Title: Entrust Your Life to Jehovah!
Commit your life to Jehovah!
Text/ Psalm 37:5-6, Psalm 55:22, Proverbs 16:3, 1 Peter 5:7
1. Introduction to the story.
Reading the Bible, there are words with very impressive expressions and unique rhymes, and today's texts are one such example. Although the context and meaning of the texts are different, the structure of expression revealed in Korean is consistent. That is, <entrust your things to the Lord!>.
2. Commit your way to the Lord (Psalm 37:5)!
In Psalm 37, the road has two meanings. One is the way of the wicked, the other is the way of the righteous. For some reason, in life, it is often seen that those who follow the path of the wicked do better than those who follow the path of the righteous.
They prosper in everything, and when they die there is no pain, their strength is healthy, they do not suffer like others, and they do not suffer like others, so pride is their necklace, violence is their garment, and their fatness is their eyes. This springs up, and their income exceeds the desires of the heart; they reproach, oppress with evil, speak arrogantly, they are always at peace, they increase their wealth, and their power is like the lush green trees of their land (Psalm 73:1-12). 37:35).
Nevertheless, I do not go down the path of the righteous. What is this incomprehensible and bizarre thing? As an example, looking at the results of the <Youth Social Awareness Survey> in Korea, I heard that 71% of our youth are conscious that those who live by observing the law in our country are conscious of harm. In reality, there are many times when people who are trying to follow the path of the righteous think that they are rather foolish.
But you should not be swayed by such matters, and you should follow the path of the righteous as you are. You should only look to the Lord and go out. That's right. No matter how good the way of the wicked may seem, the end is that it is not. In the end, we will be devastated and suddenly annihilated, and people will search for and find their traces, but they will not be found (Psalm 73:18-19, 37:36).
Therefore, commit your way to the Lord and go in the way of righteousness. That's right. He says that the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the stream of lofty work that God claims are the proof of that.
3. Cast your burden on the Lord (Psalm 55:22)!
In the text, <burden> means the burden of despair, anger, and revenge for killing a person who has been thoroughly betrayed by a person he loved and trusted. It is said that if the person who plotted and framed me was my enemy, I would have endured it. But that traitor was you! It was you, my friend, my dear friend! (Psalm 55:13-14).
What is the most intolerable thing for you as a person? Isn't that the betrayal of the person you trusted the most? A traitor of friendship, traitor of love, even if everything else is forgiven! Traitor of loyalty! Mann cannot be forgiven. It's not that we can't forgive, it's that we can't forgive ourselves. Therefore, it becomes an indescribable burden. However, God told him to entrust that <burden> to the Lord. Are any of us carrying such heavy burdens? He tells them to leave the burden on the Lord.
4. Commit your deeds to the Lord (Proverbs 16:3)!
Event means <whatever you do>. That is, leave the very work you want to do to Jehovah. He tells Jehovah to entrust all the events that your heart desires, whether it be academics, business, sports, love, art, trade, farming, factories, human relationships, etc.
5. Cast all your anxieties on the Lord (1 Peter 5:7)!
In the text, we are concerned about the persecution of our faith, the difficulty in living our faith in reality, and the fear of fiery trials. Also, problems with food, children's problems, health problems, anxiety about my unknown future, old age problems, psychological and mental conflicts, family and social stress, is my life really meaningful? Concerns about philosophical and religious doubts about It means to cast all your worries on the Lord.
6. Closing story
What does <Leave it to the Lord!> mean? I mean, I just sit quietly with my arms crossed, and leave it to God as I would leave my shoes to a shoe polisher, a car at a car center, or my ailing body to a doctor? We all know that doesn't mean that. So, what does <Leave it to the Lord!> mean?
As St. Bernard of Clarvaux (1091-1130) said, it is an entrustment in which the iron gives itself to the fire and becomes incandescent. In incandescent light it is impossible to distinguish between fire and iron. However, the essence of fire as fire and iron as iron is clear. It means that my path, my burden, my actions, and my anxieties are entrusted to God who is fire.