What do you do?
April 23, 2009
What do you do when you sense an oppressive enmity settling on you? I have been feeling such an enmity lately and today’s morning prayer helped a lot.
Readings for Day 23
April 23
Psalm 57:1-11 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. 2 I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. 3 He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; Selah God sends his love and his faithfulness. 4 I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts– men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords. 5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. 6 They spread a net for my feet– I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path– but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah 7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music. 8 Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.
1 Samuel 27:1But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
James 5:13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
Whoever “they” are in the Psalm (unspecified) they are no match to what God sends from heaven: to “they” he sends rebuke; to me he sends His love, His faithfulness, His Hesed. I can hardly wait for the day to unfold to be surprised where I will find this love, faithfulness, and hesed.
Thanks Papa. Your mercy endures for ever.
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Georges, I was struck by the line, “I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.”
As I try to take seriously God’s call for me to be his missionary to my community, I had not given much thought to the fact that some will respond with enmity. This Psalm is good preparation for that. God will be my defender; I am to pray, love Him and love and serve those he calls me to. Verses 6 thru 9 show that God will use even those who oppose us as an occasion to manifest himself and glorify his name. When he delivers us, we will praise him among the nations and peoples he has called us to.
Thanks Georges for making me think on something I will surely need.