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Psalm 89:38-45
But you have rejected, you have spurned, you have been very angry with your anointed one. You have renounced the covenant with your servant and have defiled his crown in the dust. You have broken through all his walls and reduced his strongholds to ruins. All who pass by have plundered him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors. You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice. Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword and have not supported him in battle. You have put an end to his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with a mantle of shame.
On one hand we know that God’s promises are true. On the other hand we know that our challenges are real. Sometimes it’s so hard to see how these two can work together. That’s what the psalmist was struggling with in this portion of his writing.
God had promised that King David’s line would last as long as the heavens endured. God said, “I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail.” But now based on circumstances it seemed that God had “rejected” and “renounced” the promise. Enemies had come and “reduced his strongholds to ruins.” How could God’s promised faithfulness to His people be possible when it seemed that God had not supported them when they needed Him most?
This apparent conflict is something we still struggle with today. When illness strikes, discouragement hits, the unwanted divorce occurs, the job goes away, we have to make a move…again, we wonder if God has not supported us in our battles. Let’s be honest, some days it may feel like that. But God never leaves us. He is always at work behind the scenes weaving a beautiful masterpiece. Someday it will all make sense. Today we continue to trust in the midst of our questions and circumstances.
Father, sometimes it does feel that You have left me alone in the battle. I know that You are with me, but so are my feelings of aloneness. The Enemy seems to be taking ground. My crying out to You seems to go unanswered. I know You are at work, but help me trust You in the midst of my questions and circumstances. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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