Journal Entry ~ 07/18/19

1 "Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth"- let Israel now say- 
2 "Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not prevailed against me.  - Psalm 129:1-2

Continuing on in the Psalm of Ascents, this psalm is clearly written by a troubled author. Following the triumphant Psalm 128, which was focused on the blessings of God, this psalm has a very different tone. The author has his eyes fixed on the struggles Israel has faced. You can feel the pain and frustration of the psalmist as he recounts the ways they have been attacked. 

We’ve all had these days, where everyone or everything seems to be against us. We feel attacked on all sides - like the challenge will never let up. Perhaps it’s those difficult people in our lives who always seem to be challenging us - no matter how hard we try to make peace with them, they just seem to want to fight. They are harsh in their tone, they seem to misunderstand our motives, and are always on the defense. Perhaps it’s our circumstances that won’t seem to let up. We’ve been enduring an exhausting series of trials for a long time and we just want a break. If you’ve ever been in a day where you want to throw you hands up in the air and scream, “Enough already!!” then you’ve experienced one of these days. 

Psalm 129 is a psalm about persevering through the pain. Life is painful. There are days it can feel like a punch straight to the gut. There is no question that days like this are going to happen to us, and unfortunately there is often little advance warning that they are coming. It may be a surprise phone call with devastating news, it may be someone else’s bad day bumps right up against ours, it may be some thought about the triggers our anxiety, some memory from our past triggers our despair. Pain is a part of living in this broken world. The question is not will it happen, the question is not how do I avoid it, the question is what do I do when it happens. 

We need to have a battle plan for persevering for the pain. It’s coming and we need to be prepared for it. What’s your plan? As a believer, we must know we will face suffering in this world, but Psalm 129 teaches us that we can persevere through the pain because we have been promised victory in Christ. When we take our eyes off the pain in front of us, and fix our eyes on the ultimate victory, we will win. We can walk through these difficult days God is with us. Psalm 129 is about having a tough faith – it’s about trusting God to get us through the hard times, even when the pain is intense and the suffering is long.


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Medical Update ~ 09/27/17

Image
Today was a challenging day.  I met with the oncologist to discuss chemo as part of my treatment plan.  The oncologist explained there were 3 additional invasions discovered during surgery, so there were actually 4 isolated invasions in the breast tissue.  To review - my diagnosis is Ductal Carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  All 4 of the invasions are HER2+ (aggressive) and hormone negative (recurrent).  My oncologist walked us through the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCM) guidelines for treatment of this type of aggressive, recurrent cancer - chemo and radiation. The good news is God had already moved the mountain in my heart opposing chemo, and rested me in a place of acceptance.  While my initial prayers focused on not having to have chemo as part of my treatment, after hearing I had multiple invasions, He moved me to a place of understanding that chemo is a necessary part of my treatment.  If there were 4 invasions in the sample they took, there co
Read more

My Journey Begins...

I am a believer in Christ, and I have breast cancer.     On August 17, 2017, I was diagnosed with an aggressive (HER2+), recurrent (hormone negative) type of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  At this point, they have not yet staged my cancer because they are waiting for the biopsy results from a suspicious spot in the second breast. The biopsy is scheduled for September 5th, with a lumpectomy to follow on September 7th.  They will formally stage my cancer after they biopsy my lymph nodes, which will be taken during the surgery.  It doesn't make any sense to me that I have a cancer diagnosis - I am a fairly healthy woman who runs 2 miles almost every day and eats a gluten-free, primarily paleo diet, with no family history at all.  But it makes sense to God, and so here I am. Update ~ They found 4 isolated invasions during the lumpectomy.  Due to the nature of my cancer (HER2+ and ER-), the recommended protocol is chemotherapy and radiation.  Beginning in October, my chemotherapy regime
Read more

Grace in Marriage

When we launched our new blog we had no idea if anyone would see it or be helped by it, but we knew that the LORD was prompting us to step out in faith and just do it. The response has been amazing and we are looking forward to how God will use this space for His glory. We have learned over many years of service in a variety of ministries, that God does not require human assistance to realize His plans for individuals, churches, nations, or the human race. But the story of the bible is the story of God’s will playing out through the words and actions of the His children. So…we pray, meditate on his Word, and write from the heart about the truths that mold our faith, guide our actions, and inspire our hearts and minds. Please visit the site and subscribe to continue receiving posts.  https://graceinmarriage.com/ It is our sincere hope that you are blessed by our work here and welcome your input on how we can make Grace in Marriage even better. Thank you for your support.
Read more