who will show us some good?”, we can offer the greatest good that can be imagined: an unshakable relationship with the Creator of the Universe, who loves us and calls his children.
May this truth make you dwell in safety as you lie down and sleep in this chaotic time. May you have true rest, knowing that your eternity is secure no matter what happens to you in this lifetime, and that no sickness or trial or danger can touch your eternal relationship with Jesus.
Pray:
Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to you from this passage this morning.
Listen:
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you this morning?
Apply:
By God’s grace, led by the Spirit, what are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you?