13 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. - Psalm 27:13-14
To have confidence is to hold a firm belief – to feel certain about something. David writes that he is confident he will still see “the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (verse 13). With this conviction he takes heart while waiting for the Lord to work it all out. It is as if he is going through a very difficult time and is reminding himself that God has greater things ahead. This can be applied to our church, our nation, and our families. Let me talk to us as a church. Are we confident that we will see “the goodness of the Lord in our lives? Will we once again know the joy of his presence? There have been some discouraging things that have happened this fall at our church. From challenging issues in relationships, physical ailments and diagnosis, discouragement, and problems families connecting with others – it becomes apparent that we are experiencing some heavy spiritual warfare. In The Great American Revival (1934) Arthur Strickland wrote, “The history of the past gives us a chart for the future. What God did in the past shows us, as Saint Augustine puts it, ‘the direction in which the will of God operates.’ History repeats itself. This encourages us to believe that there will be another great revival. Although the spiritual tide may be far out, the ocean of God’s limitless resources is in no danger of going dry. The tide will come in again.” Take heart, the church is not on the eve of perishing, it is on the eve of revival according to Scripture. Revival always follows a time of purging, persecution, or sickness. There is nothing more certain than this. So the question should not be, “Will we recover?” The question ought to be, “When will we recover?” And then we keep praying to be faithful till that time has come. It is during these upheaval times that God brings us closer together and helps us to realize who is in this for the long haul. So I say all of that to say, “Hold on church, the day is coming when the Lord will show us that He has been with us the whole time.” I am looking forward to this Sunday as we look for the “Unexpected” in our Advent series. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike
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Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
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