Surrounded but Not Defeated
Do you ever feel surrounded by trouble and like there is no way to escape? Maybe it is just that the problem you are facing today, this week, this season is just too complicated, and you are stuck and therefore unproductive. David had a similar, and maybe worse, situation. His house was surrounded by King Saul's men, and their mission was to capture or kill him. David found himself in a rather desperate situation. He was literally trapped with no apparent way to escape.
Have you ever gone to bed after an exhausting day and experienced a neighborhood dog that won’t stop barking or howling? In Psalm 59:6, David said his enemy even roamed the city at night as a constant reminder of the danger he was facing. Difficultly by day and night.
You may not have enemies prowling around your house at night, but I bet you have experienced the challenges of unwanted thoughts that run through your head late at night and keep you from getting any sleep. When we face hard situations, our thoughts and emotions sometimes run out of control, convincing us that there will never be an end to our problems. Noisy thoughts can rob you of your sleep just as much as the neighbors yapping dog!
David’s solution was to call upon the Lord in his despair. He was so bold that he told God to wake up and do something! Have you ever tried to pray with such boldness? We sometimes think prayer is only effective if we are formal and polite in our requests. Yet the Bible is filled with examples of those who prayed with what seemed like reckless abandon. In this psalm, and in many others, David freely allowed his emotions to be known to God. He did not hold back his desperate situation or hide his mental and emotional state with God.
In verse 6, David went as far as telling God to laugh at his enemies: “O Lord, laugh at them; hold them in derision.” That’s not a very “churchy” kind of prayer. David literally told God to embarrass his enemy. I suspect that praying with such transparency not only pleases God, but it likely begins to change our disposition as well. If God can laugh at our problems, then maybe we can as well. Doesn’t our faith teach us that our challenges are no match for the God of creation?
One of my like mentors, Smith Lanier, would often say to me after I described some mountain of a problem I was facing, “That mountain is just a little any hill to God, and he can easily just kick it over.” Perspective matters.
As David continued his prayer, he moved from emotional despair to an attitude of expectation: “O my strength, I will watch for you.” David expected God to intervene in his desperate situation. What an incredible faith. How could David have such faith? One reason was that he often recounted all the times in his life when God had shown up before and kicked down the ant hills and rescued him.
If you are a dog owner, you have likely experienced coming home and finding your faithful canine friend waiting at the door eager to great you. Your dog believes that you will once again feed her, walk her, and play with her. Your dog has full confidence in your loving care day after day. Do we have that same confidence in our Heavenly Father? Do we believe that he will show up in every situation? Will God ever forget to provide and protect us? I am confident that God is and will continue to be a better provider than we could ever be.
Father, help us today to regain our perspective. We invite you to laugh at our mess! Today we wait for you, trusting fully that you will meet our every need. We are thankful that you promise to never abandon or forget us. Deliver us today by your powerful love and grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Psalm 59:1-17 ESV
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