Peace DURING the storm

Our Psalm study continues today with Psalm 30 which begins with a theme common to so many of the psalms where the composer is in distress:

In you, O Lord, I take refuge.

Let me never be put to shame.

It is assumed that Jesus prayed this Psalm while He was hanging on the cross, and the psalm expresses confidence that God is with Him to deliver Him, just as he is with us to deliver us. Let us keep in mind, however, that Jesus’ journey of pain would take Him so far into terror and darkness that for a time He would lose that confidence and cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” (Psalm 22) That is how much He suffered for us.

Have you ever felt forsaken by God? Then this cry of the Lord is yours as well.

Let’s turn back to psalm 30. The Psalmist is under attack from enemies who laid traps for him and who aroused the crowds to slander him and plot against him. Here, once again, we can sense the suffering of Jesus and the prayers He was uttering:

I have heard the slander of the crowd,

fear is all around me,

as they plot together against me,

as they plan to take my life. (v. 14)

Despite what is happening to Him, He continually voices His trust in God, and these are verses which we can call to mind whenever we feel threatened. Here are some of the “confidence verses.”

You are my rock, my stronghold.

For your name’s sake, lead me and guide me. (v.4)

It is you who will redeem me, Lord (v.6)

Let your face shine on your servant.

Save me in your love. (v.17)

And here is one of my favorites; in fact, I wrote music for it when I was a novice in the monastery:

Blessed is the Lord who has shown me

the wonders of his love

in a fortified city. (v.22)

·         What might the “fortified city” represent for you? Could it be the place where you go to when you pray?

May these verses help you in your own struggles and difficulties, now and always.

God bless you.

Fear and trust: Psalm 27

Psalm 27 is mainly a psalm of petition, and its petitions flow from a profound faith in a caring God. Once again we meet “God the Teacher” and “God the Protector” as we did in Psalm 25. The Psalmist is living in a dangerous world constantly at war with foes and enemies and “an army camped against me.” (v. 3).

We might not be involved in any particular war in a literal sense (although millions of Christians are in such a situation right now), but isn’t it true that in one sense or another we are engaged in a struggle or in combat with the enemies of our peace, our striving for God, and our living in faith? In all of this, God is at our side.

The Psalmist has great confidence in God and in what He can do, and this psalm becomes an urgent appeal for God’s mercy and assistance.

The Lord is my light and my help;

whom shall I fear?

·         These first two lines of the psalm can provide us with food and insight for a lifetime. I am especially drawn to the second line, whom shall I fear? So many times, our peace of mind is disturbed by fears that we have. Meditate on this. Ask the Lord to reveal to you how much of your thinking and acting may be subtly based on fear.  I know someone who had some real difficulties but who was afraid to go and talk to his superiors about them. Finally he got the courage to speak up, and the situation was resolved quickly and decisively. Are you held back by certain fears? This might be a perfect verse for you.

Though an army encamp against me

my heart would not fear.

Though war break out against me

even then would I trust. (v 3)

·         Pray for such trust at every moment of every day. Let go of a situation and trust in God to take care of it for you. A director once said to me, “What are you worried about? This entire situation is on God’s hands and He is going to deal with it at the right time.”

There is one thing I ask of the Lord,

for this I long,

to live in the house of the Lord,

all the days of my life. . . .

For there he keeps me save in his tent

in the day of evil.

He hides me in the shelter of his tent,

on a rock he sets me safe.  (v 4-5)

·         We might not be able to sleep on the sanctuaries of our churches all our days, but what we can do is allow our loving and caring and protecting God to hold us in an eternal embrace. It says in Psalm 57, in the shadow of your wings I take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by. Rest there today if you’d like.

God bless you!