Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Psalm 49 NIV
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor alike: 3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. 4 I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp, I will expound my riddle: 5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me— 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? 7 No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them— 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough— 9 so that they should live on forever
and not see decay. 10 For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others. 11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. 12 People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. 14 They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. 15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself. 16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; 17 for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them. 18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed— and people praise you when you prosper— 19 they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life. 20 People who have wealth but lack understanding
are like the beasts that perish.
Where has God been with you in times of fear?
These past 15 months have included multiple opportunities to fear. Illness, violence, isolation, and loss of freedoms to name a few. The devil uses fear to distract and control Your people away from the joy and goodness that You desire for them. The more we fear, the more we cling to the things we control. We trust in our wealth, in those little masks, in our stockpiles of toilet paper and we hide from others out of fear. We avoid confrontation and allow evil to control us out of our fear. We blindly succumb to ungodly trends out of fear that we might not be accepted as woke. We are silenced out of fear of being canceled. Where have You been during all of this, God? You have been waiting for us to trust You. As I fell on my knees and cried out to you due to situations that I didn’t know what to do with, You have given me comfort and strength. You never left me. Fear is a natural human emotion. But, with You, I can face my fears with confidence because I have complete trust in You for this life and the life to come. The things, both good and bad of this life are temporary. But You, Lord, are eternal. Your love for me never fails. Awaken me to the evil one’s ploys to stop Christians from loving each other and from sharing Your story of salvation. Let your people wake up and fight against evil. Let me focus on Your Word and turn my back on the ways of evil, no matter what the cost to me personally. You gave Your life to pay the cost of my sins. There is nothing more valuable in life than that. So as I kneel at the cross let me not fear, but concentrate on life with You and boldly proclaim Your love and goodness for all people. Let my thoughts be Your thoughts and my ways Your ways. In Your eternal name, Amen