But now as adults, its more of a choice of looking at following the crowd or being on the side that does what is right – God’s side.
Recently I quit a job that was causing me a lot of stress and pain. I struggled for
months about leaving. I worried how my boss would react.

Would I ever find another job?

Would my departure affect my resume?

Could I find work using my degree?

I had no idea what I was going to do. All I knew was that the Lord was going
to provide. I needed to call upon Him. He was my help. Had it not been the Lord who
was on my side I would have been in despair. Had it not been the Lord on my side I
would have been swept away by the anger of others.

Do you make it through the day with the help of the Lord?

Had it not been for the Lord who was on my side, I would have hit that car.
Had it not been for the Lord who was on my side, I would have slipped on the ice.
Had it not been for the Lord who was on my side, I would have spoken in anger.
Had it not been for the Lord who was on my side, I would not have gotten that
interview.
Had it not been for the Lord who was on my side….

He sustained me through the tough time and showed me comfort while I waited
upon Him. He fulfilled my need of a job. My thanksgiving still rings true. The only
side I want to be on is the Lords! My “help is in the name of the Lord, who made
heaven and earth.” (v.8)

-Becca Boyle, Connect Flock Leader

God is faithful to his promises despite our lack of obedience.  That’s an amazing truth, isn’t it?  In fact, it’s one of the most amazing truths in all of Scripture.  If you think about it, there wouldn’t even be a Bible if God wasn’t faithful despite our lack of obedience.  In other words, if God’s faithfulness depended on our obedience, there would be no redemption story.  You don’t have to read very far into the Bible to realize how disobedient we humans are.  The main theme that I want to talk about from Psalm 132 is obedience, but before I get there I want to talk about what Psalm 132 has to say about disobedience. 

Psalm 132 is not one of the Psalms of Ascent that David wrote, but it has a lot to do with David.  Everyone knows about King David’s major acts of disobedience in committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband Uriah.  The story is even more shocking considering that David was described as a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22).  In fact, David was so focused on pleasing the LORD that he was the first person who desired to build a temple for God (2 Sam. 7:2).  God didn’t allow David to build him a house of cedar.  Instead, God made a covenant with David, promising that David’s house would “be made sure forever,” and that one of David’s sons would build a house for the LORD (Ps. 132:11-12; 2 Sam. 7:12-16).  The part that is so amazing about all of this is that even though God foreknew that David would commit horrendous sins, he still established his covenant with David.  Not only that, but God remained faithful to his covenantal promises even as many kings after David and the whole nation of Israel continued in disobedience.

Grace is the word that we Christians use to refer to God’s continued work of redemption in spite of our disobedience.  Grace is what Romans 5:8 talks about.  Grace is God’s love that sent his Son to the cross to die for sinners.  It is God being faithful to his promises despite our lack of obedience.  Psalm 132 reminds us that our disobedience doesn’t interfere with God’s plans.

So what does Psalm 132 say about obedience?  Even though David had his heart set on building a temple for the LORD (Ps. 132:2-5), he obeyed God and passed that task on to his son Solomon.  After the temple was finished people came from all over Israel to worship at the temple, singing songs as they went (Ps. 132:6-7).  Unfortunately, after continued disobedience, God removed his presence from the temple and Israel was exiled.

When the psalmist wrote Psalm 132, he asked God for three things; that God’s presence would return, that God’s priests would be righteous, and that God’s saints would be filled with joy (Ps. 132:8-9).  After pleading for these things, the psalmist called on God’s promises (Ps. 132:13-16).  Clearly, the psalmist really hoped to see these three promises fulfilled.  The connection between these three promises teaches us an important truth.  God’s continued presence in our lives depends on our obedience, which in turn leads to our joy.

Psalm 132 teaches us two important truths about obedience.  One truth that it teaches us is that our disobedience does not interfere with God’s plans.  God’s plans are permanent and nothing we do can change that.  Now, that doesn’t mean that you can go ahead and disobey as much as you want and you’ll end up okay in the end.  What it does mean is that no one else can mess up God’s plans for you because of their disobedience.  You are a child of the sovereign God of the universe.  God’s plans for you are set in stone and he will make sure that they come to pass.  One caveat is that we need to continue loving God and walking with him by faith.  Our disobedience might not foil God’s plans, but God might delay his plans for us if we’re living in disobedience.  If we want to see God’s plans carried out in our lives then we need to cooperate with the work that he is doing in us through his Spirit by obediently surrendering to his will.

Another truth that Psalm 132 teaches us is that our joy is relative to God’s presence in our lives, and God is most present in our lives when we are walking in obedience.  Just like God withdrew his presence from the temple for a while due to the disobedience of Israel, God might withdraw his presence from us for a while when we are not obedient.  This doesn’t mean that we lose salvation.  God never fully abandoned Israel.  But even though God’s Spirit is always in us, he might not allow us to sense his presence for a time in order to teach us to obey him.

God is looking for obedient disciples who love him.  Why?  Because he loves us and has plans for us; and he wants us to be surrendered to him so that he can see his plans come to fruition quickly in our lives.  God doesn’t only want to give us eternal life with him.  He wants us to “have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).  God wants us to experience the joys of walking with the LORD and being blessed by him in this life!  So, Connect, let’s all strive to please our Father in heaven by growing in our obedience to him.  When we do, we’ll experience the greatest joy that there is to experience in this life; the joy of walking closely with the Lord.

Jonathan Enger, Connect Flock Leader