By Robert Bowman
In pondering the topic of “living by faith”, I am drawn to the words of David, father of Solomon, the author of the Proverbs. Throughout his writing, David states over and over “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.” One of those places is in Psalm 25. “I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame. No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame….”
I cannot live by faith without knowing on what my faith is based “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
I have a God who is of great mercy and love; he forgives the sins of my youth; he remember me; he is good and upright; he is loving and faithful…. “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.”
And faith has its rewards — “Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose. They will spend their days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land. The Lord confides in those who fear him…..”
And even when I am stuck, when I do not know what to do, when the cacophony of the world is ringing in my ears, “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.”
Have you ever seen an animal stuck in a snare? The more it struggles, the tighter it gets.
As I reflect on this I can just imagine me stuck in that snare, and my Lord is saying, “Look at me, Relax, Let your muscles go loose, Keep your eyes on me, Follow my instructions, Don’t look down, Look at me” as he gradually pulls me forward and gently releases me from the grip of what is holding me.
“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.”
Every one of us faces that crisis of “What do I do?” “how do I get through this?” “How do I get out of this?”
For me, there is only one place on which to place my faith. Just as Peter said in John 6:68 — Lord, to whom (else) shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
“Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.”
Amen….
R
obert Bowman has been married to his wife, Susan, since 1991. They have three children, and their family enjoys roller coasters, theme parks, missions trips, and travel. Robert trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior in 1974. He graduated from Cedarville College in 1988. He has served in many capacities in his church, Hope Chapel in Pine Hill, NJ, since 1991. He has been an elder, teacher, small group leader, District Executive Committee member of the CMA, and a volunteer church assessment team member of Metanoia Ministries of East Washington, New Hampshire.
Robert graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1991. From there, Robert served as a staff attorney from 1991-2000 and a managing attorney from 2000-2008 at South Jersey Legal Services. In 2008 Robert left public interest law to join Bryan Schroll to form the Law Offices of Schroll and Bowman.