“O love the Lord, all you His saints—for the Lord preserves the faithful and plentifully rewards the proud doer. Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the Lord.”
Psalm 31:23-24
Just when we feel we can’t go on, He whispers “I’ll take it from here.”
Preservation and invigoration.
Those are the two “watchwords for the day” in today’s Manna. And, in this day-and-age of escalating evil. . .eroding foundations. . .fractured families and the loss of love. . .the abandonment of common sense. . .and “men’s hearts failing them because of fear” (Lk. 21:26) . . .how we need to know “the Lord preserves the faithful.”
The Hebrew word “natsar” is used here for “preserves” and also means “to guard, protect, maintain, conceal, watch over, etc.” Thus is the picture of one guarding another. And, how wonderful to know this One is the God of the universe, Who holds all those who trust Him “in the hollow of His Hand from which no one can pluck them” (Jn. 10:28-29). Hallelujah!!
While David also found consolation in knowing the Lord will “plentifully reward the proud doer”—i.e., “get what’s coming to him”—his real comfort was knowing the God of Abraham also “strengthens the heart of those who hope in Him.”
Look at those words again, Pilgrim:
“Strengthens the heart.” What type strength is this? Physical strength? Mental toughness? Emotional resiliency? Or, is it “strength in the inner man,” i.e., inward “strength of soul,” that comes from the Holy Spirit and affects every other part of our being?
Without a doubt this is what’s meant here.
David knew it. Isaiah knew it (Is. 40:31). Paul knew it (Eph. 3:16). And, we, too, can know it when the Spirit “quickens us” (Eph. 2:1-10) with the same Resurrection Power that raised Jesus from the dead (Rom. 8:37; Phil. 4:13; II Tim. 1:7).
Even in those times when our resources and reserves are exhausted or depleted, the Heavenly Father’s are just getting started (II Cor. 12:9-10; Phil. 4:19). When we reach the place where we even “despair of life itself” (II Cor. 1:8), He reminds us that we’ve been given “the sentence of death that we should not trust in ourselves, but should rather trust in Him, Who raises the dead and delivers all those who trust in Him” (II Cor. 1:9-10).
It’s no accident that His strength not only “preserves us,” but also invigorates and incites us to courage. And, it is this inward “strengthening of soul” that “renews us day-by-day” and keeps us from “growing weary in well-doing and fainting in mind” (II Cor. 4:16; Gal. 6:9).
The key in all of this is “loving the Lord”. . .“being of good courage”. . .and “hoping IN HIM,” not someone or something else. Truly, He is the “sure-and-steadfast Anchor of the soul” (Heb. 6:18). Therefore, “be of good cheer” (Mk. 6:50), weary Pilgrim; you’re not alone in the fire or in the fray (Dan. 3:24-25). He’ll give you what you need when you need it.
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated September 30, 2010
