Written By Dan

It has been my observation while reading Psalm 115, our God reassures us that reconciliation and grace are always on the table, waiting for us to engage, waiting for us to yield. God made the earth we walk upon; he made all things on the earth for us. The earth was intended to be a cool place for us to live. It is unmistakably generated by God’s power, with his authority, and his immense wisdom. Yet, it pleases Him to make space for us to govern ourselves on earth and make use of his resources. His hand stretched out and created the heavens, he commanded all the hosts (angels) bringing them into existence, governing their activities and influence. All this is extremely good news for Israel, their God is creator and overseer of the universe.

Psalms 115: 1-11 says — Not to us Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Why do the nations say, where is their God? Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. All you Israelites, trust in the Lord—he is their help and shield. House of Aaron, trust in the Lord—he is their help and shield. You who fear him, trust in the Lord—he is their help and shield. (NIV)

This is easy to ingest academically, but it is hard for me to wrap my mind around all this, to embrace it, and rely on it in everything we do or say. We are told in concrete language what God will do for us, that we might rest in his assurances, and build our life upon the notions of grace, redemption, and salvation. Let yourself think of this from God’s view. We are scheduled to last forever. Always around. Imagine one of your neighbors scheduled to be your neighbor forever. Always leaning in for more favors, wanting play time, wanting help in the yard, needing help to repair car troubles in the middle of the night, long endless talks. No relief – forever — 24/7 forever. Imagine a trillion of your closest neighbors always there forever. That is God’s perspective with a human flair. What an amazingly patient God we have. What human would design or plan this?

We have been given a remarkable gift. Liberty forever. This liberty has been proclaimed on the hilltops; God has put power into our hands. God has raised us up in righteousness, so that he may execute his promises through our hands. We are blessed.

What if I was an exiled Jew in Babylon; hoping (vaguely) for a return to a promised land I can barely remember. It seems like a hollow promise, never to be honored, but I say the words to stay out of trouble with my Jewish neighbors. I wait, wondering if the promise might be true. And then comes Cyrus. He closes in on my Babylon; we are anxious, not sure what will happen. Then it becomes clear. Cyrus captures the city and seems to be a reasonable person. Then Cyrus talks about sending the Jews home. Cyrus says he plans to facilitate the rebuilding of Jerusalem. How could I have planned that? Could this happen? The promise seemed like a bridge too far, but now things are changing. Who is this God? My Goodness. What is next?

Then I heard we are leaving for Jerusalem in a few days. We were captives, now we are a migrating nation, heading home. Home. How could this happen? Our bondage is over. God has redeemed us. He really did what he said he would do. Selah. Assuming the New Covenant and grace are part of your life, Elohim’s unmerited affection underscores a promise. The promise? We are heading home.

I choose Jesus.