Psalm 16:8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

I could easily write on any verse in this Psalm. Verse 6 was a favorite of my father, and his father before him, referencing spiritual heritage, and I claim it for that reason as well. Though the word, hope, does not appear in this Psalm, it expresses the hope that is available to believers in numbers of ways. Peter applied verse 10 to Jesus’ resurrection in his sermon at Pentecost, (Acts 1:27) so it applies to our eternal hope, but otherwise, this Psalm expresses the hope that we have in daily walking with our Lord. This verse expresses the foundation of that: consistent focus on God. Some expressions here are not literal, but the meaning is pretty clear. “Set before me” refers to focus, to devotion. “At my right hand” is talking about nearness, about being there to help. David certainly messed up occasionally, as we all do, but his reliance was on God, and that made all the difference. There are many things in life that have the potential to shake us, but the more we are grounded in our Creator, the less they will be able to do so. You could say that’s what hope is all about. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5) And he was explicitly talking about the trials we go through! A mature person of faith will be both a realist and an optimist. They will be a realist, because they know that in this world we will have trouble, (John 16:33) but they will also be an optimist, because they know that God always has the ultimate answer, and His plans are good and loving. Put this way, it’s easy to see why the hope of a genuine believer is going to be so different from what unbelievers have that people will ask about it. (1 Peter 3:15) We should receive the hope that is offered to us with open hearts and open arms, and rejoice!

Having been raised in a household of faith, I have been familiar with this sort of hope all my life, but I have certainly grown into it over the years. As the song says, “The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.” I deal constantly with people who don’t have such a hope, so I seek to share it with them. Sadly, there are many obstacles to that, all of them encouraged by our enemy the devil. In the first place, Japanese society is very private, so people are discouraged from talking or asking about things they consider personal. It’s not unusual to work in a company for years and not know if the person next to you is even married, much less what family they have. Thus, I am forced to violate societal norms. Another factor for me personally is that as a Caucasian, with a very different life experience from most of the people around me, people might admire or envy me, but not think they could have the peace and hope they see I have. I can only speak the truth in love, and trust the Holy Spirit to get it through to their hearts. As difficult as it sometimes is, I am never to give up, but remember that my God is both omniscient and omnipotent, and trust Him to bring about His will for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me indeed transmit the hope of salvation by grace through faith to as many as possible, for a great harvest in Your kingdom, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!