Fed Up, Psalm 91:1-16

Psalm 91:1-16

I am quite clearly going through a season of having to face my past in preparation of my future. It is not fun. It is not enjoyable. And whenever I hear “it won’t last forever” or “great things are going to come out of this”, I’d much rather just not feel rotten. There is a tendency to feel deep scepticism when people talk of your future, whilst you still feel very much rooted in your present. Culturally, our generation has fallen into a pattern deferred gratification. Do A levels, go to uni, do a masters, get a grad scheme and thennnn, and this is only a maybe, you will possess a quality of life that you enjoy. (For all the yolos and raves in the world, you’re still sitting your exams are you not?) As an obvious bi-product we are all liable to experience things that cause us anxiety, frustration and the like.

Usually I try to only do a few verses but this whole chapter ministered to me last night, so click the title link as usual and look it over properly too.

So, how do we deal with such feelings? First bit of advice, move in with God. The first verse of the chapter is: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”, it says “dwell”. Not “passes through”, not “comes to God when they need something and dosses off again”. In God we find peace, in continually building a relationship and having communion with Him we find our identity and our resting place. The world can be in utter disarray but the confidence of the Christian who knows and walks with God is tangible to all others. In the good and the bad times praise, lament, and pray to the Father, receive His continued gift of shelter and rest. He wills it for you. The imagery of this first verse is immense when you take it in. Little children have this tendency to hold onto their parent’s leg in comfort; a tent provides shelter from abrasive rain and wind; but imagine resting in the shadow of the Almighty!

The language of this psalm is all about the safety of trusting in The Lord, and growing in our relationship with Him. He is a “refuge” and “fortress” (91:2), “shield” and “rampart/buckler” (91:4). All of this imagery is strong and defensive, it covers us from active harm. Note that it isn’t simply a bed to rest in but a place of protection against attack. God is showing us that He will weather through all storms of life with us, actively and faithfully (91:4) seeking to guard and comfort us in times of hardship. Even when you feel it’s too late, or you’ve made too much of a mess of things “Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare” (91:3).

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone” (91:12). If you are facing struggles – spiritual, emotional, psychological – know that not only does God care for you, but He has whole armies of angels dedicated to ensuring your well being. His care for you is immeasurable and the more we learn about scripture the more we can gain even a glimpse into how this is manifested.

Not only does love with The Lord promise protection but also courage and empowerment, the following verse is of the strength YOU will have in trampling “the great lion and the serpent” (91:13). God both comforts and equips us to face our anxieties, our obstacles, our enemies. The victory is indeed ours and for a lot of us we have some reclaiming to do of the confidence and gifts we have through Christ Jesus.

“Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation” (91:14-16).

God is for you, He wills to comfort and empower; to “love” and to “rescue”. He is unbelievably faithful in light of all our flaws, doubts and sin. If you feel down, tired or frustrated seek these things out. Go to God in honesty may as well be my catchphrase, but do it! And do it with consistency, for we have everything to gain in chasing such a relationship with Him.

God bless and keep you always x

Unfair, Habakkuk 1:2-4

“How long, O LORD, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence!” I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see this sin and misery all around me? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralysed and useless, and there is no justice given in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, and justice is perverted with bribes and trickery.”
(Habakkuk 1:2-4)

Sometimes we can pray for particular things and not see those change in the way that we expect or in the timeframe we want to see them. “You do not come to save”, “You do not listen”. Habakkuk wasn’t frustrated because he’d prayed about getting a new job or working on a friendship, His people were struggling and their future looked pretty bleak. He was praying for His nation in the face of looming disaster and he wanted an explanation.

Habakkuk is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament. He saw that his people were far away from God and going to fall to the Babylonians. So he went to God….and He complained.

He knew that the punishment of the Jews was righteous for many had turned from God after numerous chances. That is pretty much the Old Testament after all: God creates man, God gives them bountiful gifts, they throw it back in His face, they realise life without Him is not that great and go back to Him, He is merciful, they throw it back in his face again and through wise men and prophets He reveals the gift of the Messiah because they keep messing up. So Habakkuk saw that God was “perfectly just” (1:13) in punishing and correcting the Jews for their sin, but the Babylonians were a “cruel”and “violent” nation, “notorious for their cruelty” (1:6,7). He felt it unfair that the “wicked [should] destroy people who are more righteous than they” (1:13).

Whilst it’s unlikely you’ve echoed this point in the same language, you’ve probably said something similar. “That person’s so lovely, it isn’t fair that they are suffering like this”, or “How can HE be doing better than SHE is, he’s a horrible person?” We recognise injustice in the everyday, the woman who gives everything she can to others but barely has for herself. And then we see their foil, the consultant whose bonus could secure ownership of her home or help support a GOSHCC initiative but instead splashes it on drinks, greed and hedonism.

Your prayers don’t have to sound pretty or be worded perfectly, Habakkuk implored of God to reveal to Him HOW such injustice could go on? And God responded. Twice.

God doesn’t work on our time scale. Why would He? If you could choose between seeing things one step at a time or the past, present and future simultaneously, which would you choose? God encourages Habakkuk to wait on Him, to trust in Him because a change gon’ come (sorry).

“Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. but the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God. Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples. “But soon their captives will taunt them. They will mock them, saying, ‘What sorrow awaits you thieves! Now you will get what you deserve!”

The greedy oppressors will secure their death through the very same actions that made you aware of the seeming injustice in the world. Remember that your God is just.

Living by faith, is living in confidence that your God is always in control, that you will never be helpless because He orchestrates everything, and always for the good of His children. In trusting God, a person can look beyond the unpleasant exterior of things into God’s deeper purpose and find the strength to live no matter what they may see or experience. We don’t know the future but we belong to a God who exists outside of space and time, who sees all tenses as they occur, in Him we can trust fully.

A few months ago a friend told me to write down something to the tone of “by the grace of God I am happy, filled with the joy of the Lord” and wait on Him and see it come to fruition. You know how that went 😎. Wait patiently on the God who delivers His children, who sacrificed His only son to account for all of the wrongdoing which was leading us straight to death. We don’t know and understand everything but the Omniscient One does.

God bless and keep you always x