True Belonging Our Only Hope!
You don’t need another opinion or editorial on the injustices, riots, or the global pandemic plaguing our world but how about some comfort? The other morning I was reading these words from Psalm 68:5-6 NLT:
“Father to the fatherless, defender of widows -this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; He sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
As I pondered these verses I recalled the tapestry of ministering alongside so many: the lonely, hurting, fatherless, prisoners, homeless, those struggling with addiction, divorce and the broken hearted. Really all of us fall into one of these categories at one time or another. Over the years I’ve found that the greatest need in each of us is the need to belong. When we feel we don’t belong chaos reigns within our soul.
The words from King David reveal the Father’s heart to bring each of us into a place of True Belonging! Each of us on this planet fits into the “most vulnerable” category whether we realize it or not. What our bleeding world needs is to know the joy, hope, and comfort of truly belonging.
My pondering of the text reminded me of one of the greatest summaries of True Belonging from an almost 500 year old Bible study. As you read and reflect on these potent words, may they bring comfort to your soul:
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul in life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.
Because I belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him. (The Heidelberg Catechism, LORD’S DAY 1)
I pray these words bring you comfort, hope, and the only way forward to heal the wounds of a weary world.
Amen!
What a blessing, hope, and comfort fills me with your reminder that our Creator loves and accepts us as His very own even with all our struggles and flaws initiated through Adam and Eve’s sin and then my own sinful choices. And what a comfort to know that He doesn’t want me to stay in that state of sin but wants to renew me through His death and resurrection and with His hope, Joy, peace, and comfort when I choose Him as the way, truth, and life for me! Thank you, Tim!