Saturday 15 March, 2014

1 God, save me by your power. Set me free by your might. 2 God, hear my prayer. Listen to what I’m saying. 3 Strangers are attacking me. Mean people are trying to kill me. They don’t care about God. Selah 4 But I know that God helps me. The Lord is the one who keeps me going. 5 My enemies tell lies about me. Do to them the evil things they planned against me. God, be faithful and destroy them. 6 I will sacrifice an offering to you just because I choose to. Lord, I will praise your name because it is good. 7 You have saved me from all of my troubles. With my own eyes I have seen you win the battle over my enemies.

I love how the Psalms get to the point and tell it how it is!  Here is a cry of desperation, a cry of anguish, of concern.  Yet there is the note of faith, as David pours out his heart to the Lord.

David doesn’t hold back with niceties – he calls his enemies his enemies, he describes them as arrogant, ruthless and murderous.

Yet there is faith.  David is clear about the fact that it is the Lord who sustains him.  That God is his help and that the Lord hears his cry when he prays!

His response is to give an offering!!

What do I do when faced with people against me, when people are best described as my enemies.  Do I whinge and complain, thinking of ways to get even.  Do I slander them and tell others about all I have against them.

I love that David went to the Lord – he told it as he saw it – but he told it to God.  He kept a note of faith – so much so that he brought an offering to the Lord – no doubt in that spirit of faith.

That’s a great model to follow – let God know the depth of your heart – the hurt – the hassles, but keep the note of faith and act on it – even when enemies surround!

Father help me to live in the opposite spirit to my enemies – bringing blessings not curses!!

Written by Ps. Richard Botta