His (God’s) delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. Ps. 147:10–11
Heavenly Father, once again we come before you as repeat offenders—as those who suffer from perpetual Gospel-amnesia and delight-dementia. All it takes is a “bad day,” a little pandemic, or some real or semi-calamity and we start acting like spiritual orphans, worker-bees, or despondent blamers.
Instead of relying on your steadfast love and enjoying your delight, we turn to any of a number of broken cisterns and self-help fixes. But as this Scripture says, you don’t find pleasure in the strength and movement of our “legs.”
You really like it—you find great pleasure when we own our weakness, and put our hope in Jesus’ finished work and sovereign rule. Indeed, where do we find your unfailing, unwavering, unending love? Only in the Gospel of your grace. This is so counterintuitive, so contrary to the way we’re wired. But Jesus clearly taught us, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:29). Hallelujah!
On this April Tuesday, help us Father, free us. To fear you isn’t to be afraid of you. It’s to live in awe of your unfailing love for us in Jesus. You’ve “got” this pandemic, and everything else that bugs us.
Should we forget where we parked our cars, the address of our homes, or even our own names, may we never forget this glorious Gospel. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ most glorious and loving name.
