Getting Set in His Ways

UV 752/10,000 Unshakable Faith “I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16 v 8 To set the Lord always before us means that we set our minds on the Lord always. Our thoughts, emotions, decisions, words and actions are focussed on the Lord. We have no trouble focussing on the Lord off and on when we meet with fellow believers, when we are worshipping but the emphasis is on the word, “ always”. This is the challenging part in which most of us often fail. Nothing should attract us so much and nothing should disturb us so much that we are driven off track in our personal and intimate interface with the Lord. Joseph as the slave of Potiphar was focussed on pleasing the Lord and as a result even when his earthly master was out of sight, he remembered the command of the Lord to maintain his integrity when his master’s wife attempted to seduce him. False accusation by Potiphar’s adulterous wife did not shake him. He continued to be hopeful and held on to the faith he had in the dreams the Lord had given him as a young boy. The Lord had given him a word and his faith in the Word of God gave him rock-like security. Nothing could shake or move his faith. It was like iron footings inside bedrock. Even in prison he set his mind upon the Lord at all times. This enabled him to win the favour of fellow prisoners and eventually the attention and favour of Pharaoh himself. When we have this kind of focus and faith, the Lord is always intimate with us. He is always at our right hand. He is there when we need Him and we need Him all the time. The proximity of the Lord is the source of our absolute security. Nothing that he has not permitted can touch or come near us. We are neither bewildered nor anxious nor depressed when things happen that seem to be beyond our control for we know that there is someone with us who is in control, whose commitment to us is total, whose knowledge is complete and whose power is absolute. As a direct result of our faith, our hearts will be glad and full of positive emotions. Our tongues will rejoice over positive faith confessions, good tidings and create goodwill among men. Our bodies will rest in the security of the knowledge of the Lord as a child that lies asleep in her mother’s lap. The Psalmist writes that “ as he has set his love upon my name, I will rescue him. I will protect him for he acknowledge my name.” Setting our love upon the Lord implies that it is a conscious, deliberate, habitual, intimate and willing relationship I had set my love upon Him on 31st July, 1979 when the name and person of Jesus took primacy over all other names and persons in my mind and my life. On May 21st ,1991 when an earth-shaking event took place in the assassination of a national leader, the Lord kept His word that he would protect me as I acknowledged His name before my boss, the Superintendent of Police when I denied his suggestion that things happen as it is fated in our destiny. I said, “ God will protect me whatever happens”. The Lord is much closer than we think. He listens to our every word particularly when we make positive faith confessions in Him in the course of our daily grind. The pressure or pleasures of the day should not edge Him out of our consciousness. We pray and listen to Him all through the day and all through our lives even as passionate young lovers exchange notes and messages frequently. However, unlike the latter our faith will not be subject to frequent mood swings or the vagaries of events and relational issues but be consistent, persistent and ever growing as we mature in our relationship with the Lord and increase in our intimacy. We often hear the complaint about older people that they are set in their ways but the Lord expects us to be set in His ways always. Prateep V Philip