June 4, 2021 -- Psalm 17:13-15 -- Your best life--when?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
   Deliver my soul from the wicked by Your sword,
from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their womb with treasure;
   they are satisfied with children,
   and they leave their abundance to their infants.
As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness;
   when I awake I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
Psalm 17:13-15 ESV

Within my family there is a history of aunts and uncles not speaking to one another. It began with the division of their parents’ inheritance. The in-fighting led to decades of anger and simmering bitterness. Psalm 17 touches on this—the people of this world find their portion in this life. That term "portion" is critical, an-information packed reference to the rest of the Old Testament. You see, the LORD is the portion of His people (Psalm 16:5, Numbers 18:24). Think of Job in the Old Testament—he lost his wealth, his children, all his earthly treasures, even his friends spoke untruths to him in a failed attempt to comfort him. Why did Job still turn to God, pray to Him and worship Him? Because God alone was His portion, when even life itself would be taken from him, Job would find all his comfort in the Living God.

Look at our reading today. Wicked men and women want all the blessings to be in their life NOW. To coin a phrase, they want their best life now. The Bible shows us our best life is guarded for us in eternity. Now we pour out our lives in offering to the Father in heaven, all this in view of His great gift of Jesus Christ. In Christ we have all our portion, our fullness. In Jesus Christ we have spiritual children—of far greater value than biological children because spiritual children share the joy of the LORD with us. Notice how cutting the psalm-writer is. These people who want all the world’s treasures now, they want things more than they want God, the Creator of all things and the Glory of them who desire Him alone—these people will acquire wealth and they’ll leave their treasures and abundance to children or infants. Children or infants are those who will be foolish in how they handle and lose such treasures.

The psalmist finds his great pleasure in looking fully on the face of Jesus. That is how it should be for the Christian. Morning and evening, it is your God alone Who can fill the aching void of your life. When it seems all things are stacked against you, and all things you thought were dear to you now seem a trinkets and baubles, look to Jesus. He is worth every sacrifice, every devotion, everything.

The prayer today has this calamity as its background--Job's 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels and 500 yoke of oxen and 500 female donkeys all were torn from him in one day. Seconds after the announcement of these losses, Job was informed his seven sons and three daughters all died at once, together, when the house they were in collapsed. This prayer is Job's response:
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head (signs of mourning) and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, 
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the Name of the LORD."
Job 1:20-21

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