Look to the Lord in the Days of Trouble
Scripture Passage: Psalm 140:1-13 (NASB)
1 Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from violent men
2 Who devise evil things in their hearts;
They continually stir up wars.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a snake;
The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah
4 Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Protect me from violent men
Who intend to trip up my feet.
5 The proud have hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a net at the wayside;
They have set snares for me. Selah
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God;
Listen, Lord, to the sound of my pleadings.
7 God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have covered my head on the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, Lord, the desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the harm of their lips cover them.
10 May burning coals fall upon them;
May they be cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they cannot rise.
11 May a slanderer not endure on the earth;
May evil hunt a violent person violently.”
12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.
13 Certainly the righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The upright will dwell in Your presence.
SUMMARY
David pleads with the Lord to protect him from the wicked and violent men around him who plan evil and who are continually setting traps to ensnare him. David begs the Lord not to grant the desires of those evil men, but instead to cause the evil men to be thrown into the fire, for their own word of harm to cover them. David expresses confidence that the Lord will give justice to the poor, so that the righteous will praise God and be in His presence.
REFLECTION
This morning, I woke up feeling the enemy stirring up wars within my heart, causing me to trip, hiding traps and snares aimed at me. I felt defeated and overwhelmed, with life throwing so many unexpected curve balls at me and at people that I care about. Some of those curve balls are life and death matters, as I see dear friends and family members fighting daily with excruciating physical pain and health issues. Sometimes it’s as mundane as my desperate attempt to find some time alone to breathe in the midst of my endless to do list. Sometimes it is trying to resolve my conflicts with people. But the combination of all of these things left me feeling exhausted and unmotivated.
But through this Psalm, I heard God’s voice saying – why are you so downcast? Why is your faith so easily swayed, why are you so easily tossed back and forth by the storms? Hasn’t God shown you over and over again that He is with you through every trouble, every disappointment, every difficulty? In the midst of disappointment and despair, I look to the Lord once again and ask Him to help and teach me. To rejoice truly and give thanks to Him regardless of my circumstances by dwelling in His presence (ver. 13).
Through today’s text, God calms my heart and fills it with peace by giving me the exact words to say when my heart is distraught and troubled.
Rescue me.
Protect me.
Keep me.
You are my God;
Listen, Lord, to the sound of my pleading. (Ver. 1,4, 6)
He doesn’t tell me to do more works. What He tells me to do is quite simple - just rely on Him. Talk to Him. Call His Name.
Because He is God the Lord, the strength of salvation who covers and protects my head on the day of battle and who helps the afflicted and gives justice for the poor. (ver. 7, 12)
APPLICATION
So today, instead of carefully choosing the words or thinking about what and how to say or pray before the Lord, I simply go to the Lord just the way I am. My emotions seem to be on a roller coaster. I feel unstable, unsettled, and anxious; my thoughts are scattered and disorganized. But I go to the Lord, no matter what state I am in. I am asking for His mercy… to rescue me, protect me, and keep me for He is my God who always listens to the sound of my pleading.
PRAYER
Abba Father,
Rescue us from our pain. So many of us are groaning at the moment with physical and spiritual pain. We despair because we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. We feel so lost because we don’t know where we are and when this will end. Rescue us and deliver us, for we are your precious children. Protect us from the voices of the enemy that make us doubt, worry and fear. Those voices are not from you. In Your mighty name, we command those spirits to leave us and never return. Replace such negativity with Your peace. Keep us safe under Your wings. Give us strength to fight. Thank You for being our God who lends Your ears to the sound of our pleading. Thank you for being our God the Lord, the strength of our salvation who covered and protected our head on the day of battle by dying on the cross so we can have eternal life. “Certainly the righteous will give thanks to Your Name: The upright will dwell in Your Presence” (ver. 13) In Jesus’s Name we pray, Amen.
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