“The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does (Psalm 145:13).”
The spirit of our age is all about desire. Our desires determine our goals and dreams. For many, desire even determines right and wrong because, if we desire something strongly enough, it must be legitimate. Nothing should stand in the way of our desires, and if our wishes are not met, we have a right to be upset. And our frustration becomes further proof of the legitimacy of our wants.
God speaks His word even into this age, but we must hear Him with the ears of disciples, and not as the world. The Lord makes promises, and as the Psalmist says, He is faithful to those promises. But He doesn’t promise us whatever we want. He promises what is good for us, and what will bring Him glory. The world can sometimes even agree to that, until we get to the details. But for His followers Christ also promises trials and persecutions. At that point the world turns to run the other way. But Simon Peter answered Christ, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (John 6:68).”
Even believers, influenced as we are by the world in which we live, are frustrated when we don’t get what we want. We can even blame God. Why would He not grant our wishes? Satan takes advantage of this disposition as he did with Eve in the garden and provokes us to ask, “Is God really powerful? Does He really have my best interests in mind? Is He really good? Can He really be trusted?”
God can indeed be trusted to fulfill what He has promised. He will never leave or forsake us. He will preserve us to the end and take us home to glory. Even in the here and now He will be glorified in us as we reflect Him. He will sanctify those who put their faith in Him.
Lord, let us deny our own desires and seek Your holy will, and let us trust You that You will indeed deliver what You have promised, for Your glory.
A reflection by Tom Hoffman
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We would like to extend a warm welcome to Tom Hoffman, the newest member of our team at Monergism.com. He has been hired to do content development and, among other things, will be contributing to the blog. We expect to see an increase in biblical reflections through particular books of the Bible.