Confidence In the Lord (09/07/24)
Confidence in the future is well illustrated in the biblical account of the journey of the children of Israel in the land of Moab, as they awaited their entrance into the promised land of
Canaan. They had come from forty years of wandering and hardship in the wilderness, and they faced the prospect of bitter [conflict] with the inhabitants of that land which the Lord had given to Abraham and to his descendants. They were acutely conscious of [the battles to come], together with vigorous social and civil upheavals.
But the Lord spoke to them, through their leader, Joshua, telling them to be strong and courageous, and to put all fears aside; telling them that if they followed the leading of the Lord, He would guide them and give them victory over all their enemies. They
were commanded to go over Jordan, with the promise that the land would be given to them. They were instructed to turn to the Divine Law, meditate on it, and do whatsoever was commanded in it. And the Lord said unto Joshua: "Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
And when Joshua addressed the people with the words of the Lord, they answered him: "All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go." (Joshua 1: 16) So should we have
confidence that, if we seek the Lord’s law, meditate on it, and do according to all that is written in it, the Lord will be with us wherever we go, and will make our way prosperous and successful.
[In the internal sense, this is talking about a spiritual state available to all of us in our mind and heart]. A confidence that has its origin in the Lord Himself, and cannot be granted to anyone who is not open to it. …True conviction, trust, and confidence have their beginnings in a faith
that is known only to the good, who turn their minds and hearts to the Lord, and who live a life of love and of charity. This faith is real and enduring, because it is internal or spiritual. And it belongs to those of whom it is said, in the Psalm: “Those that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: He is their help and their shield." (Psalm 115: 11)
Those who would enter [this new season] with optimism, therefore, must turn their minds to the Lord, who alone is the source of all things good. Everything that is good and true has its beginning and its end in Him. So He is called the
"Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." (Rev. 22: 13)
All human
beginnings that are of any spiritual value are derived from the Lord, through the spiritual world. With every one of us there can be two such general beginnings. One is at the time of our birth into the world, when we receive our natural life and take our first breath; the other is at the time when we first begin the life of regeneration (or spiritual rebirth), with the consequent reception of spiritual life from the Lord. And in each of these two cases this new life, whether natural or
spiritual, comes to him from the Lord through the spiritual world.
Let us pray that [our God] will grant us confidence in the leading of Divine Providence - a confidence which alone can bring us the tranquility of internal peace, and this no matter the changes and alternations of external life. For all salvation comes through love of and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, a salvation which is blessedness itself. In invoking this blessing, it was a custom among the ancients that when a new work was to be commenced,
they would say, "May God bless it"; by which was meant the same as the expression, "May it be prosperous and happy." (NCL, Stroh, 1968)
In the coming season, may the new work of your spiritual growth and development be blessed by the Lord. Indeed, may you be prosperous and happy…for you are LOVED and there is HOPE! (Pastor Ethan)
