Faith Is a Verb
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“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 107:1).
Eyes rolled and the door slammed shut in response to my, “Have a good day, love you!” Parenting is tough, because when our kids misbehave, we see in them a glint of our own rebellious selves. It’s hard to give children consequences, because it’s no fun. My kids are my favorite people! I love having adventures with them, and it brings me joy to generously provide all they need and beyond. It’s too bad they are humans, just like me. Humans who are so prone to forget gratefulness.
Psalm 107 illustrates God’s love for us in four specific situations which can be applied to our everyday lives, and the praise which our lives are meant to express in response. Though our social media feeds would have us believe everything is turning up daisies in our lives, the reality of life on this earth requires some hard work, and tough lessons along the way. The world isn’t always fair, just, or comfortable. People don’t always act the way we were designed to. Despite the fallen, sinful nature of humanity, God’s love for us remains the same.
The Hebrew word for God’s mercy, goodness, and lovingkindness mentioned in Psalm 107 is chesed. There is nothing we can do to lose the Lord’s chesed towards us. Mercy is defined as “compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s power; compassion, pity, or benevolence.” Goodness describes moral excellence or virtue; and loving-kindness, “a tender kindness motivated by or expressing affection.” Chesed encompasses all of these characteristics. Only the One True God is capable of chesed towards us. We are prone to wander, sin continuously, and instead of running to our God for chesed - we isolate ourselves in sinking ships. Psalm 107:2-3 reads:
“Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.”
The Lord has called each of us – our children included – to do the hard work of faith. Faith is a verb. Parents are charged to instill proper boundaries and consequences as guardrails to the lives of our children. We never outgrow this cycle, for our Good Father will consistently ensure we continue to grow in faith, even if He has to allow painful consequences into our lives.
Faith is a verb. The Lord is active. It would be nice if we listened to the wisdom the Lord speaks to us through His Word and the people He purposefully places in our lives, but often we run the other way. Change is hard, and criticism is difficult to receive at any age. Psalm 107 gives us a peek into four different human conditions, and illustrates the consistent love of God through each one – and beyond. Faith is a verb. We are called to take action. Chesed requires deliberate movement.
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1. The Wanderer
“They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them” (Psalm 107:4).
Wandering through the wilderness, in this modern era of over-connectedness, can be akin to losing an afternoon scrolling through social media. Instead of leaving the comfort of our phones to have real-time experiences, we get stuck in the desert of comparison, or let the hours unravel as we watch people pop pimples and unwrap merch. The Lord’s ancient people were prone to wander wilderness, and cry out to Him in distress.
The places we choose to spend our time matter to our souls. When we have depleted them completely, what do we do? Often cry out to the Lord! We know it’s not good for us. Yet, we do it anyway, and then cry out for rescue.
“Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place”
Faith is a verb. God delivered and led them. When we wander, we can turn to the Lord at any time for deliverance. He is the Forgiving God, and Jehovah Jireh – He is all we need! Though repentance is an important ingredient in the growth of our faith through the sanctification of the Spirit in us through Christ Jesus, the Lord at no time will turn His back towards us when we cry out to Him. He made a way for us to do just that, through Jesus’ death on the cross.
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2. The Prisoners
“Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Bound in affliction and irons -
Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And despised the council of the Most High.Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was none to help”
The prisoners in their part of Psalm 107 represent the exiled people of God to Babylon, a consequence God allowed because of their waywardness and rebellion. The Father is faithful to discipline us when we wander in our rebellion, because of His love for us, and deep desire for us to turn to Him. He is a relational God, but also a jealous God! He will remove what distracts and blocks the growth of our personal relationship and holiness. In our everyday lives, we may find ourselves sitting in dark places, as a result of our own running from God. There are a million different temptations the enemy uses to distract, lie, and pull us away from God. None of us, not even Jesus Himself, escapes temptation.
God is good, and does not intend to punish us to watch us suffer in vengeance. The moment we turn to Him, in His goodness, He is there to rescue us – even from the consequences we brought upon ourselves! Psalm 107:13-14 says:
“Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.He brought them out of darkness
And the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.”
Faith is a verb. We cry out to the Lord when we are in trouble, in pain. He saves us and brings us out of the darkness. Daniel says the Lord knows what lies in the darkness. He is aware of what is in the depths of our hearts and minds that we keep private from others. He knows the chains of sinful strongholds which He alone is capable of cutting through. When we are faithful to turn to Him, He immediately breaks our chains.
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3. The Fools
“Fools, because of their transgression,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
Their souls abhorred all manner of food,
And they drew near to the gates of death”
A fool is “a silly or stupid person; a person who lacks judgment or sense.” Our children are fools, in many ways, in need of parents who will instill boundaries and enforce consequences when they will not listen to wisdom. So, too, we find ourselves in stubborn denial of the effects of sin God wishes to chisel off of our hearts through the process of sanctification.
Foolishness is denying we are imperfect. Silliness is wishing to stay at the status quo, when the status quo is starving. “These fools, people who had refused to believe in and follow the Lord, were suffering physically for their iniquities,” The Moody Bible Commentary explains, “They had lost their appetites, abhorred all kind of food, coming almost to the point of death.”
A good parent experiences quite a bit of frustration in attempt to get their children to understand the error of their ways. But our Father, in His great goodness, does not roll His eyes and slam the car door in response to our “have a good day, love you.” He is infinitely patient, perfectly kind, and wonderfully compassionate. He knows us completely, because He created us, specifically. Psalm 107:19-20 says,
“Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.”
Faith is a verb. God saved, sent, healed, and delivered them. He saves, sends, heals, and delivers us. Daily! If only we will turn to Him, in faith! Faith …is a verb.
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4. The Sinking Sailors
“Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on the great waters,
They see the works of the LORD,
And His wonders in the deep.”
There is a remnant of history which lay at the bottom of the ocean, undisturbed. Water has a cleansing effect, but it’s furry can also blindside even the most skilled sailor. The Lord, alone, holds the power of the sea in His hands. He is sovereign.
The psalmist dedicates this portion of the Psalm to the sovereignty of the Lord, because our human sinfulness does not affect His providence. “I am who I am” He declares. When we find ourselves sinking into the depths of the unknown, scared we have sunk too far down or traveled too far from shore to be rescued, remember who God is. Good. Kind. Love. “Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still” (Psalm 107:29-30).
The Lord not only rescues us from our sinking ships, His will for our lives is to thrive! He doesn’t stop at pulling us from the pit. The Spirit of the Living God living in us through Christ Jesus continues to spur us on to holiness, until the day we hug Him in heaven.
Conclusion
“Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psalm 107:8; 15; 21; 31).
Faith is a verb. In this Psalm alone, God redeemed, delivered, led, went, saved, brought, broke, cut, saved, sent, healed, commanded, raised, brought, calmed, guided, turned, made, blessed, poured, and caused. And in our everyday lives – when we cry out to Him – God is faithful to redeem, deliver, lead, go, save, bring, break, cut, save, send, heal, command, raise, calm, guide, turn, make, bless, pour, and cause.
“His wonderful works.” For a phrase to be repeated four times is significant.
Faith is a verb. It causes us to move towards God, to turn to Him through Christ Jesus.
Love is a verb. Love changes us, as the Spirit of the Lord alive in us through Jesus sanctifies us day by day. All good we experience and do is rooted in who God is. We are created in His image, to bring glory and honor to Him in our everyday lives. When they are messy, when we wander, when we are foolish, and when we are prisoners, the joy of the Lord is our strength in weak moments, and the growth of our faith is pronounced exponentially in the desperate moments of our lives when we cry out to the Lord. He is there. He is good.
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