"Save me, O God, by Thy name,
and vindicate me by Thy power. Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of
my mouth. For strangers have risen
against me, and violent men have sought my life; they have not set God before
them.” Psalm 54
I was driving to Fort Worth several
weeks ago and experienced a very close call when a semi-truck merged into me
from the passing lane. I braked quickly
and allowed the driver to pass in front of me.
I was stunned! That was so
close…I voice-dialed my wife on the phone to tell her what had just
happened. During our conversation,
ANOTHER vehicle carelessly merged into my lane.
“There goes another one!!” I complained. “This is insane!” Only a few minutes later, I’m almost at my
destination to make a hospital call when a driver gets right up on my bumper
before making a quick lane change and speeding around me. By this time, I am very frustrated and said
out loud to no one else in the car: “So where are the Police? Where is the Highway Patrol? What is this, try to kill Kerry day???” Where was my protection? Why was no one keeping these nutty drivers
off the road? Where were my defenders?
God,
are you even seeing this??
“DO SOMETHING!!” Have you ever prayed a prayer that sounded
like that? Recently, a family you might
know was very frustrated. Their air conditioner
had gone out and they had paid a sizable repair bill. Then the car broke down. The family had just about exhausted their
financial reserves to get it running again, when all three of the kids came
down with strep and had to each undergo the care of a doctor, complete with
multiple rounds of medication. The
father shook his head, lamenting: “I’m just so very tired of the devil messing
with our family. We’ve had enough!”
Likewise, I’ve known friends who worked
daily in very hostile environments.
Every day was an emotional beating.
They really wanted to quit, but family and financial obligations kept
them pinned to their job. Dread and
fatigue plagued them. One said: “I don’t
know how long I can keep doing this. I
don’t know what to do!” Where do we turn
when it’s like the world is out to get us?
Cry
Out To God
As we read in Psalm 54, we find
David…not yet King, but assailed by his enemies. They are looking for him, and he is
frightened for his life. His words are
very simple: “Save me, O God, by Thy name. And vindicate me by Thy power.” In verses 4-7, David envisions God not only
delivering him, but paying back his enemies with swift justice: “Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer
of my soul. He will recompense the evil to my foes; Destroy them in Your
faithfulness. Willingly I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks to Your
name, O LORD, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all trouble, And my
eye has looked with satisfaction upon my enemies.”
In those times
when danger seems to seek us out…In those seasons when it really does seem that
our enemies are out to get us…Cry out to the Lord our God. He will deliver and sustain us. And we can rest assured that in his time,
justice will reign. Vengeance is
his. He says so.
Prayer
Almighty
God, do not let your people be overtaken by hardship, nor the evil of men! But deliver us from our enemies, O Lord. You are our defender. Amen.
