Psalm 61

Psalm 61

To the Chief Musician. On a stringed instrument.^[a]A Psalm of David.

 ¹ Hear my cry, O God;
         Attend to my prayer.
 ² From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
         When my heart is overwhelmed;
         Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
       
 ³ For You have been a shelter for me,
         A strong tower from the enemy.
 ⁴ I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;
         I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.  Selah
       
 ⁵ For You, O God, have heard my vows;
         You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.
 ⁶ You will prolong the king’s life,
         His years as many generations.
 ⁷ He shall abide before God forever.
         Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!
       
 ⁸ So I will sing praise to Your name forever,
         That I may daily perform my vows.

If I wrote hymns, I would write one based on this Psalm. Isn't it amazing? As I was sharing with Beth on Wednesday, at this season of my life ... actually I do not remember quite how I put it. The basic point is that I am deliberately making choices in my faith daily and hourly. Things do not make sense, but I find myself saying "I will" just as the Psalmists did. (Did you know multiple people wrote the Psalms? Check the headings.) Sometimes the Psalmists seem to be rejoicing, other times making promises for the future, and sometimes choosing God when He seems distant and uncaring. Do you ever see all three interpretations in a single Psalm? (As an aside, I find David an interesting though frustating study.)

It's been an exhausting season, but these "I will" declarations seem more meaningful than in the past. I do not mean to brag because it generally takes me too long to get to them. Do you also feel something shift in your spirit when you say "I will" to God? Small echoes of Jesus in Gethsemane. 

The demonic character of Screwtape in C.S. Lewis' famous book says, "Be not deceived, Wormwood, our cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys." I've always remembered that quote and though I've never had quite so dramatic experience as not seeing any trace of God, sometimes I hear stories of man's inhumanity or natural disasters and wonder, "Lord, I choose to believe you are working in this situation, but why won't you make it more obvious? You seem to be asking for more trust than we can manage, especially those who do not know you." C.S. Lewis published The Screwtape Letters in 1942. I can only imagine that during the horrors of warfare and the Holocaust "every trace Him [seemed] to have vanished" for many. There are always atrocities of that level happening somewhere in our world. They break me, and I am not even present!

Psalm 62 is amazing too. Seriously, you should read it.