Ps. 39-41
It is so interesting to read David’s Psalms as if it were Jesus saying the words rather than David. So much of it fits! There are several examples in today’s reading, but one that stands out is Psalm 41:8-10. “They say, ‘A deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies.’ Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them”! We know that the Spirit of God was on David, and it is evident to me that He used David as His mouthpiece quite often!
John 12:27-50
Jesus once said that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (Luke 18:25). I imagine He could say the same about a powerful man; someone in a position of prestige. John points out in verses 41-43 that there were some of the Jewish authorities who believed in Jesus – possibly Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who buried Jesus in his tomb, were among them – but that they would not publicly confess that they believed. Why? Because “they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:43). Yeah – that’s pride.
That’s why Jesus says that we have to deny, humble, and not lift ourselves up in order to follow Him. We have to be willing to let go of whatever it is that we think we have of value here on earth. When we understand, like Paul did, that the best of the best here and now is nothing but rubbish when compared to the glory we will receive in God’s presence later, this is much easier to do. Even so, it is still difficult for us to weigh what we have in front of us against that which is promised but we cannot yet see. And that is where faith comes in. We truly have to trust God with our whole hearts to internalize that truth in order to act on it in every aspect of our lives. And once again I say, “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!”