March 13th, 2025

I​n difficult times such as these, we want to hear Deuteronomy’s promise that God will make us abundantly prosperous in our undertakings. Josh Mackenzie (CMS missionary) brought us a wonderful message from Deut 28:1-14 last week; beginning our “Hope in God’s Promises” sermon series.
This Sunday’s reading, Psalm 25, leads us to pause and contemplate what it means to prosper in God.
Psalm 25 is not an expression of gratitude for a windfall (financial prosperity), but a heartfelt prayer of lament, trust and hope in God. To prosper in God is to adopt a stance in life that is embodied and embedded in prayer. “To you, O Lord, I lift my soul,” the psalmist declares (25:1).
To lift up one’s soul to God means to lift up one’s hands in an outstretched position in prayer. The gesture signifies holding one’s conscious identity, one’s life, outstretched to God in sole and complete dependence upon God and God’s help. To pray, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul” is a synonym for ‘In you I trust’ (verse 2) … and ‘I wait for you’ (verses 3-5, 21). To prosper in God is to own and acknowledge one’s utter dependence upon God.
The soul lifted up to the Lord and set squarely on God trusts in God’s saving power and everlasting covenant and God’s teaching. So, if we are to be prosperous in Him, we must seek God’s guidance and follow His ways even if they are challenging and contradict what we understand it means to prosper.
Through this psalm we are reminded that God’s instruction comes from prayer rather than study, from God rather than human wisdom and human teachers. To prosper in God is to trust God enough to receive His help and mercy. Prospering in God comes from actively trusting in God and eagerly longing for God’s response.
Therefore, I encourage you to take on the same stance as the psalmist; bring your life before him, pray to God, actively acknowledge your utter dependence upon Him, and receive His help and guidance in every circumstance.
No one who hopes and trusts in God will ever be put to shame (verse 3).
May you remember that God is good, all the time!

Yours in Christ,

Rev Tanya