English Standard Version
When we're in distress, we cry out. When I'm in pain, I complain a lot. When I'm stressed out, it exhausts me. This is the human response to life's difficulties -- we focus on the difficulties. I remember once how my dad had come back from a defensive driving course and they said that one of the most important things to do when the car is skidding is don't focus on the obstacle a car is sliding towards, because you'll involuntarily steer to where the car is heading -- you focus on something past the obstacle, and steer towards that.
This is the approach the Psalmist takes, which in this case is David, fleeing from his son Absalom. Undoubtedly, David learned this in defensive driving course.
Notice that the Psalm is anticipatory -- God hasn't yet delivered David, and yet David prays with a certainty, with a confidence, that comes across as though the deliverance has already come. It's a fascinating way to pray, anticipating the deliverance that we trust will come, even if it hasn't been made manifest by God yet. When we trust this fully in the promises of God, it's as though the promised deliverance has already come.
Imagine how this can change the way we deal with obstacles in life. Think about facing disappointment with the confidence that God has already delivered you from it, even though it may seem as though danger is looming. It could fundamentally change the way we deal with hardship. This is the confidence that allowed the apostles to go to martyrs' deaths -- because they believed that God had already delivered them. The Kingdom has come, friends, even if it has not yet come in fullness.
No comments:
Post a Comment