The Years of the Right Hand of the Most High

Ps 77:1-6
7 I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands
and my soul refused to be comforted.

3 I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;
I mused, and my spirit grew faint.
Selah
4 You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
5 I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
6 I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart mused and my spirit inquired:
NIV

I think many of us can identify with the psalmist.  He was in distress, and he called on the Lord.  But instead of being assured, he felt anxious.  There are many times when we question the working of God.  We wait for His answers but they don’t come.  Instead of relief coming we find distress.  Instead of feeling that God is helping us it seems like He is making things worse!  Or, at the least, it seems He is not doing anything to ease our pain or hardship.  Where is God in times like this?

7 "Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
8 Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"
NIV

I know there are many of us who have asked these same questions. 

To answer this the psalmist had to dig deep – not deep in his heart, for that is not where the answer is.  He had to dig deep into who his God was:

10 Then I thought, "To this I will appeal:
the years of the right hand of the Most High."
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.
NIV

The years of the right hand of the Most High.  The years of the working of God’s mighty right hand, working miracles and wonders for His people, guiding them, protecting them, providing for them.  Where do we find these years of God’s right hand?  First in our own experiences.  How faithful has God been to us?  Has He not been gracious, providing for our needs, protecting us and guiding us through thick and thin?  How important it is for believers to keep a record of the working of God’s right hand in our life, that during times of trials and hardship we may always go back and meditate, and put our trust in Him.

We also need to go to His word, the Bible, to see the working of God’s mighty right hand.  The Bible is not a smorgasbord where we just choose what we want to read and feel good.  The Bible is meant to be a meal that we enjoy from start to finish – from Genesis to Revelation.  That is where we see the years of the right hand of the Most High!  From when He created the heavens and the earth, to His ushering eternity for those He has chosen to enjoy.  Those are the years of the right hand of the Most High.  And if we include the working of His hand through the history of the church, up to today, that will truly remind us of who He is.

13 Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
14 You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
NIV

This is when we will realize that we have no right at all to question our God.  His ways are holy.  He is good.  Nothing that He does, or allows to happen, is evil.  He always has our good in heart.  Even the trials and hardships that He allows us to go through are meant for a greater good, a good that our hearts usually do not quickly see for we are blinded by the circumstances we face.  And, through the years, He has proven Himself faithful.

But our hearts remind us – Lord, You are holy, you are great, you perform miracles, you display your power.  And, lest we forget, with His mighty arm He redeemed us from sin through the death of His Son on the cross.  That, of all the mighty acts of His right arm, is the most important of all.

Ps 98:1
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
NIV

So, if this God was willing to sacrifice His own Son to die for our sins and redeem us, will He just leave us to be swallowed up by the world that we live in?

Rom 8:31-32; 38-39 

31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
NIV

The cry of the soul

Psalm 42:1-5  For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?  My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?"  These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng.  Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Notice that it’s the soul that is panting, thirsting for the living God.

Our bodies may be so busy with work, but if we listen to our souls we are thirsting for God.

Our bodies may be anxiously trying to solve problems for ourselves, but if we listen to our souls it is seeking God’s help.

Our bodies may be enjoying sin, wallowing in pleasure and excitement, but if we listen to our souls it is crying out for God’s redemption and righteousness.

Our soul desires to fellowship with God - “when can I go and meet with God?”.

Our soul cries out looking for God - “My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?”

Our souls remember the time when we shouted with joy and thanksgiving together with others who delighted in God.

The psalmist ends by telling his soul not to worry, as if saying “I have listened to your cry, and I will follow your leading” – put your hope in God for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God!

It’s about time we stop following what our flesh, our bodies, look for, and listen to the cry of our soul.  The soul that puts its hope in God shall be satisfied, and then our bodies, our external life will enjoy the same satisfaction.  This is where true satisfaction comes from.

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

How to Face what Life Throws at Us

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

There are many instances and experiences in life where this passage will aptly apply.  It serves as an antidote to the many situations the world brings us.  But this is not an antidote to take away the bad circumstances in life, but an antidote to our usual reactions to them.  God is not working to change what is happening around us.  The world is going from bad to worse!  What God is doing is working in our hearts, making sure that in everything that we experience we glorify Him, and emit a Christ-likeness that He can use to prove His gospel is true, real – that it really works.  We are those examples.

Many people today are facing the troubles and hardships in life by creating more trouble in their life!  Because life is hard they respond with crime, corruption and complaining.  But Christians are to respond differently, in a way that glorifies God.

So, for us to be able to face the many circumstances in this world, I believe this passage summarizes it all.

BE JOYFUL ALWAYS.

The world gives us no reason at all to be joyful ALWAYS.  Joyful, maybe.  But to be joyful always?  I don’t think so.  The world is filled with so many temporal things that are meant for our enjoyment – money, gadgets, material things…even people.  We are joyful when we have lots of material things, when we have the latest gadgets, when we have money to spend.  We are joyful when we are with joyful people – people who satisfy us, who make us feel good.  But these are temporary things.  And temporary things only give temporary joy.

Many Christians make the mistake of holding on to the same things the people of the world hold on to.  The only difference is we call them “blessings”, and they come from “above”.  So we hold on to the blessings, and they become the source of joy.  We disguise them as “answered prayers”.  As long as God is providing us with these blessings, we are joyful.  But their effect is as temporary as to those in the world.  This is why there are many Christians who are not joyful.

God gives us a joy that is meant to be there always.  What kind of joy is that?  Where is it’s source?

Psalm 4:7  You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.

Israel was an agricultural country, and they rejoiced everytime they had a good harvest.  Just like in many cities in the Philippines.  When it is harvest time, there is plenty.  But when it is lean season people are not joyful, for they have nothing to spend.  But God fills us with a greater joy than when these crops abound!  That’s the kind of joy God gives us.

Phil 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Our joy is in the Lord.  Not in His blessings, not in His provisions or His moving in our life.  Our joy is in Him.  He Himself, who He is, His very presence, His very being, is the source of joy.  And we rejoice in Him always.

And when a heart is full of joy notice how it drowns out every other negative emotion or circumstance.

PRAY CONTINUALLY

Ask people in the street about praying continually, or without ceasing, and some may say “ask continually”?  Prayer is always related to asking, asking for what we need, what we want, to enjoy life.  We look at God as a giant ear listening bring our requests to Him, hoping that He grants them.  We even use “In Jesus name” to make sure that we get them.

But prayer is more than just asking for what we want.  In fact, if you study the “Lord’s prayer” in Matthew 6, you will notice that asking for what we need is not the first thing that we do, nor is it the very center or focus of prayer.  Sad to say many Christians have missed it.  They use prayer (or use God) to get what they want.

Prayer is all about the Lord.  He is our Heavenly Father…His name is holy…it is His kingdom we desire to see and live in…it is His will that we desire to know and obey in our life.  The only line that talks about giving is “give us this day our daily bread”!  And it’s just about bread – not steak, not rice, not salad – nothing extravagant, just the simple things that we need.

Prayer is really about trust, about entrusting our whole life to Him and for Him.  Prayer reminds us that He is Sovereign over our lives, over all circumstances that come upon us.  And because He is sovereign, He is in control.  And because He is in control we surrender to Him, as He has His way in our lives.

GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

No, God doesn’t want us thanking Him for the problem, the pain or sickness.  Notice it says we are to give thanks IN all circumstances, not give thanks FOR all circumstances.  It’s about giving thanks no matter what the circumstance is that we are facing.  It’s about having a thankful heart, a thankful attitude, no matter what it is we are going through.

And to be thankful in all circumstances means – first, that we ask God to open our eyes and allow us to see reasons that we are to be thankful for.  There is always something to be thankful for. That’s why we pray for food – or have we forgotten?

Second, that our thankfulness stems from our knowing God.  The first two points above are helpful in this area.  When our source of joy is God Himself, and we surrender and trust Him as we pray, thankfulness naturally comes from within our hearts!

Thirdly, our being thankful is founded in our knowledge of the truth.  Go back to the gospel, and realize God’s grace working in our life.  That will surely bring thanksgiving from our hearts and lips.  Go to His truths, and the Lord will reveal to us the reasons why we are to be thankful to Him.  For example:

James 1:2  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
James 1:3  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
James 1:4  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Now that’s a truth of God concerning His inner working in our heart, and something that we should be thankful for.  So in the midst of trials we are thankful that we have a God who is developing our perseverance, that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  Our thanksgiving is not just in God taking away the problem, but also in what He is teaching us and forming in us while we are in the midst of the problem.

Be joyful always.  Pray without ceasing.  Give thanks in all circumstances.  It works!  He works!  And He will work in our hearts as we focus on Him at all times.