The Christian Hedonist’s Playbook (Part 2)
One of the passages from Psalms that I have most benefited from memorizing is Psalm 62:5-8:
When I am tempted to trust that something other than God will bring fulfillment in my life, I often recite this passage. In these four verses is found a plethora of nouns used to describe God: rock, salvation, defense, glory, rock of my strength, and refuge. These vivid descriptions reveal God as the idol-antidote, the Original that makes all substitutes look pitifully insufficient to bring me joy.
I especially like the first two lines because they speak to the future-oriented nature of faith. My hope (whether it is placed in God or something else) is not a backward-looking expectation but a forward-looking expectation. I trust in whatever I believe offers the most promising future. In this passage, David reminds me that the best promises come from God: “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” Any hope that is not God-centered is a false hope; it is trusting a promise that will never deliver as advertised.
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
When I am tempted to trust that something other than God will bring fulfillment in my life, I often recite this passage. In these four verses is found a plethora of nouns used to describe God: rock, salvation, defense, glory, rock of my strength, and refuge. These vivid descriptions reveal God as the idol-antidote, the Original that makes all substitutes look pitifully insufficient to bring me joy.
I especially like the first two lines because they speak to the future-oriented nature of faith. My hope (whether it is placed in God or something else) is not a backward-looking expectation but a forward-looking expectation. I trust in whatever I believe offers the most promising future. In this passage, David reminds me that the best promises come from God: “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” Any hope that is not God-centered is a false hope; it is trusting a promise that will never deliver as advertised.