January 21

Psalm 21
John Piper said it best years ago, “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.” That thought rings through this Psalm. Do I come to God because He gives me good things? Well, to be honest yes. I like the good things He gives me. But is that the only reason I come to Him? That is what the book of Job is all about. It is a test to see if Job would still come to God if he were stripped of everything good thing that God could give him. Job grudgingly passes the test. He declares, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” What is it about God that we could do that? The Psalmist puts it this way, “You have made him (the king) exceedingly glad with Your presence.” If God allowed Satan to take away my house, my money, my animals, my children, my grandchildren, my health and even my wife, would I still be content with just His presence?
The few times that I have had a strong sense of the manifest presence of God have led me to trust that, “Yes His presence alone is enough.” Interestingly enough, the two times that I have felt the manifest presence of God the strongest were both times when I was under attack. They were times when the world would say, “You are not receiving the goodness of God.” Yet, I would not trade the reversal of the sense of His presence for a reversal of those adverse circumstances. He is good especially in adverse circumstance. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john