September 20

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD. For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. — Prov 23:17-18 BSB

The Lord is speaking here to a soul burdened by temptation and difficult trials, giving this exhortation: “Be in the fear of the Lord all day long.” This means watching his hand, submitting to his will, and committing everything into his care. It means not hardening your heart against him but looking up to him and worshiping him with reverent fear. “There is surely a future hope for you.”

Though you may be tempted, troubled, and surrounded by difficulties with no clear way out, “there is surely a future hope for you.” In time, the end will make everything clear. This quiet submission, this watching and waiting, can only happen after we’ve come to the end of our own strength, wisdom, and righteousness. Sitting still in trust is one of the hardest things to do. To remain passive at God’s feet when everything seems against us, to walk a rough path filled with difficulties, and yet to stay in the fear of the Lord all day long—watching his hand, submitting to his will, seeking only wisdom from above, and trusting that he will make the way straight—this is a strange and mysterious path.

Yet, it’s the only path that leads to true peace for the Christian. “There is surely a future hope for you.” Whatever sorrows and troubles you may be going through, there will come an end to them. If we try to force our way out of difficulties, we only get more entangled, like someone trying to untangle a knotted thread by pulling it tighter. The more they pull, the worse the knots become. So it is when we try to free ourselves from any trial—whether physical or spiritual—by our own efforts. We only get more entangled by kicking and rebelling.

That’s why the Lord encourages us to wait patiently upon him until he acts by saying, “There is surely a future hope for you.” This is the universal testimony of Scripture: the Lord comes and delivers when there is no one else to help. The experience of the saints agrees with this testimony: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”