Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You. (Psalm 33:20-22)

In keeping with the theme from yesterday’s devotion, those who place their trust and hope in the LORD will not be disappointed even if they are, at times, uncertain as to what the LORD’s plan may be. Again, how could Joseph — or Jacob for that matter — have realized their suffering and grief would eventually be turned in joy and laughter? Now it should be noted that this result did not occur overnight; there was a great deal of time that elapsed, and during that time, there was was a lingering pain. Joseph felt the sting of betrayal and the separation that came with it; his father felt the pain that accompanies the loss of a child who was destined for great things. Yet, there is no hint in Scripture that either of them lost all hope.

Speaking of betrayal, no one was more acquainted with this than the Messiah. In fact, John’s gospel records an incident whereby many who had been following Him were troubled by certain aspects of His message. The Bible says that he knew who the unbelievers were and who would betray Him. Furthermore John tells us that, on this occasion, many of those who had been His disciples abandoned Him. At this point, He turned to the twelve and said, “Do you also want to go away?” But Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:67-68).

My point is this: where will we go and to whom will we turn if we give up on the promises God has made? If God allows us to go through difficulty and the process is longer than we think we can bear, what good comes from giving up? What gain is there in hopelessness? There is none — and so we hope and trust. We hold on to what we know to be true believing that, in the appointed time, we will rejoice in Him. As it is written, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

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