Psalm 59 - Powerful Love

^{Hmmm...so here we have another Psalm that speaks of judgement of the wicked..another psalm written by David while he was running from Saul and his followers. There seems to be a lot of this in my readings this week. The interesting thing is that in seasons of my life, I have needed just that. I have needed to be reminded that others felt persecuted, that others got angry and just wanted God to take care of the people around them who were choosing to be wicked. In this season, I find myself wanting to slide over these passages because they don't connect with how I feel in this season of my life. Instead, I want to read verses that encourage me to grow in love, to grow in service, and to grow as an influencer of my environment. Of course I could jump to another portion of the Bible, and I may do that in the future, but today I want to wrestle some more with these psalms.}

^{David's words tell about the injustice of the situation he is in.} 

³ For look, they lie in wait for my life;
The mighty gather against me,
Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord.
⁴ They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine.

I am reminded of a letter I read in an article in the Huffington Post called, Dear Hypothetically Gay Son. In it, he writes the letter he would hope to write to his future son if that son were to tell him that he was gay. The phrase that I was reminded of while I read the above words in the psalm were,

Our home is a place of safety and love. The world has dealt you a difficult card. While LGBT people are becoming more accepted, it is still a difficult path to walk. You're going to experience hate and anger and misunderstandings about who you are out in the world. That will not happen here. You need to know with every fiber of who you are that when you walk in the front door of your home, you are safe, and you are loved.

^{This father is acknowledging that his son is on a road that will lead to misunderstanding and persecution, but promises that his home will be a place of safety. The father goes on to say that he will be the son's defender, for he loves every part of who his son is and would go to war for him.}

^{David also finds himself  in a place of persecution, calling on God for help.}

⁹ I will wait for You, O You his Strength;
For God is my defense.
¹⁰ My God of mercy shall come to meet me;
God shall let me see my desire on my enemies.

 Just as the father in the letter promises to be his son's defender, David knows that God will be his defender and responds with trust and later with honor for God.

¹⁶ But I will sing of Your power;
Yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning;
For You have been my defense
And refuge in the day of my trouble.
¹⁷ To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my defense,
My God of mercy.

So, in making this connection between the letter and the psalm, I am reminded of several things:

•  Reading about persecution and judgement reminds me that even though I may not relate it in my life, it is important for me to be creating a safe place for those who are feeling persecuted. I am called to compassion and love.
• I am also reminded of the beauty of love, the father for his son and God for David. The love that fully accepts and stands ready to defend others. A love that I strive for.
• I am also reminded to be grateful for the people in my life who operate in this love. Those who have stood by me, created a safe place for me, and have stood as my defenders.

Why might God have you reading these messages...this blog...what's message is in it for you? 

Psalm 55 - Crash and Burn

Well, this is a long overdue post. I was sharing on Wednesday night with a couple of guys from church that I felt a call to get back to this spiritual practice and asked them to check-in with me on it...accountability is a great tool for getting into good practices.

But, for a return to the blog, this psalm was particularly interesting. We get a sense of what David is feeling right away.

Give ear to my prayer, O God,
And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
² Attend to me, and hear me;
I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,
³ Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the oppression of the wicked;
For they bring down trouble upon me,
And in wrath they hate me.

 As I read this, I thought, well, I am in a great place and certainly am not relating to David's fear and feel of persecution. As I continued to reflect on this and started thinking about David running from Saul, who had been a close friend, I remember days that I could relate to David's distress. A great sense of gratitude came over me and I remembered the days some one I had been really close to was doing everything possible to make my life difficult and I recognized that those days were in the past.


To feel persecuted by some one who you have developed a relationship with, not only becomes distressing because of the persecution, but also because of the relationship. Possibly it is lost, or at least damaged to some degree. But what was once love, is now twisted into something else. For me, it was such a terrible feeling and I can relate to David being chased by some one who he still cares a great deal for, trying to understand why this is all happening to him...but here I am digressing, because the piece of the scriptures that really grabbed me this morning were later in the psalm.

¹⁶ As for me, I will call upon God,
And the Lord shall save me.
¹⁷ Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.

 As I read these verses, I felt the peace and strength of the reminder that God is faithful. God listens and God is there. Many times in the psalms, David and other psalmists talk about how God has heard them and has been faithful and this is as true in my life as it was for them. I was also reminded of a song, Crash and Burn by Savage Garden. When I listen to the song, I can't help but think of God.

When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you
Give me a moment please to tame your wild wild heart
I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you
It's hard to find relief and people can be so cold
When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore

Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night
If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone

I encourage you to listen to the whole song or look at the rest of the lyrics and listen to the song on YouTube.


So, are you feeling persecuted or overwhelmed? Know that God is there for you, but also, if you drop me a line, I will be honored to pray for you, that you would feel God's faithfulness.