Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Psalm 27: Take Heart

"...be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (v.14)

You've heard it said many times, "Take heart, this too will pass," or, "Take heart, it's not as bad as you think it is,", or, "Take heart, you love one another, this will eventually work out." Usually when you hear the words, "take heart" someone is trying to make you feel better about something that's got you down. Maybe it's a tough circumstance that you're having to endure, a hurtful moment in a relationship, or a disappointment you have to face. The "take heart" response of the person who's near you is an attempt to temporarily alter your feelings about the thing that's upset you. The person speaking means well, but the "take heart" they offer you doesn't really offer you much to hold on to. You stand in the middle of something that's bigger than you and over which you've no control and you're invited to hope that it isn't as bad as it seems. Well, that's an offer of hope that, when examined, doesn't really give you any concrete reason to be hopeful.

Psalm 27 ends with a "take heart," but this "take heart" offers a very different hope than we often offer one another in moments of difficulty and disappointment. What makes this "take heart" different is that it's a call to wait on the Lord. It isn't about trying to change emotions; rather it's an invitation to rest in the one place where rest can really be found; in the Lord.

Who is this one in whom you can "take heart?"

1. He's the definition of love. Scripture says something amazing about the love of God. It doesn't simply say that God is committed to faithful love. It doesn't just say that God loves you even when you don't deserve his love. It doesn't only say that he loves you better than anyone else will ever love you. No, what the Bible says about God can't be said about anyone else. It says that, "God is love." God is the essence, the source, the ultimate definition of love; and love that's true love has God as its source. If there was no God there would be no love. I can "take heart" because my life is held in the hands of the One who is the essence of love.

2. He's the source of all wisdom. In Colossians 2, the Apostle Paul says that, "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ." Think how radical this is. As believers in Jesus Christ, we know that wisdom isn't an outline, a theology, or a book. We know that wisdom is a Person and his name is Jesus. You get true wisdom, not by experience, education, or research, but by relationship. When you come to Christ you're now in a personal relationship with the One who is wisdom. You can "take heart" because the One who holds you defines everything that wisdom is about.

3. He's a God of awesome power. How do you do justice to describing the power of God. There's nothing to which it can be compared. There are no analogies to it to be found anywhere in the created world. The thunder storm, the tempestuous sea, the hurricane, and the tornado, with all of their great power contain an infinitesimal fraction of the power of God. This is the One who created the world and everything that's in it. This is the One who holds the world together simply by the exercise of his will. When you rest in him, you can "take heart" because he really does have the power to deliver everything he's promised you.

4. This is a God of unchallenged rule. In Daniel 4 we are reminded that God rules over the "host of heaven and the inhabitants of earth." We are further reminded that no one has the authority to stop his hand or question what he does. God is in absolute control over the world he made. What he wills happens. His plan will be done. His kingdom will be established. He won't lose any of the children he's chosen to be his own. When I'm in difficulty and I run to God, I'm running to the One who's in absolute control of every circumstance that appears to me to be out of control. Now that's a reason for "taking heart!"

5. He's a God of glorious grace. God's grace means that I can rest assured that I'll have everything I need to be what he wants me to be and to do what he wants me to do in the situation in which he's placed me. I'm no longer restricted to the limits of my own strength and wisdom. By his grace, I've a new identity and a new potential. I'm a child of God; the risen Christ now lives inside of me. I need no longer fear people or circumstances; I don't have to feel weak in the face of suffering or temptation, because I no longer rest in the resources of my own ability. I'm in Christ and he's in me. This new identity gives me new potential as I face the realities of life in this bent and broken world. God's grace gives me reason to "take heart."

When I'm in difficulty and I "take heart" in the Lord, rather than be weakened by the difficulty, I grow stronger. The more I meditate on the glory of God, the more my faith grows; the more my faith grows the more I respond to life with hope and courage; the more I respond to life with hope and courage, the more I harvest the new fruit in concrete changes in the situations and relationship that I am facing.

If you're God's child, you have reason to "take heart," no matter what you're facing.

45 Comments:

At 9:46 AM, Blogger bhaughery said...

Dear Paul,

Thank you for Dec. 19th post. We lost our 2 year old granddaughter this past year. Your thoughts on "taking heart" being a call to wait on the Lord brought fresh encouragement to me soul. Thank you, Bill Haughery

 
At 3:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So incredibly encouraging to me today. Thank you so much for your clear and encouraging words.

 
At 7:35 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

A much needed word of encouragement for me today. As the "caretaker" of my mother, it seems endless sometimes...especially right now after a bad fall. I will take heart and wait on the Lord one day at a time.

 
At 9:31 AM, Blogger Charity said...

Hi...I just came upon your blog through another blog. I really needed this post on "taking heart". Thanks for these encouraging words! The Lord is certainly working through you and your blog! Thanks again!

 
At 8:07 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Paul,

Thank you for a word fitly spoken. It was full of encouragement to me in recent grief and great need for wisdom. Thank you for reminding me that God's wisdom and grace is present!

 
At 5:16 PM, Blogger Katie said...

Mr. Tripp,
Thank you so much for this post. I love reading your poetry and thoughts on Scripture. I especially love this post, thank you for the encouragement.

Katie Heidenreich

 
At 5:39 PM, Blogger kshirley said...

Well, I will join with the others...I needed to read this today. I have start ed to collect and memorize verses that tell of God's glory and sovereignty:

"Know therefore today, and take it to heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is not other. Dt 4:39

He is the I AM! He is the God who "sees".

 
At 11:55 AM, Anonymous Medel said...

A much needed word of encouragement for me today. As the "caretaker" of my mother, it seems endless sometimes...especially right now after a bad fall. I will take heart and wait on the Lord one day at a time.  

 
At 11:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great Right here is the process to obtain movie theater box Cinema Box APK Download for Android HD Movie App If you still find if hard to mount Cinema Box App for Android, Fine.

 
At 6:06 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

good accessibility in case you intend to do even more with them, but at the entry-level, they don't cost you a cent.Also better is that they're all integrated to identify the Google account that sign out of play store their android device Because its most trusted app shop for android great.

 
At 6:46 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

good similar to with your phone. This is something to be happy for, WhatsApp for Laptop Enjoy making use of WhatsApp anywhere and never nice.

 
At 7:34 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

good System, Programmer Options. Enable ADB Debugging https://kodidownloadtv.com opening up the context media food selection button in nice.

 
At 10:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. I was working on a sermon on Psalm 27 & looking for some comments to share on waiting on the Lord. This was very helpful. Thank you so much. May God bless your ministry.

 
At 12:26 AM, Blogger kathiencarroll said...

good you require.The steps to Showbox for iPad Download is so easy as showboxdownloadz.com it making use of the APK data. This has attract attention to be great.

 
At 6:15 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You feline goes inside the round compartment wixsite.com as well as does her business.karenfsmith45kn1 Her weight on the action leading into the box causes the Litter Box Problems cleaning system, which begins after Best Litter Box for Multiple Cats a set quantity of time. The round area rotates as Litter Box well as transfers the clutter into.

 
At 3:38 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you download a bunch of music, consider using an online movies subscription service. There are services such as Rdio and Spotify that allow you to listen to tons of music for a monthly fee. Users can also download cinemaboxhd, too. You may find that you can expand your music collection in a very cost-effective way by doing this.

 
At 10:32 PM, Blogger y8 ganmesx said...

http://fifa18apk.com/ for best Apk game download fifa 18 here

 
At 1:18 AM, Anonymous Mr. Anderson said...

Yet another beautiful post you shared with us. Heart touching and inspiring. These kind of posts really encourages us to have fun activities in our life. Cheers

 
At 2:30 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd like to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this blog. I'm hoping to check out the same high-grade blog posts by you in the future as well.
fnaf world download

 
At 3:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was more than happy to uncover this great site. I need to to thank you for your time due to this fantastic read!!
I definitely enjoyed every bit of it and I have you bookmarked to see new information on your blog.
[url=http://www.hashuz.com/store/shindigz-coupon-code/]shindigz-coupon-code[/url]

[url=https://idleheroesmodapk.com/tier-list-of-idle-heroes/]idle heroes tier list[/url]

[url=https://bestorthopedicdogbed.com/dogbed4less-orthopedic-memory-foam-review/]dogbed4less[/url]

https://liveapks.com/

https://happynewyearr.com/

[url=https://asphaltmodapk.info/]asphalt mod apk[/url]

[url=https://allcallpackages.com/jazz-monthly-sms-package]jazz monthly sms package/[/url]

[url=http://ageofempirescheats.com/age-of-empires-3-asian-dynasties-cheats]age of empires 3 cheats/[/url]

 
At 4:03 AM, Blogger zzyytt said...

michael kors handbags
nike air max 90
golden goose outlet
yeezy boost 350 v2
yeezy
nike roshe
kobe basketball shoes
yeezy boost
adidas shoes
james harden shoes

 
At 9:35 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Freedom apk download

Freedom apk

cinemabox hd

cinema box ios

Cinemabox For PC

AppLock APK

gbwhatsapp 6.55 apk download

gbwhatsapp messenger

gb whatsapp for pc

gb whatsapp download

gb whatsapp apk download

 
At 6:21 AM, Blogger vidmate apk said...

cinemabox-apk-download

Download Cinemabox App for Free

Download Cinemabox APK

cinema box apk on android

Cinemabox apk Latest Version Download

Cinemabox apk latest version

Cinemabox APK Download free

 
At 6:12 AM, Blogger Ocean of Games said...

http://miraclebox.info/

 
At 6:12 AM, Blogger Ocean of Games said...

http://oceanofgamex.com/ here you can get pc games from this site ocean of games rehanixx

 
At 11:00 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

The wording you have used for this post is simply amazing and powerful. I wish you success in your life. Your words have really inspired me and the people I've shared your post with. Keep sharing quality content. Also, I want to share something for your community too. subway surfers apk for unlimited coins and keys It's really amazing when you have leisure time.

 
At 12:16 PM, Anonymous Web hosting Company in Dubai said...

Gcc is one of the leading web hosting company in UAE, that build its reputation by providing quality services.

 
At 6:48 AM, Blogger Oceanofgames said...

https://oceanofgames.live/ best games

 
At 7:57 AM, Blogger jacklinemelda said...

Our legitimate essay writing service is also keen on ensuring that the content of the completed paper is free from grammatical errors so as to provide those seeking for write my research papers services receive a professional legitimate custom paper .

 
At 8:07 PM, Blogger revdl said...



https://revdlfree.com/ for best apps and games free download apk revdl

 
At 2:16 AM, Blogger Tech Solitic said...

TechSolitic all windows issue solved

 
At 6:54 AM, Blogger GlobalEmployees said...

http://globalemployees.mystrikingly.com/blog/java-and-oracle-database
https://uberant.com/article/661508-why-use-a-copy-first-approach-in-web-design/
https://dailygram.com/index.php/blog/594388/getting-to-know-deep-java-library-and-machine-learning-lifecycle-with-java/

 
At 8:02 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Hey Check out my new Blog Post You all will love this smartnews for windows 10
& Cotomovies For Pc
& Free Fire Diamond Generator
& Facetime for pc
& FreeFlix APK

 
At 4:28 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Problackfridaydealz.com get the latest deals

 
At 6:18 AM, Blogger mod apk said...

ocean of games cuphead  get download all games rom in this website

 
At 1:11 AM, Anonymous ed medication said...

Hurrah! At last I got a website from where I be able to genuinely get valuable facts regarding my study and knowledge.

 
At 7:47 AM, Blogger John Cena said...


PUBG is the most popular video game of 2017, and just yesterday it released its version 1.0. In other words, it was successful even before releasing a final version. In Bluehole Studio’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, we’re going to have another 100 participants on an island after parachuting. It is a giant stage, in which we fight another 100 participants, in an online shooter format.
PUBG UC Hack

 
At 10:42 AM, Blogger yanmaneee said...

yeezy boost 350
kd13
moncler
jordan 6
nike sb
yeezy 500
moncler
goyard
kyrie 4
jordan shoes

 
At 7:35 AM, Blogger Parker said...

中國人線上看,韓劇, 日劇,陸劇,中國人線上看, 台劇,線上看 綜藝、動漫

 
At 7:42 AM, Blogger kanati said...

楓林網,楓林網电影,韓劇線上看,台劇線上看,韓劇線上看,電影 線上看,陸劇線上看,日劇線上看,美劇線上看,港劇線上看,电影,电视剧,动漫,视频网站,高清视频,楓林網, 楓林网, 楓林, 風林網

 
At 7:49 AM, Blogger jerry said...

独播库,线上看 免费在线观看,电影,电视剧,动漫,duboku,视频网站,高清视频涵蓋劇集、電影、綜藝、動漫

 
At 8:29 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

台劇線上看,韓劇線上看,美劇線上看,港劇線上看,Gimy電影,小鴨影音,momovod,HBO,愛奇藝 gimy

 
At 8:40 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

楓林網(8maple.biz替代舊域名8maple.ru)每天更新海量高清1080P電影差。內容豐富多元,涵蓋劇集、電影、綜藝、動漫、娛樂等優質影視節目,枫林网,觀眾可以在線觀看台劇、港劇,日劇、韓劇、陸

 
At 8:45 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

great post.Nice info. Amazing write up xender MOD apk

 
At 2:43 AM, Anonymous Scribd said...

Download Scribd Audiobooks free from the below given link:
https://downloadscribdfree.com/download-scribd-audiobooks/

 

Post a Comment

<< Home