Today's Psalm - I told you so!

Remember the last two day's of psalms have David at a low point. Surrounded by the deceitful and really wondering if God was ever going to listen. But it would appear a new day has dawned.

David is gloating. "The fool says in his heart there is no God. I know better. I know there is one. And I know he sees all those who folks who deny the existence of God. And God will judge, yes God will judge."

Might seem like a rather petty prayer. Might not always fit with the loving attitude we see displayed in other passages. But remember, the psalms are prayers. They are absolutely overflowing with human emotions and all that this entails. There are rants. There are cries of desperation. There is anger. There is bitter weeping. And some days you just feel deep down like saying, "All you fools who don't believe in God, just wait! God will judge."

And just so you don't think that David was completely self centered. Over and over his psalms speak out on behalf of the poor. While he was on the run, he may have been poor, but even after he became king, he seemed to always remember that his leadership was a trust from God that involved responsibility for those less fortunate.

So if you want to rejoice with David about the fools of the world who say there is no God remember it comes with a caveat. God doesn't appreciate those who say they believe in him and then act like they don't. Justice will be exacted at some point. Sobering words.

Today's Psalm - From Bad to Worse

Yesterday, David spoke of being surrounded by the deceitful. He felt alone. In today's psalm (Psalm 13) he asks, how long will God forget about David's plea? Will it be forever.

Each psalm was likely written independently. However at some point later an editor (or several editors) arranged the psalms into a particular order. Most scholars believe it was not a casual or accidental arrangement.

The progression from yesterday's psalm "Help things are bad" to today's "God you must have forgotten about me" is a not an unusual struggle we all share. I'm all alone and I wonder if God even cares is the middle of the night heartache feeling most of us have experienced.

But the psalmist remains faithful. He will still proclaim God's love and trusts that he will experience God's salvation and so he sings. Faith at its strongest is faith when life is toughest.

Tomorrow - "I told you so!"

Today's Psalm - Help I am surrounded

In Psalm 12 David laments the world is filled with deceitful, godless people who are just interested in flattery but not honesty. Hmm, anyone remember junior high? Many of the psalms carry the theme that everyone else is against me. Remember, psalms are prayers and there are times in most of our lives when we might feel like most of the good people have dropped of the face of the earth.

One could easily see this is an emotion David felt during his days of persecution. It's also possible that he encountered a subject coming and asking for justice. David could have heard a story of betrayal and lies and decided he would compose an psalm based on this person's experience.

The conclusion of the psalm is a proclamation of God's trustworthiness. Faith in the midst of adversity? Maybe reminding God he had better come through? If I say this enough I will believe it myself? Any and everyone of these are possible when it comes to a heartfelt cry to God. Help, I am surrounded by deceivers. Who can I trust God? Can I tust you? Help!

YOB - Where Is God When You Need Help?

October 8, 2009
Job 23:1-9, 16, 17

Job is having a bad day, week, month, year. Read the first couple of chapters of the book if you forgot the story. And he is angry. For good reason. His life has been beset by calamities not of his own doing. My mother likes to remind her children, life happens to everyone. Well life is certainly happening in a very harsh way to Job.

Some friends show up to comfort him, but they are no help. They tell him he must be a sinner. His wife tells him to curse God and die. Harsh! Harsh!

Job wants to know why God is allowing him to suffer. Good question Job! And Job can't seem to find God's presence anywhere either! Another good point. I think the book of Job is in the Bible because Job says all those things that we say/think when we suffer. God does seem far away at times. There are times when we don't think we are getting a fair shake in life. We want God to know and we want to hear an explanation from God.

I know there are folks who will tell you the Bible has all the answers you need. If they mean by that there is a simple formula waiting to solve all of life's woes, then I don't agree! The answers in the Bible are often the kinds of answers that Job received -- life is mystery and is often filled with pain. What God offers in those kinds of moments is presence and comfort and the strength to grow when life happens. The Bible's answers are honest and not simplistic or stupid.

And thankfully most of us can find much better friends that Job had. I have found some who stood by me when times were dark and helped me. I pray you can do the same when you have those Job like moments.

Whose Sneeking Up Behind Me?

The psalmists understood paranoid thinking. One might say they even wrote the book on it. (Yes, bad joke.) Take Psalm 31. It is credited to David. David spent several years on the run from various powerful people. His father-in-law Saul wanted to kill him. So he bolted to an enemy country to try to live there. Claimed he had gone over to the other side. Made a habit of raiding villages of that very country and being sure to not leave any witnesses. (Yes, it's bloody and horrible but that was the world David lived in.) Course those kinds of secrets don't stay secret for ever so he had to take his men and run again. In one king's court he feigned madness to give everyone a laugh and to avoid being thrust through by a sword or spear.

So when David writes a song and says, "For I hear the whispering of many -- terror all around! -- as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life," it's for good reason. Paranoid thinking became a survival instinct.

Some still live in that kind of fear -- victims of domestic violence, those in warn torn areas. And sometimes that kind of fear speaks to a fear of the demons that lurk on the inside. For some they are overwhelming strong and they need plenty of outside help.

The good news in the psalms is that deliverance in one form or another always comes. So take heart when it seems the enemies surround. Get help if you need it. Get out of your current circumstance if need be. And be sure you will find a lament in the psalms that matches your mood. God doesn't mind the prays of fearful and even paranoid.

Bargaining with God

Ever notice how often people bargain with God when they pray? It happens all the time in the Bible. In Psalm 30, David points out to God that what good will do for God to let him die? No one can praise from the grave. Moses told God I can't speak so God gave him Aaron. Abraham bargained for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared if enough righteous people could be found. Even Jesus prayed if possible for the crucifixion to be avoided if at all possible.

I think God lets us bargain to give us room to at least seem like we have choice. Whether we do or don't actually have a choice is a question that has occupied theologians and philosophers. God gives us leeway and I think even appreciates a little bit of back and forth.

I can't help but think of bargaining with God without thinking of the movie The End. In it Burt Reynolds tries suicide (he mistakenly thinks he has a fatal disease) by swimming out to sea. He has a change of heart and begins bargaining with God. His first offer to God to save him is extravagant -- give everything away to the poor, etc. As he gets closer to shore the offers begin to go down until he stumbles out on the shore and basically is offering nothing of consequence to God.

Now that's probably not a good way to bargain with God. But if you do find yourself praying to God and bargaining enters your prayer life, take a moment to take stock of what you offering and why you are offering it. Maybe in that moment you will learn more about yourself and what you value in life. You might learn something about yourself which is one of the true powerful moments that can happen in prayer.