This week, as a collection of believers in Hope Church, we are enjoying a week of prayer. As part of this I had the privilege of commencing it by producing a short video (1-2mins) encouraging people to enter into the presence of God, so i thought i would share my thoughts and reflections here with you. The inspiration came from the following Psalm;
*God Is My Strength and Portion Forever*
# 73
A Psalm of Asaph.
*1* Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
*2* But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
*3* For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
*4* For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
*5* They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
*6* Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
*7* Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
*8* They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
*9* They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
*10* Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
*11* And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
*12* Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
*13* All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
*14* For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
*15* If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
*16* But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
*17* until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
*18* Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
*19* How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
*20* Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
*21* When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
*22* I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
*23* Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
*24* You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
*25* Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
*26* My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
*27* For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
*28* But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
We can see how the psalmist has been on a journey of discovery. He has realised that he doesn’t understand how the world works, and it concerns him; the good suffer, the wicked prosper, and he himself is diligently following God, but coming under attack and he is feeling jealous and annoyed about these things - It doesn’t make sense, it is hard to understand. Do you ever have the same kind of thoughts?
You may have questions over; why there is suffering, why do some get healed, others don’t, why don’t things seem to go the way you expect/want them to yet you see other people of questionable character seeming to get whatever they desire? As humans, it is natural for us to question as we want to know and understand. Yet being consumed by these questions can be overwhelming, confusing and tiresome as this writer admits in verses 16-17, ‘But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, *17*until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.‘ Trying to understand the world and figure out solutions to all the problems is wearisome and burdensome, even when you have the best worldly knowledge to hand and even then you probably will not find the answers you seek anyway!
The only thing that helped this psalmist was going into the sanctuary of God.
Getting into God’s presence helps. It does not mean that by spending time with God the world will change, but being in the presence of God will change you. The psalmist recognises that God is continually with him, that he is held by God, guided and strengthened. You too can receive; peace, hope, guidance, reassurance, companionship, help, love and strength when you spend time with God. You may not get the answers you seek, but you will get what you need. Life can be hard and overwhelming at times, like this psalmist found, but do you notice that when he stopped and went to God he stopped fretting about the issues of the world and he was able to manage what he was facing? Nothing else seems to have outwardly changed, but his mindset did. This led to him appreciating that, 'for me it is good to be near God'. The same can be true for you too. If you are struggling to understand things and life is becoming overwhelming and wearisome, i encourage you to take some time to consider this psalm and spend some time with God. It doesn't matter how you do that or when, it could be; through being still, whilst gazing at nature, listening to music, praying with others, or quietly contemplating who God is. The psalmist's viewpoint and thoughts are transformed by being with God - notice how what he speaks of has changed after verse 17. I am sure that the things he was noticing and getting annoyed at previously are still going on, but spending time with God helped him see what he really has, and what is really worthwhile considering in life. Then he felt equipped to continue to face the difficulties because he remembered who God really is, and the value of what he has through that relationship. You can have the same experience too because spending time with God may not change the world, but it will change you. Then maybe you will also be able to say, ’but for me it is good to be near God’ (v28)?
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