God Before Us (Day #2 of “Five Psalms”)

24 Aug God Before Us (Day #2 of “Five Psalms”)

Read  Psalm 54
Thought for the Day: “When we trust God, He is our help in trouble!”

The Book of Psalms has traditionally been divided into five smaller “books”. The second (from Chapters 42 – 72) shows that God leads and guides us when we seek His help. His ways are far better than our ways as He is the God Before Us! Consider Psalm 54, which describes how it is God’s job (not ours) to solve the seemingly impossible situations that exist in our lives: “For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves. Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.” The Psalmist reminds us that it is not our job to seek revenge on those who wrong us. Instead, we are asked to turn to God for help in our times of need.

When I was in Seventh Grade, a peer accused me of saying something that I did not say. However, by the midpoint of that school year, I was a frequent resident in the Detention Room… so, I lost the “benefit of the doubt” and found myself called down to the principal’s office. As I marched down with a scowl on my face, I was furious. While it HAD been a rough year (I had made my fair share of immature comments), I hadn’t done what I was now being accused of but felt like the writing was on the wall. As I opened the principal’s door, I started preparing myself for the worst, deciding that I would share all the dirt I had on my peer to get even.

As I entered the office, I almost plowed over my History teacher. He smiled at me and quietly left. Before I could say anything, the principal informed me that my teacher had gotten there first and explained everything. He had overheard the real conversation I had with my peer and vouched for the fact that I didn’t make the comment I was now accused of. Rather than me arguing my case or trying to get even (and making things worse), my teacher had cleared everything up.

Today, no matter what we have done in the past, God goes before us when we turn to Him in repentance. When we seek to live the right way and follow Him in our lives, He is our helper and the upholder of our lives. So, the next time we feel like we need to get revenge, we instead need to pray and ask for God’s solution.

In Christ,
Pastor David (and Stan)