Psalm 40: a believer in trouble, but not for long
In contrast with the character in yesterday’s entry (for Psalm 39), the fellow in this psalm has his heart in the right place. He is in trouble indeed, there is no mistaking that. But what’s also very evident is that God delivered him in the past, and in no uncertain terms, either. That has made his faith strong, and he hasn’t kept quiet about it. He’s proclaimed God’s “saving justice”, “constancy and saving help”, and “faithful and steadfast love” every chance he could.
Now, he is in trouble again. Graciously, he admits he may have gotten himself into trouble, and pleads with God to get him out. What’s also very possible is that he’s being tried, castigated by the evil for speaking about God too much. While we don’t know the details of his problems, we know the outcome to his prayer for help, don’t we? God will not fail him. God will deliver him, just as He delivered him before.
I say this because I too, can attest to the fact that God has delivered me in the past, many times, from dangerous situations. And this points to the importance of reflecting upon one’s life, and discerning when it was God’s hand that came in and intervened on our behalf. We should not be so forgetful of the good things that happened in our lives, and pass through life like ducks through water, barely affected by it. No, it’s important to realize everything that happens to us does so for a reason, and we should learn from it all. This not only builds character, but it also builds faith.
This man’s faith was made that much stronger by the fact that he remembered when God delivered him. It was made rock solid when he shared his faith and God’s deliverance with others. Now he has a solid foundation upon which to rest his weary body and resist the call to doubt. For how can one doubt when on solid rock? He can say, along with me and the others who remember God’s help in our lives, that we know God exists, and we have faith in His “saving justice” and “faithful and steadfast love”.
May 31st, 2006 at 6:10 pm
[...] What I can say is that every time a good man was down, God usually brought him back up. Job is the archetype for this situation. I truly believe the story of Job was placed in the Bible to help us realize that we may not see the light at the end of the tunnel, and may not even understand why we’re in the tunnel, but we should trust in God just the same, and know that He will work it out to our advantage. What’s more, when we suffer sometimes, we are on display, and others are learning lessons from our suffering. Job’s own suffering served as encouragement in time of trouble for many, many people throughout history - I am sure of this. What’s more, it is also written in the Bible that we and our faith are to be tried and purified through fire, and it is only when we withstand that intense time of trial that we know our faith is strong. Once we do make it through, our faith becomes even stronger, and that time in our lives when we saw God’s hand work miracles serves as a strong foundation upon which we can rest and recoup in troublesome times. I wrote about this in my entry for Psalm 40. [...]