Stability

 

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.”

—Psalm 90:1-2

I can think of no better way to begin a new year and a new decade than with the words of Psalm 90. This Psalm is a prayer of Moses, as he saw the wanderings, the weaknesses, and the uncertainty of the pathway ahead in the wilderness of Sinai. We can rest and rejoice in the foundation of our God, His eternality, and His ability to keep His people in the protection of His divine Presence.

In this prayer, Moses admits the frailty of humans and their need of God’s love in their fleeting lifetimes. The verbs drive the prayer along.

In Psalm 90:5, Moses cries, “Teach us.” In verse 13, he begs for God’s compassion. In verse 14, he asks that God satisfy us with Himself. In verse 15, He prays for God to make the people glad in light of all they have suffered. In verse 17, He pleads for God’s favor to rest on His people and finally that God would establish the work of their hands.

What a wonderful prayer on which to meditate as we begin another year. How can we but know success in following our God when we humbly ask for those same things that Moses asked for in his prayer?

My beautiful sister painted Psalm 90:1 on the wall over our front door to remind anyone who entered that brick and mortar won’t last. And, that our homes, like Moses’ dwelling places, serve as fleeting places of rest. Only God’s everlasting care will keep us—not only through this decade, but through all generations. What a powerful thought!

After the heart of Moses, A. W. Tozer prayed these words.¹ Perhaps, following Tozer’s example, you can write your own prayer based on Moses’ words:

O Christ, our Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. As conies to their rock, so have we run to Thee for safety; as birds from their wanderings, so have we flown to Thee for peace. Chance and change are busy in our little world of nature and men, but in Thee we find no variableness nor shadow of turning. We rest in Thee without fear or doubt and face our tomorrows without anxiety. Amen.

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1 Tozer, Aiden Wilson. The Knowledge of the Holy. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1961. p. 49.