My times are in your hands… Psalm 31:15
“My times are in your hands…” All week, these words played through my mind to the tune of an old hymn by William F. Lloyd. Then I discovered a sermon by Charles Spurgeon by the same title. Hope comes with the knowledge that God is in control. We need hope in our hurting world.
My faith sustains me when the world is filled with turmoil. Once again, fears about COVID are ramping up. Social unrest has our world in chaos. Natural disasters, fires, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes rob struggling people of all they possess. Where does your hope reside?
Our Times Cry for Hope
Psalm 31 shows David crying out to God, his rock, refuge, and fortress, words that produce the sense of safety, a firm foundation in times of fear and distress. Spurgeon says, “If our lives were not appointed of heaven, we should wish they were. If there were no overruling Providence, we would crave for one.” I long for Jesus’ return because of promised peace.
Psalm 139:16 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” I face the unknown with courage because I understand that God has a plan and purpose. Moses’ prayer, recorded in Psalm 90 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” True wisdom offers hope.
When the downtrodden cry out for justice and disease or disaster threatens, I am comforted by my hope in God. In the words of Job 23:10, “He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” This time of testing for the entire world provides new opportunities to share the source of our hope with those around us. Moreover, as Christians, we can thrive despite our circumstances because we understand God is in control.
My Times Are in His Hands
Corrie Ten Boom said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” I know peace because all my days rest in the hands of a loving God. Likewise, never have Jesus’ words in John 10:27-29 resounded with such promise: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” I am safe even when the world around me spins out of control.
Do you have the certainty that your life rests in God’s hands?
My Times Are in Your Hands
My times are in Thy hand;
My God, I wish them there;
My life, my friends, my soul I leave
Entirely to Thy care.
My times are in Thy hand;
Whatever they may be;
Pleasing or painful, dark or bright,
As best may seem to Thee.
My times are in Thy hand;
Why should I doubt or fear?
My Father’s hand will never cause
His child a needless tear.
My times are in Thy hand,
Jesus, the crucified!
Those hands my cruel sins had pierced
Are now my guard and guide.
My times are in Thy hand,
I’ll always trust in Thee;
And, after death, at Thy right hand
I shall forever be.
Hymn by William F. Lloyd, Public Domain
Image by Valiphotos from Pixabay
Image by ???? Mabel Amber, who will one day
Image by Couleur from Pixabay
