Covered: That's A Promise

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“In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears” (Psalm 18:6).

There is a lot of that going around these days—a lot of calling out to the Lord. If you read the rest of the psalm you discover how the Almighty answered David as he cried out to the Lord. It’s impressive reading. But the words of this particular verse from the psalms came to mind as I was reading Exodus 23 earlier this morning.

These have been challenging days, days of huge concern, sorrow, confusion, doubt, and even a little fear. And each has been met, in some way, by some form of reassurance that the call for help from the Lord will not, and has not, gone unanswered. This morning was no different.

Israel is still at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moses is still furiously taking notes as God tells him what is required of the nation-in-the-making. Then the Lord says: “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared” (vs. 20). He goes on to describe what that provision looks like but I am going to linger at this particular verse.

As I read the verse, another passage came to mind. Jesus, the night He was betrayed, said this to His disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me…” (John 14:1-3).

Think about this, all of you who belong to Christ through faith in Him and the work He did on Calvary. We are covered: here on this planet, on this earth, and in the next life. He has it all covered. He will successfully bring us to the place He has prepared for us here, and He will safely take us to the place He has prepared for us there.

After the statement of Exodus 23:20, two words are repeated several times. These words are “I will…” as the Almighty describes what He will do to ensure that His people get where He wants them to go. The caveat is this: we must listen to His voice and do what He says (vs. 22). Sometimes there are actions to be taken. Sometimes the instruction is simply to stand still and watch Him work. Either way the promise remains true: He hears our cry and He has the here-and-now, and the there-and-then, covered.

That’s a promise to rest on.