Week 5: Resting in God's Mercy

This week's Bible readings unfold as follows:

* Romans 9-10 (epistles)
* Genesis 16-19 (the Law)
* Joshua 21-24 (history)
* Psalm 12-14 (psalms)
* Job 9-10 (poetry)
* Isaiah 23-28 (prophecy)
* Matthew 11-13 (gospels)

Scripture
The passage that ties this week's Bible readings together comes from our gospel selection (Matthew 11-13) in which Jesus says to us, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (11:28-30).

Observation
The readings this week cover a variety of people, places, and times. But there's a unifying theme that runs through most of what we read.

We see it in Paul's reflection on God's sovereignty and human salvation (Romans 9-10).

It appears again in Genesis 16-19 in which we see God's merciful deliverance of Lot and his family before destroying Sodom and Gomorrah.

It is evident in God's renewing of his covenant with Israel (Joshua 21-24).

This unifying theme is underscored again in the words of the Psalmist:
I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord
for he has been good to me.
Psalm 13:5-6

In the midst of his suffering, Job cries out for it:

If only there were someone to arbitrate
between us,
to lay his hand upon us both.
someone to remove God's rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me
no more.
Then I would speak up without fear of
him
but as it now stands with me, I
cannot.
Job 9:33-35

And Isaiah, speaking directly to God, describes it this way:
You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock
eternal.
Isaiah 26:3-4

The theme is trusting and thereby resting in God's unfailing mercy.

Jesus is our mediator, our arbiter, as Job put it. Because of Jesus we can "approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

Application
As we read these beautiful sections of Scripture this week, let's make a point of trusting that God is with us every single moment...whether we are awake or asleep; whether we are thinking about this fact or not. But let's strive to be more conscious of the fact that we are yoked to Jesus. We are forever connected. When we trust in this truth, we find rest for our souls...and the stress of life will simply not have the power to keep its stranglehold on us.

Prayer
O Lord, thank you for your unfailing love that keeps us steadfast in your presence. Thank you for Jesus with whom through your grace we are yoked and for whose sake we live eternal life even now. Amen.

Have a blessed week!

Faithfully,
Chuck