One Year Bible: February 3

To read today’s portion of scripture, you can purchase The One Year Bible Ipaid link) or find the following in your Bible:

Exodus 17:8-19:15
Matthew 22:34-23:12
Psalm 27:7-14
Proverbs 6:27-35

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13).

I once read a quote by Elisabeth Eliot that I tucked away, and that I call to mind on those occasions when I can’t stand my culture anymore. Does that sound harsh? It probably is. My husband reminds me (frequently) that there are two kingdoms, and that I belong to one, and that the other doesn’t follow our rules. He’s right. I just forget a lot. And when I’m in that forgetful state, and I look around at a world that thinks down is up and left is right, and that anyone who holds to the truth is somehow hateful, my heart grows heavy, and I just don’t feel like playing anymore. I want to go home … only, home isn’t here. It’s there.

“Heaven is not here. It’s there. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for.” – Elisabeth Elliot – Keep A Quiet Heart

When I’m just that close to losing heart over yet another alarming news story, or a stomach-turning clip of another “star” flaunting their immodesty in our faces, or another bit of legislation that shakes its fist in the face of God, Elisabeth’s words — and Solomon’s — strengthen my faith. I’m not home yet. God will be glorified on the earth, in His own time. And one day, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.

We will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.