Today’s Lectio Divina: Excerpts from Psalm 12. (MsgB)
Quick, God, I need Your helping hand! The last decent person just went down.
All the friends I depended on gone. Everyone talks in lie language;
Lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues.
Slice their lips off their faces! Pull the braggart tongues from their mouths!
I’m tired of hearing, “We can talk anyone into anything! Our lips manage the world.”
Wow.
Pretty nasty stuff, don’t you think?
King David is obviously a bit frustrated here with his circumstances. From his point of view, the world is going to hell in a handbasket and he’s the only one left who gives one iota for the things of God.
Kinda reminds me of another place in scripture where the apostle Paul is writing to his spiritual son, Timothy, warning him about the treacherous state of the world around him.
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV)
Could it be that the Bible is trying to teach us something here? Could it be that for those men and women who sincerely try to hold onto God’s truth, there will always be times when we will feel alone?
Could it be that being a dedicated follower of God will not always be conducive with living peacefully in our crazy, upside-down world?
Duh.
I often tell my parishioners that if it were easy to be a dedicated follower of Christ than everyone would be doing it!
As I see it, walking alongside God down here on planet earth is like trying to keep your footing in the midst of a howling hurricane. Standing up for truth and God’s wisdom has never, quite honestly, been the popular thing to do. Nor will it be easy for you and me here in our generation.
So, take heart, my friends. We have in our hands, written proof from past generations of saints that speaks loudly to us.
Hold on. Tighten your grip.
Doing and saying the right thing, though vastly unpopular in our society, will never go unnoticed by God.
Don’t let the fools fool you.
This upside-down, inside-out world we live in, where truth is a lie and lies are the truth, is passing away. Temporary insanity in a universe of truth.
Dig in. Open the book. Read God’s Truth. Remind yourself of what’s right. Look upward. Pray diligently. Hold on for dear life.
Our Rescuing King sees our faithful attempt to stand upright in the midst of the prevailing storm that drives us from time to time to our knees.
Actually, now that I think about it, being on our knees just might be a good place to be in the midst of such storms.
My prayer: Father, on those days when the world has gone crazy and I wonder if I’m crazy for still believing in Your Truth, stand with me. I need Your powerful presence, Holy Spirit, to ward off the storm’s pounding efforts to defeat me. I choose to believe that even if I’m the last one standing, it will go better for me than if I give up and go with the flow of the world. For Your name’s sake. Amen.
My questions to ponder: Where does it feel like I’m the last one standing for truth? How can I take God’s Word and find both comfort and strength in the midst of my lonely trek with Jesus? Could it be that I’m not really alone? Could it be that there are still others out there who feel as I do? How can I find them and stand united with those who desire to hold onto God even when the world says that’s the wrong thing to do?
So what is God speaking to you today as you ponder the Psalms?
Over a 50-week period, you and I will take a deeper look at The Psalms: God’s Songbook of Prayers. In order to keep all the blog sessions organized, we suggest you bookmark our Contemplating the Psalms home page for ease of use. Keep in mind that one of the best ways to explore the on-going applications of this blog series is to walk alongside a biblically-based, Christ-centered spiritual director who is familiar with how to make material like this part of your overall spiritual formation in God. Many of our directors in our Sustainable Faith-Heartland network are available to companion you in your journey with Jesus. Click here for more info.
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