JULY 23, 2024

 “And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” 

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

PSALM 38-40

1I relied completely on the Lord,

and he turned toward me

and heard my cry for help.

2He lifted me out of the watery pit,

out of the slimy mud.

He placed my feet on a rock

and gave me secure footing.

3He gave me reason to sing a new song,

praising our God.

May many see what God has done,

so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord!(40:1-3)

ACTS 23:12-35

12The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13More than forty men were involved in this plot. 14They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

JOURNAL 

C.S. Lewis said that nearly all of human history; money, war, slavery, ambition, has been the tragic result of man trying to find something other than God to make him happy. And I believe he’s right. We’ve built empires on sand. We’ve traded intimacy with God for control, for applause, for safety, for temporary fixes. But it never works. It never lasts.

And yet somehow God keeps reaching.

Psalm 40 begins with a desperate cry: “I relied completely on the Lord, and He turned toward me and heard my cry.” That’s where the difference lies. Not in our ability, but in His mercy. “He lifted me out of the slimy pit…placed my feet on a rock…and gave me a new song.” That’s not just poetry. That’s deliverance. That’s transformation.

Paul knew this kind of faith. In Acts 23, while conspiracies were being drawn in secret rooms and over clenched fists, more than forty men swearing not to eat until he was dead...Paul remained calm. Not naïve. Not detached. Just grounded. Why? Because he knew who held his future. He didn’t need the world to fix him or save him or validate him. He belonged to Someone greater.

And I see that same quiet courage in the heroes of Scripture, David running from Saul, Daniel in Babylon, Peter standing after denial. They weren’t fearless because they were strong. They were fearless because they were His.

That’s the Spirit I long to live by. The Spirit that gives identity, not fear. The Spirit that whispers, “You are Mine.” Romans 8 makes it plain: “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves...rather, the Spirit brought about your adoption to sonship.” That word, Abba, that’s not theology, that’s intimacy. It’s the sound of a child running into their Father’s arms, even when the world feels like it’s collapsing.

And this is the miracle: I don’t have to earn that kind of belonging. I don’t have to prove myself worthy of that kind of love. I just have to stop searching for happiness in places that can’t give it and return, again and again to the One who lifts me out of the pit.

So today, I ask for that posture of trust. When fear lurks. When criticism echoes. When the world offers glittering distractions and hollow security. I choose to belong not to the story of ambition or fear, but to the story of grace. I am not an orphan striving to survive. I am a son of the King, a co-heir with Christ. And that identity changes everything.

Because if I truly believe that… then even in the pit, I can sing.

14For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^f And by him we cry, “Abba,^g Father.” 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

ROMANS 8:14-17