Confidence in God

Do you have confidence in God? Would you tell someone who opposed you that God listens to you when you pray? David had the courage to do just that. Psalms 4 is believed to have been written the morning after Psalms 3. This is during the time when Absolom is leading a rebellion against David. It's almost as if David sings this prayer to God knowing that some of his enemies might hear it.

David starts this psalm out with thanks to God (Psalms 4:1), then begins directly addressing his enemies (Psalms 4:2-5). He addresses them in such a manner that shows that he has the utmost confidence that God will take care of him, and protect him from them.

Then, in Psalms 4:6-7, David contrasts hid faith in God with the faith that his enemies have. He shows that his enemies have faith in the things of the world: grain and new wine. David's faith, however, is in the joy of the Lord. David is an example here of Colossians 3:2, having set his faith in God, not on the things of the world like his enemies.

Lastly, in Psalms 4:8, we see David's confidence again in God. He says he can rest well at night because his peace comes from God. Do we have enough confidence in God to place our entire trust in Him, and have peace knowing that He's watching over us?

Stephen: The Love of God, Loved by Godly Men

In Acts 6:5-8 we are introduced to Stephen. Stephen was chosen as one of the first leaders of the church by the apostles. He was "full of faith and the Holy Spirit." We even see that the people who persecuted him saw his face was "like the face of an angel" in Acts 6:15. Stephen, though it was apparent even to those unbelievers, was killed for his faith, becoming the first recorded Christian to be martyred. We can read the entire account of his persecution and death in Acts 7.

The verses that I'd like to point out, however, are the verses at the very last of Stephen's life, Acts 7:59-60. In these verses, we see the love of Christ spilling out of Stephen much in the same manner as Christ's love as he died for our sins in Luke 23:34 and Luke 23:46. Stephen showed a perfect example of Christ's love for us as he showed Christ's love to those who were stoning him.

We follow the end of Stephen's story into Acts 8:2, where we find that "Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him." These men knew the character of Stephen, Godly men, and they mourned deeply for him. Will Godly men mourn deeply for us when we die? Will they say we were "full of faith and the Holy Spirit"? What kind of people will mourn our passing? I pray that the world because of conviction will be glad to hasten my departure, but that Godly men will mourn when I die.