Can You Imagine?

Psalm 111:5-10

5He gives food to those who trust him;

he always remembers his covenant.

6He has shown his great power to his people

by giving them the lands of other nations.

7All he does is just and good,

and all his commandments are trustworthy.

8They are forever true,

to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.

9He has paid a full ransom for his people.

He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.

What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!

10Reverence for the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom.

The rewards of wisdom come to all who obey him.

Praise his name forever!

What do you think the pharaoh of the Exodus would have said if you had told him that the Hebrew slaves, who were making bricks for him, would have a strong kingdom of their own and conquer other nations (as Psalm 111:6 says)?

What do you think Adolf Hitler would have said if you had told him that there would be a new nation called Israel and that it would become a formidable Middle Eastern power?

What do you think those fearful disciples in the upper room would have said if you had told them that they would become instruments of world change?

And what do you think Billy Graham’s mother would have said if you had told her that the little boy playing baseball in the field out back would win millions to the Kingdom of God?

God delights in doing surprising things—things that we cannot imagine. What do you think God might be starting to do through you today? Maybe a chance meeting with someone, maybe a letter you write, maybe an unexpected phone call could be the start of something beyond your wildest dreams. Just because God doesn’t show you the end result within twenty-four hours doesn’t mean that he isn’t starting to do something big. And don’t expect fireworks. More likely your contact with tomorrow’s greatness will come through something that is seemingly insignificant today. That’s the way God often works.

O give me faith, and faith’s increase;

Finish the work begun in me.

Preserve my soul in perfect peace,

And let me always rest on thee.

CHARLES WESLEY

Bible Networking

The reverence-wisdom connection in verse 10 is a familiar theme in the book of Proverbs. See Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10. It also appears in Job 28:28 and Ecclesiastes 12:11-13. Note the subtle differences in each reference.

Notable Quotable

“The thought in the psalmist’s mind (verse 6) was the conquest of Canaan, which could only have been effected by the miraculous arm of God. Equally unlikely has it been for the simple preaching of the gospel of Christ crucified to be the power by which God has changed the face of the world.”

J. W. BURN