Better Than Life
Paula Miles, Guest Writer
TODAY’S TREASURE
“I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and glory. Because your (steadfast) love is better than life, my lips will glorify you” (Psalm 63:2-3).
“Your steadfast love is better than life.” To be steadfast means to be resolutely firm and unchanging, firmly fixed in place; immovable. The steadfast love of God is unchanging and is shown toward those of us who have been united to Him by His covenant. God’s covenantal love and affection were placed upon His people in eternity past when we were “chosen in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” The triune God covenanted before the world began to be the God of His people and to make a way for us to be eternally and securely His. As our sacrifice and substitute, Jesus’ life, death and resurrection fulfilled the conditions of the covenant so that we could live in His presence always and forever. The apostle John reminds us of this in John 10:28-30 when he records the words of Jesus, “no one can 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 and the Father are one.” In the book of Romans, Paul says it this way, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” And so David, in the wilderness, is able to proclaim that God’s steadfast love is even better than life itself. For this reason, he will glorify God. Charles Spurgeon says, “It is the true believer only who will bless the Lord when He takes away His gift or hides His face.” In the midst of the shifting sands of his circumstances and the brokenness of his world, David is able to say “your love is better than life.” Are you?
Intellectually I know this. There is nothing greater than the resolutely firm and unchanging love of God, a love freely given to me, expressed in the person and work of Christ, immovable for all eternity, but if I am honest, I love my life – a comfortable, uninterrupted, and unbroken life. A life I often demand and expect. But what happens when expectations and experiences don’t meet? What happens when we find ourselves in the wilderness - sorrow, confusion, loneliness, barrenness, or lifelessness? What happens when the brokenness of this world seems to invade our lives? Often it is there that we learn to fully grasp the love God has for us. It is all we have, and dear brothers and sisters, it is enough. It is better, greater, superior. This truth became a reality for my son, Clary when life was not what he expected as a college freshman, and he knew the journey ahead would be difficult. There were lots of uncertainties and no guarantees. The constant in his life was God’s, steadfast love. Nothing could snatch him from the double grip of the Father and the Son. And the Holy Spirit had sealed him for all eternity. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
David knows this too. He says he has seen Him in the sanctuary and beheld His power and glory. The Old Testament sanctuary was the place where God manifested His presence. The people knew He dwelt there. It was there David tangibly experienced His power and glory, but David also seems to understand that His power and glory are not confined to places. He knows He is present in his wilderness. The presence of God was his consolation. Those of us who have been united to God through Christ has tasted and seen that He is good. We have certainly witnessed the grandest display of His power and glory in our salvation, but we also can recall His provision and protection to us over and over again. And so we cling to that in our wilderness, and we know He is there. We remember what we have seen and known because forgetfulness is one of the greatest enemies of our faith. As we remember, we join our brother, David, “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.”
PRAYER
Thank you, Father, for the gift of your steadfast love, that You are the constant in my ever-changing world. Thank you that my hope, joy, and security do not depend on me but come because You have a grip on me from which nothing or no one can snatch me. Remind me of your power and glory. Give me grace to see you in my wilderness. I long to glorify you all of my days and be able to join David in testifying that Your love is better than life itself. Help me to look up and not be overwhelmed by the circumstances around me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paula Miles is wife to Kevin and mother of four. Paula has experienced the joy of being both a full-time homemaker and a public school teacher. Studying and teaching God’s Word is her passion, as well as coming alongside women to encourage them to understand their unique design and fulfill their individual callings. Paula is on staff at Clemson Presbyterian as women’s ministry coordinator since 2014, is a conference speaker, and serves on the national women’s ministry team for the PCA as a women’s ministry trainer.
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Originally published Tuesday, 23 August 2022.
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