Today, we're gonna take on a posture of peace
by declaring a glorious future.
Hi, I'm Lindsay Van Zale.
Posture is a podcast that serves a short,
audible fist bump to remind you that God is in everything.
Together, we're gonna be emboldened
to take a daily posture of perfect peace.
Psalm chapter 46, verse one through seven says,
this, God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in times of trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her.
She will not be moved.
God will help her when morning dawns,
the nations rage, the kingdoms totter.
He utters his voice, earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our fortress.
This beautiful psalm was written by the sons of Korah.
Now, Korah is someone that we meet all the way back
in Numbers chapter 16, and he was not great, okay?
He rose up and led an assembly of people
against Moses and Aaron,
who were God's chosen leaders at the time,
and he contended against the Lord's plan.
He did not stand on God's side.
And so something really interesting happened to Korah
and those who decided to stand with Korah,
and we read a summary of what happened to Korah
in Numbers, actually chapter 26.
So his whole story is in number 16.
If you wanna read that, I always encourage you to.
And then in Numbers chapter 26,
we read a summary of what happened.
It says in verse 10, it said,
for the people who contended against Moses and Aaron
in the company of Korah,
when they contended against the Lord,
the earth opened its mouth
and swallowed them up together with Korah.
And here's what's interesting.
When you read number 16, at least for me,
I was under the impression that all of Korah's family
were swallowed up with him,
because it talks about the people who stood with Korah,
stood on Korah's side,
and their households were swallowed up.
However, in this summary, in chapter 26, verse 11,
it says, but the sons of Korah did not die,
which means that the sons of Korah
stood on God's side instead.
Now, why is that fascinating?
Well, because when you go back and read the Psalms
that the descendants of Korah, the sons of Korah wrote,
you read it much differently because you realize
that when they say, therefore, we will not fear,
though the earth gives way, that is not a poetic picture.
This is very literal to the sons of Korah and their history
because their ancestors were swallowed up
when the earth gave way.
And yet, the sons of Korah knew
that because they stood on the side of God,
God would be their refuge and their strength,
a very present help in trouble,
and therefore, they had no need to fear.
Now, here's what I love about the sons of Korah,
is they were not a somber people.
The sons of Korah were people of praise.
We obviously see a demonstration of this,
and then several Psalms that they wrote,
I mean, even in Psalm 47, it starts with,
clap your hands, all you people,
sing to God with loud songs of joy.
These are their words.
The sons of Korah knew who God was,
and they knew that they stood on God's side,
and they knew that God was with them,
and God was their fortress,
and therefore, they could respond
in the opposite spirit of fear.
They could be people of praise,
declaring a glorious future.
You know, we actually have already heard
of the sons of Korah in a previous episode,
in episode 27, when we talked about
making Thanksgiving our battle cry,
because Jehoshaphat, when he put people of praise,
at the forefront of his army, singing that battle cry that sounded so much like a victory song,
give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever. Those people were the sons of Korah.
We read, and I'll read it again in 2 Chronicles 20, it says that it was the sons of Korah that
stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. We're in a time right
now with this health crisis where people are talking about, well, what happens if what has
happened in the past, recession, depression, happens again? We can stand boldly as God's
people just like the sons of Korah and said, even if the earth gives way, even if what has happened
in the past happens again, we have no need to fear because God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in times of trouble. Let's stand up today in the opposite spirit of fear
and be people of praise who sing for joy with a loud voice declaring a glorious future.
The promise of perfect peace is found in Isaiah 26, 3, and in Hebrew, it is shalom, shalom,
meaning complete wholeness, nothing missing, nothing broken. This is who you are in Jesus.
Let's declare this together. Today, I am kept in perfect peace. With my whole heart,
I trust the Lord. I am strong. I am victorious. I am whole. Remember, friend, you are a living
testimony of Jesus's ultimate win, not because of anything you did, but because of what he did
for you. With every step you take today, you're putting Jesus's victory on display and Satan's
defeat on replay.