Past and Future Providence
How did I get here?
Have you ever gotten so caught up in the tasks or the demands of “today” that you have forgotten how you got “here” or where you will go from “here?” It happens to all of us. Whether it is the stress and strain of running a business, keeping up with job responsibilities, cramming for your next exam or parenting, we have all been there. For most, it is a place in which we can find ourselves far too often if we are not careful.
All throughout the Bible, we find examples of godly men and women who have gone before us, that cry out to God with promises of the past, the future, and also the present. Let me give an example:
“Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them, that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.” - Psalm 106:4-5
Psalm 106 is a psalm of lament. It is a crying out to God, but not only that, it is also a corporate lament. While this short prayer in verses 4-5 is personal, the rest of the psalm is speaking of the people of God as a whole. He begins in verses 1-3 by calling attention to the character of God. He calls the people to praise Him for His goodness and steadfast love and also appeals to His mighty works as evidence of such.
He follows the introductory call to worship with this prayer from verses 4-5. Notice what he is requesting of God and why:
• What: Remember me…Help me
- when you show favor to your people;
- when you save them;
• Why: That I may…
- look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones;
- rejoice in the gladness of your nation;
- glory with your inheritance.
Now, what we should see here is that, while a personal prayer, it is steeped in an understanding that God’s promise is for His corporate gathering–His nation, His Church. It’s not as individualistic as our Western mind would expect. It really is a matter of perception here. Not that the Scriptures are to be defined by the perceptions of the individual, by no means! Unfortunately, it is the case, however, that our Western perception is primarily one that emphasizes the individual, not the whole.
Think about what he is saying for a moment… The request for attention from God, in his cry to “remember me,” and the call for rescue in his pleading “help me,” is not presumed to come simply because he prays for it or simply because God is the one who saves. The psalmist expresses faith that the promise for God’s people remains true. He longs to be counted among the people of the promise!
Again, what is his ultimate desire? All of it is rooted in being connected with the people of the promise so that he may delight in the Lord with them… His chosen ones, His nation, His inheritance.
Looking Ahead
What would it look like in our lives if we were to find our hope and confidence in prayer? A hope and confidence that is so deeply rooted in our connection to the Body of Christ than our own perceptions of God? I believe it would radically change the way we lived together by helping us to become who we were created to be in Christ.
“one body and one Spirit…one hope…one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6
As we reflect on the past, let us look forward to the future of what God will do for his people and is doing among his people. And may we do so with single-mindedness, resting in God’s providence.
