RUINED BEYOND REPAIR
Now at last restore what was ruined beyond repair. Ps. 74:3, N.E.B.
All of us have had the experience of having something we really value ruined beyond repair. Our dismay can be agonizing. A sense of loss can dog or days, incapacitating us. The worst of it is that we have no hope of recovery.
Enemy forces had destroyed the most precious thing known to Israel: the sanctuary. However, more than the tabernacle lay in ruins. Their relationship with God had virtually been obliterated because of their pursuit of the customs of the heathen nations around them. As far as human resources went, it was a hopeless situation on both counts.
Nevertheless, as our text today indicates, the psalmist realized another factor: God! He knew that God was intimately identified with His people, that His love for them went beyond their foolish and evil choices. And because of this knowledge he found hope, not in circumstances but in God!
This is an important realization. Many Christians wait for circumstances to improve before they "indulge" in hope. When the worst happens and whatever they have been praying for is "ruined beyond repair," they are devastated. Their faith is so weakened that they lose heart. Some may even give up the whole Christain walk; others simply cease to function vitally, becoming denominational fixtures rather than "fishers of men." Who can "fish" with no bait? Who can hope without faith?
The wise man wrote, "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Prov. 29:18). In the truest sense, where there is no vision of who God is, people will lose hope. My faith must rest in a Person--apart from circumstances. Circumstances can reveal the workings of God, but they also can cloud my vision of Him. Only when I come to know God--that He is fair and logical, trustworthy and loving, and intimately identified with me--will my faith and hope be in Him (1 Peter 1:21).
We may ask God to restore what is ruined beyond repair in our lives, knowing that He is well able to do so. But let our hope be cast higher than the things we seek. Let us fix in our minds the truth that God always intends the very best for us. Knowing that the circumstances of our lives can in no way thwart His purposes, let us be full of assurance that He delights in our restoration. Then we will not hope in vain!
Now at last restore what was ruined beyond repair. Ps. 74:3, N.E.B.
All of us have had the experience of having something we really value ruined beyond repair. Our dismay can be agonizing. A sense of loss can dog or days, incapacitating us. The worst of it is that we have no hope of recovery.
Enemy forces had destroyed the most precious thing known to Israel: the sanctuary. However, more than the tabernacle lay in ruins. Their relationship with God had virtually been obliterated because of their pursuit of the customs of the heathen nations around them. As far as human resources went, it was a hopeless situation on both counts.
Nevertheless, as our text today indicates, the psalmist realized another factor: God! He knew that God was intimately identified with His people, that His love for them went beyond their foolish and evil choices. And because of this knowledge he found hope, not in circumstances but in God!
This is an important realization. Many Christians wait for circumstances to improve before they "indulge" in hope. When the worst happens and whatever they have been praying for is "ruined beyond repair," they are devastated. Their faith is so weakened that they lose heart. Some may even give up the whole Christain walk; others simply cease to function vitally, becoming denominational fixtures rather than "fishers of men." Who can "fish" with no bait? Who can hope without faith?
The wise man wrote, "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Prov. 29:18). In the truest sense, where there is no vision of who God is, people will lose hope. My faith must rest in a Person--apart from circumstances. Circumstances can reveal the workings of God, but they also can cloud my vision of Him. Only when I come to know God--that He is fair and logical, trustworthy and loving, and intimately identified with me--will my faith and hope be in Him (1 Peter 1:21).
We may ask God to restore what is ruined beyond repair in our lives, knowing that He is well able to do so. But let our hope be cast higher than the things we seek. Let us fix in our minds the truth that God always intends the very best for us. Knowing that the circumstances of our lives can in no way thwart His purposes, let us be full of assurance that He delights in our restoration. Then we will not hope in vain!
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