Journal Entry ~ 07/01/19

1 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side- let Israel now say- 
2 if it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us, 
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;  - Psalm 124:1-3

Moving on to the next Psalm of Ascent, we can see the same pattern we found in the second Psalm of Ascent - Psalm 121. The psalmist cries out in trouble in the first psalm, then sets his trust on God in the second psalm. Here, the author clearly trusts in God’s salvation from the enemies that are seeking to destroy him. He pleads for mercy in Psalm 123 and this psalm seems to be a recognition of the mercies granted. 

We have such a tendency to focus on all that is wrong, on all the troubles that lie in front of us, but do we ever take the time to pause and think about where we would be had God not stepped in to save us?  As I was meditating on this verse last night, He brought me low with the reminder of who I was and who I would be without Him. 

My focus has been on my trials for the past few months - primarily on all that has happened to my son. I have viewed it as a rather constant barrage of all the things that have gone wrong, and I’ve raised my hands - and my eyebrows - more times than I can count in question. Why do trials continue to come for him? When is it all going to end? God, please have mercy on us!

It was in a moment when I shifted the perspective of a friend that it struck me. She was focused on something she wanted to happen - something she believed God wanted her to do that would honor Him, but her efforts were thwarted by something out of her control. In her frustration, she asked me why God would allow something like that to happen. It’s always been interesting to me how we can see so clearly into someone else’s lives, but remain blind to our own struggles. It was easy for me to give her an alternative perspective to her situation because I was standing on the outside. I reminded her of what God was saving her from by dealing with her current circumstances. Then God drew my attention to this psalm and changed the way I’m viewing my current situation. 

This psalm reminds us to shift our perspective. It calls us to move outside of our circumstances and see the bigger picture. We can become so narrowly focused on what we want to happen, that we miss what He’s been saving us from. 

Our God is merciful when we cry out to Him in trouble - He hears our prayers and He answers. We just don’t take the time to recognize His merciful answers because we’re so wrapped up in what we want to happen or how we want Him to answer our prayers. Step out of your current situation and meditate on all that He has saved and IS saving you from, then drop to your knees and thank Him. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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