Making Us More Like Christ
9/11 Reading Portions: 2 Samuel 6; 1 Corinthians 16; Ezekiel 14; Psalm 55
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9/11 Reading Portions: 2 Samuel 6; 1 Corinthians 16; Ezekiel 14; Psalm 55
Psalm 55:16
But I call to God, and the LORD will save me.
CALL
What a contrast we have in today’s reading portions. In 2 Samuel 6 we see David dressed in a linen ephod, joyfully dancing with all his might before the YHVH God as the ark of the LORD is brought into Jerusalem, the city of David. In the 55th Psalm, David pens his lamentable grief as he departs Jerusalem because his son, Absalom, seized his throne, and Ahithophel, David’s counselor, betrayed the true king (Psa 55:22). David’s sorrow perplexed the depths of his soul, desiring dove’s wings (Psa 55:6), as if that absurd wish could carry him away from his situations and circumstances. Many of us can relate to David, perhaps not to his prophetic predicament, which illustrates Adam’s betrayal of God and Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Christ, but in the trials, tribulations, and persecutions we suffer in this world until the Lord Jesus returns or calls us home. We are ridiculed by the world for our faith in Christ and even misunderstood by those who profess Christ. Yet every barb we suffer in this life is designed so that we will call to God for help, and to Him alone. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:28); and the following verse, Romans 8:29, tells us the reason He works all things together for good: “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.” The Lord Jesus Christ, as perfect, sinless Man, relied upon the heavenly Father for everything; intimately connected to the Father through the Holy Spirit in every situation and circumstance. When we call upon God, “evening and morning and at noon” (Psa 55:17), we are becoming more and more like Jesus. I’ve preached time and again: grace that doesn’t transform our lives isn’t gospel grace. Every opportunity our sovereign God gives us to call upon Him is a great grace given us through the cross of Christ. We are never more like Christ Jesus than when we seek God in all things. Hallelujah! What a life-transforming Savior!
When trials arise and fears attack
Our souls to bring us grief;
We call on God through Christ our Lord,
In Him there is relief.