He Will Hold Me Fast

A "new" song we sang today in church. I thought it was new, but then I see that the first two verses were written prior to 1918.

It's just bursting with Scripture references - Great!

He Will Hold Me Fast
Vv. 1-2 Ada Habershon (1861-1918)
Alt. Words (vv. 1-2) and Verse 3: Matt Merker

When I fear my faith will fail,
Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter would prevail,
He will hold me fast.

 

I could never keep my hold,
Through life's fearful path
For my love is often cold,
He must hold me fast.

Refrain

He will hold me fast,
He will hold me fast;
For my Savior loves me so,
He will hold me fast.

Those He saves are His delight,
Christ will hold me fast;
Precious in His holy sight,
He will hold me fast.

He'll not let my soul be lost;
His promises shall last;
Bought by Him at such a cost,
He will hold me fast.

Refrain

For my life He bled and died,

Christ will hold me fast;

Justice has been satisfied;

He will hold me fast.

Raised with Him to endless life;

He will hold me fast;

'til our faith is turned to sight

when He comes at last!

Refrain

God's Plans to Protect

I've read First Samuel dozens of times. I've read through the life of David. The flight from Saul. The battles. His escape to the Philistines.

But somehow I didn't connect the accounts and see God's protective hand in the life of David.

Let me help you put the puzzle pieces together, starting in 1 Samuel 27.

Attempting to escape Saul, David fled to Gath (BTW: Gath's hometown hero, Goliath, was killed by David a few years earlier.) The king of Gath allowed David and his men, about 600 at this time, to settle in Ziklag. David gained the confidence of the king by leading raids. However, the king didn't realize that he was attacking the Philistine cities.

The Philistines began marching toward Saul and his armies. David and his men joined, but the other Philistine kings didn't want him to be part of the army. They were afraid that David would turn on them in the midst of the battle. So the king of Gath sent him back home.

When David and his men returned to Ziklag, they discovered that their wives and children had been taken by the Amalekites. It took them several days to track them down, recover them and return home.

So what was going on in the battle between the Philistines and Saul?

Saul and his sons were killed in the battle.

Remember how David had been careful to protect Saul, God's anointed?

It looks like God orchestrated the raid on Ziklag to keep David and his men out of the battle. In order to keep David and his men away from the temptation of killing Saul. Or at least to keep them from being accused of killing Saul.

Because of the difficulties that David had, he could not be involved or implicated in the death of the king of Israel.

God's plans may not have seemed clear to David at the time, but God allowed the crisis to protect David.

The changes in our plans may not fit our idea, but God may be using them to protect us from greater harm.

There are places that we might want to go. But God changes those plans.

There are people we'd like to see. But God changes those plans.

Perhaps it's because God has a greater plan and a greater perspective to see that plan.

He does.

So we can trust Him and the changes that come our way.

Too Much Like Saul - Not Enough Like David

I've been reading the history of Saul and David in First Samuel for the last couple of weeks. A common theme has been waiting on the Lord. It's probably been popping up a lot because it's something that I'm not very good at lately.

David was anointed to be the next king of Israel. He served as musician to the king. Killed Goliath. Married the king's daughter. The people praised him for his victories on the battlefields, placing him higher than the king.

And became a hunted man. Hunted by the king.

Two different times David had opportunity to kill the man who had been hunting him for several years. Yet he didn't. The king-in-waiting would not lift his hand against the Lord's anointed.

So he waited. 5 years. 10 years. 15 years. Even more waiting.

Saul had a problem with waiting.

He didn't wait for Samuel to come, so he offered sacrifices in order to rally the troops before battle.

He didn't complete the destruction of Amalek, saving the best as an offering for the LORD - so he said.

When Saul tired of waiting for God to answer him about going into battle against the Philistines, Saul called on a witch to call Samuel the prophet from the dead.

Every time that Saul didn't wait on God, he received a curse.

When David waited, he was chased around the countryside.

But in the end, Saul's dynasty failed and David's reigned and will reign again.

Unfortunately, I'm more like Saul.

"Surely, God wants me to do something about these problems, doesn't He?" That's how I reason.

"If I just...then this would happen." That's what I think.

But God wants me to wait. Maybe 5 years. Maybe 10 years. Maybe 15 years. Or maybe even longer.

Lord, help me to cling to Your promises and anticipate Your plan. Help me not to manipulate Your promises to further my plan.

God's Not Done

Have you ever had a bad week?

You know, one of those weeks in which it seems that the bad news and bad experiences don't quit coming your way?

Most of us have. Sometimes it lasts longer than a week. Sometimes it seems that it will never end. Sometimes it seems that the bad news just keeps piling up.

Pain. Sickness. Death.

Laid off. Fired. Unemployed.

Marital stress. Separation. Divorce.

Strained relationships. Anger. Broken relationships.

It's easy to think that all these events are stacking up against you.

That God has forgotten you.

That God will never be able to use you again.

Ephesians 2:10 has been encouraging to me this week.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has prepared in advance that we should walk in them."

Verses 8 and 9 are very familiar, telling us of the grace of God that has saved us. The gift of faith that we have received making us alive and seated in heaven with Christ.

But when the reality of life starts to overwhelm us, those verses sometimes get clouded, buried in the fog of stress.

As a child of God we can take confidence in the promise of verse 10. God has saved us to do good works. God has planned those works in advance. Long before the sickness that has restricted you to bed. Long before the divorce changed everything in your life. Long before any of the stress factors in your life came into your life.

God had a plan. And it wasn't a plan that lasted until some major event came and changed it.

That crisis is a part of God's plan to continue using you.

Others may have rejected you. God hasn't.

He's still got a plan to use you for good works. He hasn't been surprised or had to change His plan.

So, like before the crises, just keep walking. Do the good things that you know you should be doing.

The situation may not change. But God is not done with the good works that He has planned for you.

Don't Waste Today

"So teach us to number our days that we get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).

The development of this Psalm emphasizes the importance of verse 12, the application of the entire Psalm.

God is eternal ( v 1-2).

Man is not (v 3-4).

In fact, man's life is very short in comparison to God's eternal existence (v 3-6).

Our sins are exposed by God and we are under His wrath (v 7-8).

Not only is our life short, it is full of toil and trouble (v 9-10).

Yet we don't take time to consider God's wrath, or fear Him (v 11).

Therefore, we need to learn to count our days, to realize that they are limited, in order to gain wisdom (v 12).

Rather than bemoaning our existence,

...call out to God for pity ( v 13),

...look to him for satisfaction (v 14),

...cry out to Him for gladness ( v 15),

...search out His good works (v 16),

...and cling to the favor of God that He works through us (v 17).

Your life is short and it's going to be tough. It's the perfect opportunity to gain wisdom from God!

Turn from Emptiness to God

The nation of Israel demanded a king, like all the nations around them. Samuel followed the command of the Lord and anointed Saul, the son of Kish, to be the first king. After Saul led the nation in the defeat of the Ammonites, the nation rallied around their new king.

In Samuel's farewell address, bowing out as judge over Israel, he reminded them of their sinful choice in choosing a king. As evidence of God's anger against the nation, Samuel called for thunder and rain at harvest time, when it would normally be dry.

The people realized their sin and plead for mercy.

Samuel's response, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty" (1 Samuel 12:20-21).

Notice what God did NOT do:

He did NOT send bolts of lightning in the thunderstorm to wipe out the people.

He did NOT abandon them.

What did He do?

He allowed them to continue serving Him.

He commanded them to turn away from empty things.

His was a call of repentance. Turning from the emptiness of empty things. Turning to the fullness of God.

And He in His grace and mercy allows the same for us.

He forgives and allows for repentance.

Accountability and the Fear of Man

We create quite a conundrum in our quest for spiritual growth.

We have a desire to grow. We know the principles of growth.
We have sins in our lives that we know are hindering our growth.
We know that we need the help of others to overcome those sins.
We want to be able to talk about our sins, confess them, ask for prayer, ask for help.
But we want to maintain our reputation, so we keep our mouths shut.

We have a desire to help others to grow. We know the principles of growth.
We know that others have sins that are hindering their growth.
We know that they need help and may even be crying out for help.
We want to come alongside another to help them, to pray with them.
But we want to maintain our reputation, so we keep our mouths shut.

On both sides of accountability an ominous fear of man looms.
We don't want to open up with our sins, because we are afraid of losing a friend.
We don't want to ask a brother or sister about their sins, because we are afraid of losing a friend.
And yet we know that we need an open relationship in order to help and to be helped.

Instead we lie. We avoid the topics. We minimize sin.
No one is helped. God is not honored. Sin is piled upon sin.

Is there any hope?

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself" (Galatians 6:1-3).

That verses commands us of the responsibility that we know we have. But I think verse three is the clincher: "If anyone thinks he is something" - free from sin, not really needing help, keeping up the false front.
"...when he is nothing" - a dirty, rotten sinner fighting temptation and losing often.
"...he deceives himself." - no one else is fooled. Your friends know. God knows. You know.

So there's no reason to keep up appearances. There's no reason to try to hide your sins. There's no reason to not reach out and ask others. No reason not to help, or to ask for help.

You need help. And so do I.