Devotions: Our Only Hope

 

Rise up, be our help,
And redeem us for the sake of Your lovingkindness.

Psalm 44:26 New American Standard Bible 1995

 

This is the last verse in a psalm by the Sons of Korah where they remember what God had done for Israel in the past while asking for help out of their present plight. It is believed to have been written during Israel’s Babylonian exile, but there are many occasions where Israel had been defeated in their history before that. Regardless of their actual circumstances, this psalm is a cry for help. The term “rise up” mirrors previous verses that ask God to awaken, but this does not mean that God was actually asleep. He never sleeps, leaves us or is absent. This wording merely reflects how they felt. Often in times of trouble, it feels as if God is distant or has even abandoned us. However, that is just not true, and we need to rely on the truth rather than our feelings in moments like that. The Sons of Korah were calling God to action, begging Him to intercede on their behalf, to come to their aid and redeem them. The word redeem is an interesting choice, which I believe indicates that they were in captivity. It gives the idea of being slaves requiring a price to be paid for their freedom. In a time and culture when slavery is not common (at least in the western world) this seems foreign and can be hard to relate to, but this also speaks to their larger need for redemption from sin, a malady which plagues all of mankind. While most of us will never know the plight of physical slavery, we all began life as slaves to sin. We all were in a state of bondage requiring payment to be made free. Jesus paid that price on the cross. He paid the ransom to free us from sin so that we could live for Him. We are no longer slaves to sin but free to obey God. All we need to do is believe in Him and His sacrifice. He is the only one who can save us. The word lovingkindness is again from the Hebrew word “hesed”. He did all of this because of His deep, loyal love for us. It is by no merit of our own, but solely because of His kindness and mercy toward us.

Are you bound by sin? Do you believe that Jesus is the only one who can save you? Have you turned to Him for salvation? God didn’t have to rescue you. He did it because He loves you and wants to be with you. Will you turn to Him?

 

 

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Translations of Greek and Hebrew words taken from blueletterbible.org