Tag: Travis Peterson

1 Samuel 3:11-14 – 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
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1 Samuel records for us the evil actions of the sons of Eli. Though Eli appears to have been a good and moral priest in his own right, his sons acted wickedly, abusing the people, stealing offerings, and basically dishonoring God at every turn. So, by the time Eli’s ministry is at an end in Israel, the wrath of God is about to fall on him and his family. God’s wrath falls on Eli’s sons for their wickedness. But what I find notable here is that God’s wrath also falls on Eli, for though he knew what his sons were doing, he did not restrain them.

We live in a world of privacy and autonomy. Many Christians believe that they live on their own to the Lord, and do not concern themselves with the actions and attitudes of others around them. We think to ourselves, “As long as I’m doing what I ought to do, I’ll not interfere with others.” And so we go on in life, living to ourselves, and we risk falling into the sin of Eli himself.

First, let me draw the immediate application. There is no place for a parent to allow his children to live however they decide. Parents who allow the children in their homes to select their own forms of entertainment without restriction are begging to be found guilty of the same sin as Eli. Parents who say things like, “Well, all the kids are doing this, and there’s no way I can stop mine,” are shirking their responsibility to do whatever is in their power to raise their sons and daughters in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

Parents, to you I speak with concern, because I too am a parent. My children are still young, and I have not yet had to face some of the extreme challenges that are out there. But there is a standard that I must practice that is beyond my own wisdom, coming from God’s word. In Matthew 5:27-30, Jesus commands us to radically remove from our lives the things that cause us to sin. I must assume that, as a parent and the spiritual head of my household, I am responsible to also remove from my children’s lives the things that would cause them to sin. So, if my children desire forms of entertainment that lead to sinful thoughts or that glorify evil (Grand Theft Auto IV perhaps), it is my responsibility to remove those things from the lives of my children. If my children have friends who influence them toward evil, it is my responsibility to remove those friends from the lives of my children. And I must be willing to do whatever it takes. If I cannot remove my children from the dangers that tempt them in my local town, I may have to move to another town or another country. (I’m not here advocating isolationism as a solution to the sin bound up in my children’s hearts; but I am pointing out the fact that, as a parent, I am required to radically change my life and my home situation if necessary to restrain my children from sin for as long as I can.)

Now, let me draw the secondary application that originally got my attention. If Eli’s sin was true of him regarding his family, would it not also be true that Christians who do not speak out to restrain other Christians from sin are failing in the same way? I recognize that we, as brothers and sisters in Christ, do not live in the same sort of authority and submission relationship to one another as do parents and children. Yet, I also know that we live this life together, not as total individuals. We are responsible to warn, to admonish, to reprove one another when it is required (2 Thessalonians 3:15). Yes, I know we do not want to be judgmental, and that is a very large danger. But for most of us, the sin is not simply judgmentalism. We sit back, and we pass judgment on our brothers in our own minds (and it is possible that our judgment is correct if it is guided by a right understanding of the scriptures); however, we then hold our tongues and allow our brothers to continue in their sin, because we are more concerned about looking nice, tolerant, real, open-minded, non-judgmental, culturally hip, or whatever. The fact is, we participate in the sin of Eli, because we see our brothers and sisters in dangerous situations, recognize those situations, and do nothing to restrain them from sin. No, we cannot exercise the same sort of authority that a dad can over his son, but we are commanded by the Lord Jesus (cf. Matthew 18:15-ff) to reprove sinning Christians, to continue in the task, and to exercise church discipline if necessary. We are to be gracious and loving in our reproof (Galatians 6:1-2), but we are to be faithful not to simply watch our brothers and sisters hurt themselves and dishonor God.

Remember, being sinfully judgmental is when you judge others with a different standard than you judge yourself (Matthew 7:1) or when you think that you somehow have the right not only to say something is wrong but to also pass sentence on another when you have not been given that authority (Romans 14:4). It is not, however, sinfully judgmental to look at another’s life, see a sin, and call that sin what it is. Your attitude and spirit while doing this is very important, but there is a way in which we must lovingly admonish one another (Colossians 3:16).

So, which sin are you more likely to fall into? Are you more likely to slam your brothers and sisters, calling out sin in an unkind and unloving way? If so, stop it. Remember that you too are under grace and are no better than your brothers and sisters. But I’m guessing for many of us, the sin is more likely the sin of Eli. Are you more likely to see sin, acknowledge it as sin, and then turn your eyes elsewhere because you don’t think you can do anything about it? Are you more likely to ignore sin in the lives of your brothers and sisters because you want them to think you a nice friend? Even worse, are you likely to gossip about how terrible this thing is instead of confronting your brother? If so, stop it. Learn to love the Lord and to love your fellow believers by doing what you can to restrain them from sin.

Psalm 76:11-12

11 Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;
let all around him bring gifts
to him who is to be feared,
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.
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King’s do a lot of things. They rule. They give orders. They boss people around. They sit on their thrones. But there is one thing that is generally thought unbecoming a king: fear.

I just spent a little time reading a fun little irreverent fiction by Terry Pratchett called Pyramids: A Novel of Discworld. In this text, Pratchett spoofs ancient Egypt, and the power that the people believed their Pharaoh to possess. Even in fiction, there is something enlightening to be found. In this book, I was reminded of how people of this world view their monarchs. It was not uncommon in the times of biblical writing for people to think that their ruler somehow caused the sun to rise. And even today, we look at presidents and governors, and think them invincible to the outside world even if they might find ways to politically ruin themselves.

In light of our unflinching confidence in our rulers, the words of Psalm 76 ought to get our attention. It is appropriate for rulers, kings, the men whom we all know to be in control, to fear God. This is not simply a call for those men to know about God. It is not a call to simply respect God. Rulers, the most powerful men on the planet, are right if they fear God.

Now, think of this in light of the common person. Since I find it doubtful that any global ruler will be reading this devotional post, I think I can safely say that all of us are somehow lower than the rulers of this world. All of us are less powerful and less secure in our social positions. And if God calls kings to fear him, how much more should we fear him? He is the creator. He is the giver of life. He is the one who made us by his power and for his glory. Let us not stand before him self-confident. Let us not think for a moment that we exist by anything other than his pleasure. Let us tremble before the mighty God who has expressed his love for us by giving his Son to pay for our sin. Let us worship the God who has every right to destroy us, but who sustains us for the sake of his name. Let us learn from God’s call for kings to fear him.

Joshua 2:8-11 – 8 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.”
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One of the greatest mistakes that the people of God tend to make is to predict the success or failure of something based solely on what we can see. Think of how often you do not share your faith with a lost person because, in your mind, that person is not “ready” to hear the gospel. Think of how often you choose not to obey the commands of God because you feel that something is amiss.

The example of disobedience that God brings to mind in Joshua 2 is the disobedience of the people of Israel from years before. The spies of Numbers 13-14 told the people of Israel that they could not take the land because of the opposition they would face. The people believed the spies, and God forced them to wander the wilderness until an entire generation died.

But look at the words of Rahab. She tells the men Joshua sent into Jericho that, when the people of her city heard about what God had done through the nation of Israel, all of their courage left them. All the hearts of the warriors melted with fear at the proposition of facing the Lord’s army. God was working behind the scenes to bring about the impossible.

Now, think about that witnessing encounter that you have avoided or that command of God’s you have refused to obey because you think that circumstances are not right. The truth is, you and I have absolutely no ability to read circumstances. This is because WE have no way to know what God is doing behind the scenes to accomplish his will. It could be that, though you cannot see it, the Lord has placed great conviction on someone’s heart. It could be that, though you don’t know it, the Lord has already made a way to help your financial ends meet when you choose to give faithfully to his ministry. It could be that God has already put in place how you would be able to give away something of value in your life and yet still live for him.

Rahab’s words tell us that God is working in ways that we simply cannot see. Therefore, we must learn to trust the Lord, obey his commands, and do what seems to be impossible.

Romans 16:19 – For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.
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What do you study? With what do you familiarize yourself? A look at Romans 16:19, Paul’s farewell to the church in Rome, challenges us to a way of thinking that is properly balanced. God wants us to be wise about what is good while being innocent of evil.

Let’s look at those two commands in reverse order. God calls us to be innocent of evil. This means that, so far as the evil practices and wrong-headed thinking of the world goes, we are not to be involved. We most certainly are not to find ourselves fascinated more with the study of the false doctrines of cults, the evil practices of the occult, or the details of the decadent lives of people in the world. We are to be innocent, clean, pure, unblemished. This, of course, puts a challenge before the person who believes that he has to experience all sorts of sinful entertainment in order to be “relevant” in the culture.

One quick balancing point: We are to be innocent of evil, but not ignorant. The call here is not for us to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that evil does not exist. However, the knowledge that we should have of the culture around us should be enough to understand its existence, not to be familiar with its details so much so that our imaginations can run away with us and drag us into sin. So, for example, a Christian ought to be aware of the presence of a local strip joint, but ought not get so into the conversation with his lost buddies as to learn the details of a particular stripper’s anatomy or routine. A Christian most certainly can be aware of certain cultural phenomena such as musical trends, teen habits, movies, comedy routines, or other potentially sinful activities without becoming so intimately involved with them as to be tempted by them (not that any in that list is necessarily sinful) .

Look at the alternative with me, and I think you will see an appropriate difference. Instead of becoming experts on the evil of the world, it is far better for us to become wise about what is good. God wants us to spend the bulk of our brain power dwelling on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). He wants us to be experts on him, his grace, his word, his love, his power, his glory, etc. God wants us to think about how to help others to know him and how we can show his love to a lost and dying world. God wants us to know his word better than we know the content of any form of entertainment, sinful or not. God wants us to love his word far more than we love finding a hole in the argumentation of some critic of the faith. It is far better to fill your mind with what is truly good than it is to ponder the strategy of the evil.

Today, why not make it a goal of yours to take time to become wise at what is good? Why not make it a point to spend more of your time focused on what is right than what is wrong? How about making sure that you balance your leisure time in favor of that which honors God? And why not, while you’re at it, see about closing the doors of your life to that which is too much information on the evil? Let us learn to glorify God by loving him with our minds, becoming wise at what is good and innocent of evil.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20

14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
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Our God is truly an awesome God. In Deuteronomy 17, God, through Moses, tells the nation of Israel his statutes. Here at the end of chapter 17, God tells the nation something that they will do hundreds of years in the future. They will rebel against God and ask for a king. Since God knows what they will do, he gives them commands for what the king should not do.

How prescient is God? Look at this description of King Solomon from a few hundred years after Moses gave this command:

1 Kings 10:25-11:6

25 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 And Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders received them from Kue at a price. 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king’s traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
11:1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. 4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.

God commanded the king not to do a few things in Deuteronomy 17. He told the king not to return to Egypt for horses, to amass too much wealth, or to marry many women. Solomon did all three of these things, and his heart was turned away from the Lord.

What astounds me is not that Solomon disobeyed the command of God. What astounds me is that God, through Moses, told us exactly what Solomon would do. He gave the very specific commands that Solomon would disobey. It is as if God simply laid out the law, knowing all the time exactly what would befall this rebellious nation full of rebellious men.

Now, I’m not pretending that it is at all encouraging to watch Solomon fail. I am, however, greatly in awe of the fact that God has all of human history in his view. He knew what Solomon’s heart would be. He knew what men would do. He even knows everything I ever will do. Our God is amazing and worthy of all worship. No one could see the future to make such a command except for our God who truly knows all things. Praise to him!

Matthew 24:45-46 – “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.”
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Matthew 24 is one of the most fascinating discourses that we can read from the lips of Jesus. In this passage, we have Jesus answering questions for his disciples that concern the destruction of the temple, Jesus’ coming, and the end of the age. Many people spend years of their lives in study of this section along with other prophetic passages to develop their eschatology, their belief about the ultimate end of the world.

Rather than spending any time trying to put together an argument as to an order of both past and future events, I would rather spend some time this morning pondering the counsel given to us by our Lord. Would you like to be considered a faithful servant of the Lord? If so, you need remember a few things. First, remember that the world in which we live is temporary. There is an age to come in which our lives will not be what they presently are. We are created for an eternity in the presence of God. Let us learn to live, think, and act as people whose eternal life has already begun and whose eternal life will carry us on long after the toys and petty entertainments of this life have passed away.

Second, let us remember that, regardless of what order you expect future events to take, the Bible is clear that Jesus will physically return to this earth and a new age will be inaugurated. You may live out your days on this earth before that physical return of Christ, and you may not. Either way, the Lord Jesus advises you to be faithfully obeying his commands until that day arrives. We must never allow the thought of the return of Christ to keep us from going out, preaching the Gospel, and working with every fiber of our being for the glory of God. Christ does not allow us to have an escapist mentality. He commands our continued work, our continued faithfulness. We want to be doing what he has called us to do when he returns or when he calls us home.

Romans 2:4-5 – Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
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Presumption is one of the easiest sins to fall into. Why? Simply put, this is such an easy sin because it requires nothing of us. To presume on God’s grace is simply to assume that everything is as it ought to be. It is to say, “Of course God has been good to me,” and to think in your heart that you deserve it. Presumption is championed by a world that calls us to live for ourselves and to feed our self-esteem.

With this thought in mind, Romans 2:4 ought to cause us to pause and think very hard about how we think. Paul, inspired by God’s Holy Spirit, makes us aware that the kindness of God is intended to lead us to repentance. God’s kindness is not simply there for us to enjoy. God does not give us his kindness so that we can merely sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride he gives us through an easy life—not at all! God wants us to see in his kindness our great need to respond to him with love, faith, and obedience. He wants his kindness toward us to make us see that we are sinners who do not deserve that kindness. He wants that kindness to stand out like a blazing beacon against the dark backdrop of our hearts’ own selfishness and malice. God is kind toward us in order to help us see how great he is in comparison to our own selfishness and sinfulness.

Do not hear me calling us to think that God is not genuinely kind to us. In fact, a kindness intended to lead us to repentance is the greatest kindness of all. God’s kindness is intended to lead us to our hearts’ greatest possible joy, the joy of glorifying our God. He is overwhelmingly kind. But let us learn not to presume on his kindness. Let us not receive his kindness without understanding that it is truly grace, unmerited favor from God. Let us not let kindness happen without it spurring in our hearts a desire to be more like God, to turn from our sin, and to experience his glory. Let us learn to let God’s kindness lead us to repentance.

Psalm 50:21

These things you have done, and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
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One of the most common and most frustrating things that I run into as a pastor is an error that God points out in the above verse. There are times when I, as a pastor, will share with someone simple truths from the word of God. While I know and heartily acknowledge that I am imperfect and quite fallible, I also know that God has blessed me with training and resources to help to interpret the Bible faithfully in accord with sound hermeneutical principles. Thus it is frustrating and difficult when I run into a person who, upon hearing something from the word of God, responds with a statement akin to the following: “Well, I just don’t think God would do it that way,” or “I just know that God. . .”

The dangerous error that any of us can fall into if we fail to make our theology from the scripture is the error of making our God into our own image. God rebukes Israel for this harshly. That second line of the verse above, “you thought that I was one like yourself” is the key. When we do not allow the Bible and the Bible alone to help us to know who God is, what he is like, and how he will act, we instead assume that God thinks along our line of reasoning. When we say, for example, that God would never do something, we should immediately ask ourselves if that is something that is revealed in his word. God will never lie, as his word clearly states in Titus 1:2. But for someone to say that God would never allow their country’s government to fall or that God would never allow his church to suffer at the hands of an evil government is for someone to claim something which God most certainly did not reveal in the scriptures.

You might wonder if this happens often in the life of the church. I submit to you that it happens all the time. When Christians debate issues such as eschatology (end time events), how often are their arguments based on what they think God would do rather than what God has said? How about when we study the issue of the order of the events in our salvation? Do we make our arguments based on what the Bible says or what we think we have experienced? It is likely that, if you look deeply into any controversial doctrinal issue, somewhere near the bottom of the issue will be an argument that forms, not from scripture, but from someone’s opinion of how God ought to do things.

What about you? When you think of God and how God accomplishes his will, do you think in purely biblical terms? Do you allow the scripture to inform you as to God’s ways? Or do you assume that God would never allow something to happen based on the simple fact that, if you were in God’s place, you do not think that you would allow it to happen? God is infinitely greater than us in his holiness and in his wisdom. His ways are beyond our comprehension at many a time. How dare we assume that God would or would not do something simply based on our own likes and dislikes? Let us not remake a god in our own image. Let us not assume that God is one like ourselves. Let us learn who God is as he has revealed to us in his word.

Matthew 21:43 – Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
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Jesus, in speaking with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, makes a chilling claim. Comparing the nation of Israel to a group of unfaithful vineyard tenants, Jesus showed how Israel as a nation had refused to obey God’s commands and had put his prophets and eventually his Son to death. As a result, God would take the Kingdom of God away from these wicked men, and would give the work of the Kingdom to another people who would bear fruit.

Right away, the American Christian is tempted to smile to himself when thinking of this passage. We think to ourselves that we are part of that people to whom the Kingdom is given. But before we get too smug, let us remember something crucial that Jesus said, “a people producing its fruits”. For a moment, examine yourself. For a moment examine your local congregation. Are you a people who are producing the fruits of the Kingdom of God?

As I read this verse this morning, I was not even tempted to deal with any sort of dispensationalism issues. Nor am I in any way attempting to deal with any issues regarding believers and the security of their salvation. I simply want us to think about this question: If God gives his kingdom to those who produce its fruits, ought we feel comfortable that we in our own lives and in our corporate church lives would qualify as solid Kingdom citizens? Is your life bearing the fruit of a Kingdom citizen? Is your church bearing fruit as a part of God’s Kingdom? If not, why not? If not, why are you not trembling in fear that God might place you on the shelf and choose to use someone else to accomplish his work?

Here is what I know for sure. If you truly have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, you cannot lose that relationship. However, if you have such a relationship, it must be marked by fruit. If you are bearing fruit, God will entrust more and more to you in the work of his Kingdom. If you are not bearing fruit, it is likely that you will fail to experience even the smallest of joys available to you as God’s child in this life. It should frighten those who are not bearing fruit that their lives could be lived without truly having the joy for which God created them and saved them. And, it is possible that, if your life is not marked by any fruit, your life is not truly marked by genuine salvation.

And for a local church, the fear ought also be great. In the Ephesian church of Revelation 2:1-7, we see God threaten to take that church out of existence if they do not return in love to him. Do you believe that God would no longer do that? If your church is not bearing fruit, you ought plead with God that he will make your church fruitful. You ought work with all your might to help your church to be fruitful. Bear the fruit of the Kingdom so that your church might continue to be used by God in his great global mission. Fail to faithfully follow God, and you could see your own congregation become less and less relevant in Kingdom conversation.

By the way, fruit does not necessarily equal numeric growth. Bearing Kingdom fruit is faithful obedience to the commands of God. If your church bears Kingdom fruit, there will be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). A fruitful church will learn to love God more and more and love each other selflessly (Matthew 22:27-40). A fruitful church will share the gospel with the community around it, carry that gospel to the nations, and teach obedience to Jesus to all who are a part of it (Matthew 28:28-20). A fruitful church will be a place where God is exalted, the Bible is faithfully taught and believed, the lost hear the gospel, the believers love one another, and the needy are helped. A fruitful church will be a place where gossip dies, where grudges are put to rest, where pride is destroyed, where evil doctrines are slain.

Is your church and your life bearing the fruit of the Kingdom of God?

Psalm 46:10

“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
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Psalm 46 is a beautiful piece of poetry. In it, we see attacks leveled against the people of God which the Lord, in his timing and in his power, repels. Though there appears to be turmoil all around the fortresses of the people of God, the Lord is still clearly sovereign, clearly in control.

Verse 10 of this psalm is an often-cited verse of scripture. Sadly, often the teachers who draw our attention to this verse do so in a call for some sort of mystical and quietistic meditation. That certainly would not appear to be the point when the psalm is taken in context. The world is going crazy. People are gunning for God’s people on every side. There is apparent cause for alarm and fear. Yet the Lord calls to his people and tells them to be still. He calls us to stop striving, stop fearing, stop worrying. He calls us to remember that he is God, that he is sovereign, and that he will insure that he is glorified.

Recently, have you taken part in one of those Christian conversations in which you and another believer bemoan the fact that the world, the nation, or your local church are sliding down a slippery slope? Have you railed against the sad state of politics in the nation? Have you decried the ugliness of the entertainment world? If so, take time out, be still, and know that God is God. He is aware of the ugliness that surrounds us. He is aware of the moral filth that is flying through our airwaves. He is aware of the attacks of scholars who look down their noses at our faith. He is aware of the waters breaking against us on all sides. The Lord wants us to remember that he is still God, he is still in charge, and he will still be glorified.

Be careful, by the way, not to hear this as a call to stop working to bring about the glory of God in this world. Some take this verse as an excuse to “cease striving” in such a way that they no longer work to honor God. That is in no way what the Lord is commanding. We are to work for God’s glory and the advancement of his kingdom. What we are not to do is to fret, to worry, to moan and gripe about how bad things are. We serve a God who is in control. Thus, as we work for his glory, we can also be still in our hearts, knowing that he is our God and he will be glorified.