Bruised and Confused
Opening Prayer
Lord, in the face of adversity I cry out to You and stand on this truth: You are a good and loving Father.
Read Psalm 44
[1] For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. We have heard it with our ears, O God; our ancestors have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago. [2] With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our ancestors; you crushed the peoples and made our ancestors flourish. [3] It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. [4] You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob. [5] Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes. [6] I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; [7] but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. [8] In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever. [9] But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. [10] You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us. [11] You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations. [12] You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale. [13] You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us. [14] You have made us a byword among the nations; the peoples shake their heads at us. [15] I live in disgrace all day long, and my face is covered with shame [16] at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me, because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge. [17] All this came upon us, though we had not forgotten you; we had not been false to your covenant. [18] Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path. [19] But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals; you covered us over with deep darkness. [20] If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, [21] would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart? [22] Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. [23] Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. [24] Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression? [25] We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. [26] Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What did the Israelites see as the cause of their distress?When the Israelites experienced defeat in battle, in the midst of hardships like drought and famine, when chased into exile by their enemies, they often interpreted their losses as direct consequences of their unfaithfulness to God. They cried out in pain and protest, and then used the experiences as catalysts for repentance. Yet, here we find an example where the Israelites’ defeat in battle just does not add up in their minds. They just cannot do the calculations and make sense of why they came out on the losing side. As far as they were concerned, they were in good standing with the Lord and not in need of punishment for some transgression. Similarly, life has ways of shaking and rattling each of us to our cores. We get off course. We face miserable disappointments. We are beaten down, trampled and knocked around as we live our lives. While it may be fruitful to open our hearts and minds to what the Lord wants to teach us through our struggles and suffering, sometimes our suffering simply does not make sense. When we cannot rationalize the reason for our suffering, we remember that suffering is part of the human condition and a by-product of living in a sinful, fallen world. In our own times of trouble, the One Who is true and trustworthy waits for us to run to Him.When the Israelites experienced defeat in battle, in the midst of hardships like drought and famine, when chased into exile by their enemies, they often interpreted their losses as direct consequences of their unfaithfulness to God. They cried out in pain and protest, and then used the experiences as catalysts for repentance. Yet, here we find an example where the Israelites’ defeat in battle just does not add up in their minds. They just cannot do the calculations and make sense of why they came out on the losing side. As far as they were concerned, they were in good standing with the Lord and not in need of punishment for some transgression. Similarly, life has ways of shaking and rattling each of us to our cores. We get off course. We face miserable disappointments. We are beaten down, trampled and knocked around as we live our lives. While it may be fruitful to open our hearts and minds to what the Lord wants to teach us through our struggles and suffering, sometimes our suffering simply does not make sense. When we cannot rationalize the reason for our suffering, we remember that suffering is part of the human condition and a by-product of living in a sinful, fallen world. In our own times of trouble, the One Who is true and trustworthy waits for us to run to Him.
Apply
Choose a tangible way to show the Lord that you put your trust in Him today.
Closing prayer
Father, I know the humiliation of defeat and ask you to redeem me because of your unfailing love for me.
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