Thanks be to God my computer is
fixed, upgraded and better than before.
Because I missed yesterday’s reflection, I will be reflecting both on
Psalm 37 and 38. There is quite a contrast
between these two Psalms. Psalm 37 is a
series of proverbs contrasting righteousness with wickedness. Psalm 38 is a psalm of confession. Enjoy:
Every day as I
scroll through my Facebook feed it almost never fails that I see more than one
post that goes something like this: “you
think you know who your friends are” or “I have been betrayed.” Life has its moments of joy and it has its
moments of pure heartache. It is so easy
when we are in those moments of heartache to look to those who are causing the
heartache and wonder why they are not hurting like you are hurting. It is easy to let your heart fill with
rage. It is easy to keep your stomach
tied up in knots, your breath shallow, and your chest feeling like an elephant
is sitting on it. Psalm 37:8 tells us to
“Let go of anger and leave rage behind!
Don’t get upset-it will only lead to evil.” (CEB)
The Psalmist says not to let your mind be consumed with the evil and
betrayals that have been done to you.
Evil and wrongdoing tends to self-destruct. It is not our job to see to the
destruction. Rather our job is to find
refuge in God. The Psalmist lists many
ways to turn our attention and focus to the One who gives us shelter in the
storms.
Trust the Lord. Farm Faithfulness. Enjoy the Lord. Commit your way to the Lord! Trust him!
Be still before God and wait for God.
Be generous and giving. Turn away
from evil! Do Good! Recite wisdom! Discuss Justice. Keep the instruction of God in your hearts. Hope in the Lord and keep the Lord’s
ways. Observe those who have
integrity. Watch those whose heart is
right.
What is the result
of turning away from the evil and betrayals that are consuming your thoughts
and your heart and turning toward the God who gives you shelter? God will give us what the heart asks. God will act.
God will give you a surplus of peace.
God will support us. The Lord
will make our steps secure. The Lord
holds our hand. The Lord will never
leave us alone. The Lord will guard us
forever. The Lord will lift us up. The Lord is our refuge in times of
trouble. The Lord will rescue us from
the betrayals. My favorite of all is
this: “The Lord is intimately acquainted
with the lives of the blameless; their heritage will last forever.” (vs. 18, CEB)
A friend reminded me
this morning that at the moments that we are letting our tears flow, we like
the woman who washed Jesus’s feet with her tears, are the closest to God. When we are in that kind of pain, as the
psalmist says “The Lord is intimately acquainted with us.” What a beautiful vision. Go to the feet of Jesus with our pain
today. He will give you refuge. He will give you peace.
Psalm 38:
Lest we get caught
up in thinking that we are immune to doing evil ourselves, the Psalmist of
Psalm 38 reminds us that we are certainly not.
Just as we take our heartaches to God we must also recognize our own
bent to sinning and evil. Psalm 37
reminds us that when we hold onto anger and rage that evil actions are sure to
follow and in those times we must confess and ask for God’s help in those times
as well. Psalm 38 helps us know what a
prayer of confession might look like.
The psalmist reminds us that when we give into a life of sin it affects
every part of us. The psalmist describes
his body literally falling apart. His
stomach is staying in knots. His loved
ones have distanced themselves from him.
It gets to the point that even though we know that we are doing wrong we
become immune to those inner bells and whistles that alert us to the danger
that we are leading ourselves toward. He
describes it as becoming deaf and mute.
Paralyzed in our wrongdoing that we seem to be unable to do the right
actions to make it better. The Psalmist
admits these things before God. It is so
important for us to stay close to God even in those moments when we are deeply
mired in wrong doing. God is there. Wait for the answer. God is close to you and will give you the
strength to overcome!
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