Caribbean Moravian Devotions

The Lord is the strength of His people. Psalm 28: 8

Psalm 28 is described as a ‘prayer for help and thanksgiving for it’ by an individual (believed to be David) who is being persecuted in some way by members of the community. The individual also prays that the judgment that God will bring against the community will not affect him or her in any way. There is the feeling that this judgment is not only deserved, but certain to take place, hence the thanksgiving when it does happen. Friends there are times when we as Christians are on the receiving end of persecution by the community we serve. In these last days the church has been the most peaceful in her history, pursuing peaceful ways of witnessing, and being more involved in assisting individuals to get a better quality of life. At the same time, there is a heightened level of persecution by those who would rather have a churchless society. I don’t believe that it is the church that people are against. It is the Christian morals and principles that have become problematic in a world that is driven by self-indulgence and gratification.

Like the Psalmist, our response must be one of prayer: Prayer for peace in a troubled world; prayer for God’s grace and mercy in a world deserving of God’s righteous judgment; and prayer for deliverance from God’s judgment for those who chose to remain true to God. Note that the Psalmist does not just pray, but prays in complete confidence in God’s ability. ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped’ he declares in verse 7. His confidence in God is born out of a relationship that involves the Psalmist’s trusting God and God’s helping him/her. It is a reminder to us today that God’s help is available to those who trust in Him. My friend, do you trust God enough to help you through these times? Whatever you may be going through today, please be assured that your God is able to see you through. Trust God!

It is at this point that our Watchword for the day comes in. You see friends, the Psalmist clearly places his/her faith within the community of faith. It is not only that God helps him or her but in helping, God’s ability to help all is declared. ‘The heavenly experience of one believer is a pattern of the life of all. To all the militant church, without exception, God is the same as he was to his servant David, “the least of them shall be as David.” The community which stands in need of the same help will find that it is available to them as well. God helps the Christian community today in the same way that the individual is helped, because God loves us with the same love, and our names are written in the same book of life. We are also one with the same anointed Head. “And he is the saving strength of his anointed.” This Psalmist is a type of Christ for us, through whom we are blessed immeasurably with every blessing on this earth and with the blessing of eternal life. ‘Glory be unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has magnified the power of his grace in his only begotten Son, whom he has anointed to be a Prince and a Savior unto his people’. Let us therefore continue to bear each other’s burdens in prayer before our faithful God. In the same way we trust as individuals we should trust as the body of faithful believers. Continue to live your lives in Christ, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Col. 2: 7

‘Till next Tuesday, be blessed!