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And it is because the Lord Jesus Christ is risen; He is risen indeed! He is the Risen Redeemer, who is alive now forevermore. The tomb is empty, for death could not hold Him down. And in Him and through Him you too can be victorious, even as you live here on earth, to be more than a conqueror over the vicious tentacles, the side effects of an ultimate physical death, that may be holding you down even now.
Life could have been a roller coaster ride during the past couple of years because of a pandemic that none could figure out, but through it all, and despite it all, the psalmist’s confidence can be yours. You will not be shaken, for Lord Jesus is your Living Hope, the truth that speaks victory even in your life, as you choose to put your trust in Him, in what He has victoriously accomplished by His death on the Cross and His glorious resurrection. And He being the first fruit of the resurrection, gives the assurance that though a Christian dies physically, he will rise again.
It is the blessing in which you can stand and triumphantly proclaim, ‘O Death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? To God be the glory, for He has given me victory in Christ’ [1 Corinthians 15:55-57]. For, sin, the sting of death, has been atoned for. The power of sin, that is the law, has been fulfilled. And the one who has the power over sin and death, the evil one, has been destroyed, by the Savior’s perfect redemptive work of the Cross, making available to the one who believes in Him, the blessing of His resurrection. And it works in you, to negate the negative consequences of sin that could have been operating in you, to keep you from rising up and being built in your life, by the Master Builder, into what He has designed you to be as the Divine Architect and Designer. You will never be below, but will always be above, is the Designer’s pattern for your life, His original, intended design.
Death, on the contrary, symbolizes everything that is not intended by God to be present in your life, and only serves to pull you down. But grace will raise you up, to take you from where you are, to where God wants you to be. The scriptures from beginning to the end, point to Christ, what He has done, what He is doing now, and what He is going to do in the future. And the Cross is the centrality of the Christian faith, where Christ having done what needed to be done to redeem broken humanity, was able to declare victory, even as He endured the shame, for the joy set before Him, to say ‘It is finished’.
And He is the Risen Lord now, Whom God raised up, having loosed the chains of death because it was not possible that He should be held by it [Acts 2:24]. The psalmist, a man after God’s own heart, has captured it all in three prophetic psalms, where Psalm 22 is about the Lord’s death on the Cross, what He has already done to set you free, Psalm 23 is about what He is doing in your life now, being with you as your Shepherd, leading, guiding and providing for you, so that you may never be in want, and, Psalm 24 is about what He is going to do in the future when He comes again a second time, that will see a resurrection of your physical body, for Christ in you is the hope of glory. And because He lives, you too shall live.
Thus, what He is doing in your life right now is definitely not difficult at all to figure out. The One who has overcome it all is now with you, and for a singular and special purpose. It is so that you may overcome. Therefore, because He is at your right side, you will overcome the problem that could seem insurmountable right now in your life. In the times of the old covenant, as the prophet Zechariah has written to describe Joshua, the high priest, it was satan who was at his side in order to accuse him of his sins [Zechariah 3:1].
The picture dramatically changed:
But after the Savior’s death as the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, and His resurrection, the picture needs to change in your heart and mind, in order to know the truth so that the truth can set you free. For satan, the accuser of the brethren has been hurled down. He can no longer bring a case against you, all because your sins have been paid for by the Blood of the Lamb of God, who died to take away the sins of the world. And having been raised by God to be alive forevermore, it is Lord Jesus, having been given the Name above every other name who is now at your right side. The Helper is by your side, and so you will not be shaken.
Picture greatly enlarged:
If life has shaken you up in these so very unpredictable times, therefore, it is the truth that can bring comfort, confidence, and courage to you. It is the confidence in knowing that if God is there for you, who can be against you, as the apostle has declared [Romans 8:31]. Or in other words, who cares if anyone or anything is against me when the Lord is there for me, could be what you speak to yourself to stand strong and not be shaken. An understanding of the truth that He is with you, to be there for you, and also that He that is in you is greater than, not just the devil, but also your problem, is what needs to be established and settled in your inner being. It is knowing even as the prophet Elisha did, that there were more for them than against them. And indeed when the servant’s eyes were opened to see into the spiritual realm he saw the truth of Elisha’s confident words embodied in the chariots of fire and horses that were there for them [2 kings 6:16].
Picturing – the God who is for you:
1. He gives:
God so loved the world, that He gave – He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, will He not together with Him give you all things? [Romans 8:32].
2. He justifies:
No one can bring a charge against you when Christ is your personal Savior. You stand free of condemnation before God, in the privilege of being His chosen elect [Romans 8:33]. Christ sets you free from being condemned in your heart, even as He dealt with the sinful woman who was brought before Him, to say, ‘Neither do I condemn you’ [John 8:11]. There may be some accusation or charge against you that could be true, for we are all sinners, and if we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us. But He is the propitiation for our sins; He died on Calvary’s Cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. He has carried it all away. And so you need not be bowed down, condemned in your conscience, waiting for the stones of accusation to fall upon you, but can rise up in the truth of His loving forgiveness, hearing Him say, ‘Go, and sin no more’.
3. He helps:
And the Risen Savior, who is alive forevermore, is with you, to help you overcome sin’s temptation. Not falling prey to the deceitfulness of sin, becomes possible, for The One who crushed the head of the accuser, the devil, on the Cross, is now with you. He is the God who forgives and forgets; your sins and mine, and our lawless deeds He remember no more. But sometimes, even as the psalmist recounts, ‘My sin is always before me’, could be your painful story too, being unable to forget, what the Lord has forgiven and forgotten. And in such a situation, you could end up feeling condemned, or rendered useless. But it need not be your lot anymore.
4. He intercedes:
For the Lord has not left you to cope or manage things by yourself, after accomplishing what He needed to do, and what only He could do, being the sinless Lamb of God. Having atoned for your sins and mine, and the sins of the whole world by His death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus, having been given the Name above every other Name is now is seated at His Father’s right hand, interceding for you continually. And, what therefore can come against you, when it is the Savior who is pleading your case, having paid the high cost that it entailed, of laying down His own life in love and willing submission to His Father’s will. You will indeed, therefore, be always above and never below. Any anxiety in you is definitely temporary for it keeps you down.
It is a joy that lifts you up, and keeps you above; and it is a joy that is your permanent address, as every day becomes a celebration of the triumphant resurrection of the Lord, and what He is doing on behalf of you now, that you may not be shaken. Your eyes need to be focused upon Him, therefore, in a rich understanding of the present position of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was what the apostle Peter was able to proclaim having been raised up, after his fall from grace, by the loving grace of the merciful Savior.
5. He keeps you from being shaken:
For David says concerning Him, ‘ I foresaw the Lord always before my face; For He is at my right hand that I may not be shaken’ [Acts 2:25]. Thus knowing that you have a problem, in the form of negatives that are the side effects of sin that threaten to overcome you is necessary, but it is not the complete picture concerning your life here on earth. The picture will change when your response is to fix your eyes on the One who has overcome it all. He is there at your side holding your hand to help you and guide you, showing you the way, even as a parent holds the hand of the child who begins to write, to keep it steady and unshaken. And as you are His child, He will enfold you in His loving embrace when you fix your eyes upon Him, and run to Him when life’s painful experiences reduce you to tears.
6. He gives you REST:
It is why the psalmist’s words to himself when the situation demanded it, need to be echoed in your soul even this day in the face of a future that is so shaky all over the world. But instead of succumbing to anxiety that makes you restless, you can find your rest in the knowledge of God’s presence that is always with you, to say, Find rest O my soul in God alone; my hope comes from Him He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken [Psalm 62:1,2].
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Peace is not the mere absence of danger. It is experiencing rest even in the midst of chaos; a true rest that comes to you as you discipline yourself to hear from God in your situation, which could be anything but peaceful. It was what Moses was able to do, as he stood before the Red Sea, with the Pharoah’s army advancing behind him, and the anger of the Israelites rising up against him. But he was able to say to them, Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you will see no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace’ [Exodus 14:13,14].
7. And, all because He lives!:
Today in your life, it may not be the Red Sea, but there could be other waters of difficulty in front of you, and you could be saying with a voice that is extremely shaky, ‘In this situation, He alone is my Rock of help, and I will not be shaken’. But the day will soon come when with confidence you will proclaim, ‘Because He lives; I can face tomorrow. Life is worth the living, all because HE LIVES!
Your Redeemer lives!:
And giving thanks unto the Lord for His presence with you, may His ever-present help find you overcoming your problem, for He is the Living Lord. And remembering what He has already done in your life, and what He is continuing to do, may you be filled with a joyous expectation regarding what He is going to do in your future, that God Almighty may be glorified. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
