Do you have enemies? That is such a strong word…enemy. It would be nice to pretend in a Pollyannaish hope that human enemies do not exist for us but we cannot afford to be that naïve. I have had a few enemies in life and probably have some now that I am unaware of; it is a blessed season when you do not have to wake up with a name and a face of an opponent haunting you. We have more than a handful of days under the sun when we do not enjoy that luxury because we know who is coming after us, what they are saying and what they intend to do against us. Psalm 17 is written by a man who needed God to take care of business with some people who had gotten in his head and were messing with his life. He prayed to God,
“I call upon You, for You will answer me, O God; incline Your ear to me; hear my words. Wondrously show Your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge…” – Psalm 17:6-7
A couple of things stand out from these words of a targeted believer. First of all, the psalmist went to God with the issue. He didn’t post about it on Facebook or text his BFF about his wicked opponents. He gets on his knees before God and pleads his case (read Psalm 17:1-5). His words indicate that he diligently guarded his own integrity and behaved in an upright manner with people who refused to act justly with him. He seemed to have a clear conscience before God and that is part of the reason why he could pray so boldly for God to come to his side in the battle. It is a great boldness that issues forth from a heart that is not divided before the Lord. Make sure you have that and rehearse before God that your enemy does not.
The most noteworthy part of the verses above for me is that the psalmist was absolutely convinced of God’s goodness and love even though he was being treated unkindly by people. He declared God’s love as being steadfast. He titled his Lord with the powerful word Savior. He retained confidence that God would continue to listen to his cries in the heat of conflict. But notice this: the beleaguered man asked God to put all of His love and goodness into action on his behalf. He unflinchingly asked God to “wondrously show Your steadfast love”. He was not content to sit back and rest in the knowledge that his God was good. In effect the writer said, “Pour out a little of that goodness in my direction, O Savior of those who need refuge!” That is where your theology turns into trust. Theology about God is never to be regarded as the same thing as trust in God or dependence upon God. Theology can sit on a bookshelf for a lifetime and do you no good. For that matter, Satan has more orthodox theology than the most brilliant Christian scholar who has ever lived. Think about it: Satan’s knowledge of God and His ways is accurate and pristine. The difference is that Satan has hated those truths and seeks to refute them or stamp them out. He has no trust whatsoever in God. Trust has no qualms about asking God to enact all of His glorious goodness on the behalf of the one doing the asking. Trust looks to God and confesses a need for divine action. Trust expects God to do something at some point and knows that its own job is to express a desire for God to move. Theology is the launching pad…but trust is the missile.
Join me in asking God to show His love to you. Risk it. Do not give in to feelings of inadequacy, fear or being presumptuous. God is a Doer and you will not offend Him by asking Him to put His favor for you into motion and on display. If you have an enemy, seek God for wisdom in dealing with her. Ask God to humble and grant repentance to that troubling man who opposes you. If the enemy refuses to make it right, ask God to take care of the wrong. The reason why many today are not seeing God move is simple: they do not expect Him to do so. The Psalmist certainly had the expectation of God acting on His behalf.
Do you?
The title of this of this one really captured my attention! Its been a long time since I’ve been able to visit this blog site as my phone was acting up but it is good that it is working correctly now and I can’t dive back in.
In the very recent past, I have leaned more towards a fleshly strategy than I would prayer That lean keeps me up at night and wakes me troubled in the morning with that person’s face and name fresh in my head, EXACTLY as you described.
It used to take total exhaustion before I would “resort” to prayer. That was a very frightened and arrogant play on my part.
I am learning to pray immediately now and thank you for the reminder to continue to do so.
The Battle is The Lord’s! No one can beat Him, why would I send myself, a mere mortal, into that ring?!