Psalm 116:7-9 - Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
Rest for our souls is something we have now and, at the same time, something we do not yet have. Such peace is ours right now, but there is a greater rest still to come. The rest that is ours now is sometimes difficult to grasp. We shed tears of frustration, sorrow, and grief. Our feet stumble as we wander in sin from the ways of God. Death and the grave are ever-present threats for us and for those we love. Our souls are more often restless than at rest.
This "now and not yet" of faith is also found in earlier verses of this psalm. The psalmist expresses his great distress and anguish in the face of death, yet at the same time he praises the Lord who delivers His people. This psalm may have been prayed or sung by Jesus as part of the Passover celebration on the night before He took His final steps to the cross. Perhaps our Lord prayed these now-and-not-yet words: "The snares of death encompassed Me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on Me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the Name of the LORD: 'O LORD, I pray, deliver My soul! ... You have delivered My soul from death" (Psalm 116:3-4, 8a). The snares of death surrounded Jesus as He took onto Himself the penalty of death that we deserved for our sins. Then, on the third day after His death, Jesus was delivered! God raised Him from death and exalted Him to reign as King.
Through faith in Christ Jesus, we can say with confidence that the Lord has dealt bountifully with us. The bountiful blessings of that deliverance are ours right now. We still experience grief and sorrow, but we have comfort and hope through the promises of God's Word. When our feet stumble in sin, with repentant joy we receive the forgiveness Jesus won for us on the cross. At death, we will immediately be at home with the Lord. All of these blessings are real for us now, yet these blessings point to a greater reality still to come. When our Lord returns on the Last Day, we will be raised up from death to walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Our feet will never stumble in sin as we live in the new heavens and the new earth that God will create. Death will be destroyed and all distress and anguish will be gone forever. Body and soul, we will live in Jesus' presence. Then we will say once again that the Lord has dealt bountifully with us.
WE PRAY: Lord, I give thanks for Your blessings now and look forward to greater blessings yet to come! Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
Reflection Questions:
1. What do you do to take a break when you're tired or stressed out?
2. When did God last comfort you in times of trouble?
3. Who are some people you can pray for who would do well to know God's love and care?
Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 5-6 2 Corinthians 13
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