"Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:5)
Frustration must come as the saints of God battle with evil forces. The pain and pressure of tourment is nonetheless real as these evil "devices"...(Is 32:7 "Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; He devises wicked plans to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaks justice." )...take their toll on the people of God.
The Lord will destroy the plans of the wicked... (Psalm 33:10
"The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.")
...but while those plans are active, they can cause much hurt.
Nevertheless, we must maintain trust in the Lord and commit our lives to Him if we are to be victorious. The unusual Hebrew word galal used here is more often translated as "roll on" or "roll with" something. It seems to imply a unity in the commitment, that the committed one is bound up in the actions or activities of the thing or person committed to -- we "roll on" or "roll with" the Lord in our "way."
Paul spends much of his letter to the Philippians describing the link between the Creator-Savior and the mind, heart, and lifestyle of the Christian who has given his life over to God. "Being confident of this very thing," Paul says, "that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phillippians 1:6). We are to "work out" [our] own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12-13).
While admitting that he had not yet "attained," Paul was so focused on the work of the Kingdom that he was "forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14). God's promise to "bring it to pass" is conditioned on our being committed to His sovereign will for our "way".
Henry M. Morris, III, D.Min.
3 comments:
Philippians 3:12 "Not that I have already attained, or are already perfected; but that I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."
For some reason I couldn't quite grasp what Paul was saying here. I could understand with my mind what he was saying, but I couldn't grasp it in my spirit.
The way I now understand this verse is that Jesus has laid hold of me just as I am. Now I must be committed to Him in order to attain by pressing on so much so that I don't look back but I keep looking forward, pressing on and keeping entirely focused on Him. And as I do that, He will complete the work that He has begun in me and bring it to perfection.
That is the understanding God gave me too. Our responsibility is to keep our focus on God and He will perfect us in our walk. Not only are we to keep from looking back, but the more subtle glances from side to side can be just as dangerous because no matter how slight, it will draw our attention away from God. We walk in the direction that we look, so if we walk one inch askew, it can take us just as far from God.
It's like driving a car, we must keep our eyes on the road. If we get distracted and stare at something too long, we'll go into the other lane or into a ditch. It's the constant "turning our eyes back to the road" that enables us to drive straight. So it is in following God.
There are many scriptures that allude to this:
Deut 5:3233 "you shall be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you..."
Deut 28:14 You shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, [to] the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
2Chron 34:2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
Prov 4:27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
And of course, Prov 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
Thank you for the scripture references. They are wonderful!
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