In my previous article {1}, Quest For The Best, we saw a loving exchange between Solomon and his wife that points to aspects of love between a true disciple and God through Christ. True love of God on our part has many qualities and can only be accurately described by the written Word of God. That topic is vast, and a godly knowledge of the entire Holy Bible is very helpful.
Of course, the psalms give plenty of insight as to what a disciple’s true love for God should be. For example, trust is a very important element. Trusting in God
is mentioned four times in Psalm 31 and although the last two verses of that psalm do not contain that specific thought, they are an expression of trust in God. That is because true trust in God has its foundation in true love of God.The last two verses also point to deliverance. Here is Psalm 31:23-24: “O love YHVH (The Existing One), all you His godly ones! YHVH (The Existing One) preserves the faithful And fully recompenses the proud doer. 24 Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in YHVH.” From these two verses three general elements of loving God can be seen as follows.
I. Love God First And Most 23
True love for God certainly means supreme appreciation, devotion, and worship of Him, with only Him receiving our worship. Speaking of the Old Testament command, Jesus said (Mark 12:30), “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Just from that we can see that love for God is not just “a warm, fuzzy” feeling.
Preserving the faithful speaks of trusting Him for preservation as well as continuous loving obedience which learns not to falter when confronted with troubles, delays, or anything else that might dissuade us. A true disciple will be faithful to God whether he is being observed by others or not.
“And fully recompenses the proud doer" is also twofold. As the context indicates it surely means those who come against us because of God and do not repent. However, it can also be a warning to us to continue to obey, since pride is the foundation of disobedience.
The sacred Name YHVH occurs twice in this verse and as noted in parenthesis it means “The Existing One.” This is the basis for supreme love, obedience, constant faithfulness, and more unto Him. Everything on the earth will end, but God and only God remains constant. This is one reason why, by His grace, the true Christian can remain vibrant, hopeful, and joyous though a loved one might pass away or possessions are lost, stolen, or damaged.
II. Grow In Him 24a
Faithfully worshiping Him privately and publicly will strengthen our heart and enable us to be of good courage. However, this needs to be coupled with obedience to the written and spoken Word. We must learn to read, meditate upon, and act upon His written Word.
In any true disciple’s life there are times all sorts of people will attack in one way or the other. They may not mean to do so directly. As a result a true disciple might become discouraged, however it is good for them to remember that, providing they are in God’s will, it is not about them but it is about God {2}.
True disciples ought also remember that Jesus Christ stated He would never leave or forsake them (Hebrews 13:5). Christ within and being empowered by His Holy Spirit produces courage and strength within that faithful believer. Verse 24 begins with “be”, and so this points to the state of being we should be in and remain in. As He increases in us and we decrease, we become stronger in Him.
III. Wait In Him 24b
“All you who hope in YHVH” is actually “All you who are waiting for YHVH!” True love for God means we wait in Him and
fully trust Him to do things His way and in His timing. What we might consider to be a delay is never due to some silly notion like God is too busy. Often, it is to exercise our faith. Many times there is spiritual warfare going on because God has both people and angels sharing in His work.In another area, true Christians rightfully disdain sin and world conditions. However, in all we must remember that God will work in His ways, and not necessarily in the ways we think He should work. There is no need for us to manage God and we should never criticize His working, or what we might think is a delay on His part.
“Hope" in this last part of verse 24 is a participle so, again, that would point to a state of being. Waiting in God is a state of being, so we must be patient in regard to other Christians’ growth and even in regard to our own spiritual growth. We do not have a full understanding of our physical and spiritual composition. Nor are we fully aware, if at all, of any spiritual warfare that might be touching our lives.
Finally, we are to be waiting in the Lord for His physical return, when a remnant of Israel will be saved and Messiah shall rule on earth for 1,000 years. The rapture, the translation of The Church into glory, will occur some time before then. At that point salvation will be completed for all those who have trusted in Him (Romans 13:11). We will have full and final deliverance.
Our love to God in these trusting ways has great reward, as written in verse 19: “How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men!" It is a very wonderful thing when any of us truly love God as mentioned at the end of Psalm 31 now and at as His return.
Notes:
{1} The link for Quest For The Best is http://holybibletreasures.expertscolumn.com/article/quest-for-the-best .
{2} Please read It Is Not About You Or Me, It Is All About God at http://holybibletreasures.expertscolumn.com/article/it-is-not-about-you-or-me-it-is-all-about-god .
This article was written in the form of a sermon (message) outline with comments. God willing by August 31, 2017 (hopefully much sooner), you should be able to hear the actual message (sermon) by selecting a link at http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/audioM.html#M461 .
Unless otherwise noted all Holy Scripture is from the New American Standard Bible changing LORD to YHVH as it rightly should be when the text so indicates and adding “(The Existing One)” to readily express the meaning of His Name without making repeated explanations in articles. * = For other versions the spelling of some words is updated for our time in addition to changing LORD to YHVH as it rightly should be when the text so indicates.
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