Readings for today: Psalms 35, 54, 63, 18
One of the more disappointing moments in my seminary career came during a preaching class. We were practicing delivering children’s sermons and during the course of my presentation I made the statement that I believed God protects His children. The professor stopped the class. She asked me if I truly believed what I had just said. I told her I did. She asked how in the world I could believe that or make such a statement in a world where there is so much pain and suffering. Where children are abused and bullied. Where children are diagnosed with terminal diseases like cancer. Where children often die tragically. She asked me what I thought would happen if I told a child, “God would protect them” and then something bad happened. What would happen to that little child’s faith? I have to admit I didn’t have much to say. The whole conversation caught me completely off guard.
I have been in ministry now for over twenty years. I have walked with families through all kinds of pain and suffering. I have seen death up close. I have witnessed tragedy. I have experienced it myself. I am not blind to the reality of abuse. I am not blind to the reality of hardship. I am not blind to the struggles so many face. Nor was David when he penned these words in the Psalms, “Oh, look! God’s right here helping! God’s on my side, Evil is looping back on my enemies. Don’t let up! Finish them off! I’m ready now to worship, so ready. I thank you, God—you’re so good. You got me out of every scrape, and I saw my enemies get it.” (Psalms 54:4-7 MSG) David knew pain intimately. Suffering was a constant companion. Death visited him regularly. This was the world he lived in and yet he still looked to God for help. Still looked to God for protection and strength. Somehow, someway David was able to see beyond the horizons of this life to the life to come. He knew God intimately. He knew God could be trusted. He knew God was good. He knew God loved His people. And so He trusted God for His vindication even if it didn’t happen in this life. Now it’s important to note that David knew nothing of resurrection. Heaven and the afterlife were not categories he would have thought in. But there was an instinct deep within his heart that drew him to God and caused him to trust in His great faithfulness.
Unfortunately, the horizons of our world have shrunk to the point where they only include the boundaries of this life. Even Christians have lost sight of eternity. So focused are we on what happens to us in this life, we lose sight of the bigger picture and greater glory God is working to reveal in us. We lose perspective. We want more from this world than it can actually give. We expect more from this world than it can actually deliver. And because our expectations go unmet. Because our desires go largely unrequited. Because our hopes and dreams fail. We get disappointed. Disillusioned. And we blame God. O that we would learn from David! Rather than blame God, we would look to Him for strength. Rather than rage at God, we would see Him as our helper. Rather than accuse God of not being fair, not being just, not being true to His Word; we would look beyond our circumstances, beyond our feelings, and see the eternity God is preparing for us in His Kingdom.
Psalm 18 is one of my favorites. I love the imagery of smoke and thunder and hail and God literally “bending the heavens” to come to our rescue. When things were at their worst, God was at His best. When David teetered on the brink of death and destruction, God was there to pull Him back. And yet, we didn’t read any of this in 1 Samuel, did we? I don’t remember earthquakes and fire and God showing up in His chariot. What I remember is David faithfully placing His trust in God. What I remember is David literally making God His refuge. What I remember is David in prayer. David seeking God’s face. David worshipping God even in the midst of His struggle. And because David did these things, his eyes pierced the veil of this world and God gave him a glimpse of what actually happened when he escaped from Saul.
In the midst of your struggles, do you seek God? When life is at its most difficult, do you lean ever deeper on Christ? The disciplines of prayer, reading Scripture, and corporate worship become lifelines as we seek God’s face. Daily submission to the will of God as revealed in His Word is essential for the believer who makes God her/his help. Daily discernment between good and evil, truth and error, is essential for the believer who makes God her/his refuge. Daily self-denial and taking up our cross is essential for the believer who seeks to follow Jesus.
Readings for tomorrow: 1 Samuel 28-31, 1 Chronicles 10