Brown's daily word 9-5-07

Good Morning,
Praise the Lord for His Word. The flower fades, the grass withers, but the Word of our Lord endures for ever. One of our Church family died yesterday, very suddenly, involved in a head on car accident. I also had a call about a man who was part of our fellowship here and had moved to New Mexico, who died there suddenly. I had a call on my cell phone during my daughter Sunita's wedding rehearsal last Friday, from the Nurse from the intensive care to go and visit a man, who died this Monday evening. I had called a man and prayed with him over the phone as he was going to the hospital for a major biopsy; he was anxious and afraid. One of my neighbors , a young father in his twenties is dying of cancer. In life we face tragedies, trials and tears. People of deep faith turn to the Lord in prayer with questions and with diverse human emotions.
Psalm 10 is an example of an “imprecatory prayer,” as it contains brutal honesty and an earnest call for God. No punches are pulled here. As C. S. Lewis once said, reading Psalm 10 is like throwing open the door of an oven that is set to 500 degrees – you immediately get hit full in the face with the heat of the psalmist’s fury. Yet, one of the things we all like about the Psalms is that they are so honest. People of deep faith and love had no qualms about questioning God. This prayer gives us a three-fold process for dealing with our own questions and problems. When life throws you for a loop…
Verse 1 begins rather abruptly: “Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” God, you may be powerful and you may be personal, but why can’t I sense your presence right now? The psalmist is expressing his frustration at the aloofness of the Almighty. The psalms are saturated with these kinds of questions. Following is just a sample.
Psalm 13:1: “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”
Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?”
Psalm 42:9: “I say to God my Rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?’”
Psalm 44:23-24: “Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?’”
When tragedy leaves you teetering on the edge, it’s not unspiritual to declare your questions to God. He’s big enough to handle your cries. Some of us have been rocked by some pretty tough stuff. Maybe a person very close to you has died unexpectedly. Perhaps you have just recently lost your job. Your marriage may be fracturing and you wonder if you’ll stay together. Your parents’ health is fading fast. Your children are not living like they should. Your bills have piled up like mountains on your desk. You have had an accident that has altered the trajectory of your life. You’ve just received some health news that is not very promising. Maybe your childhood was filled with more abuse than affirmation.
Perhaps a close relationship has ruptured.
What do you do when you’re faced with an avalanche of agony and you feel like God is playing “hide and seek” with you? I would like to suggest that it’s OK to declare your questions. Let me make an observation from verse 1. This question is expressed directly to God and is amplified in the New Living Translation: “O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most?” The implication is that he doesn’t complain to anyone else. Job did a similar thing in Job 13:24 when he cried out directly to God: “Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?” As believers, we have an avenue for unloading the hidden turmoil of our hearts. We don’t have to dump on friends and family because we can go directly to God with our questions. If you’re wondering what’s happening or why things are unfolding the way they are, ask God about it. He can take it!
There was once a man named Tertullian who loved to ask questions. He had an inquiring mind. Before he became a Christian, he tried to find the meaning of life in a lot of different philosophies. And each time, he kept asking, “Why? Why? Why?” Eventually the answers gave out, and he wandered on, a disappointed man. And then one day he met a man whose answers made sense. He didn’t pretend to know everything. But he did know God. Tertullian committed his life to Christ that very day.
The word question has as its root the word “quest.” If you’re on a quest to understand, if you’re serious about seeking answers, then don’t hesitate to declare your doubts. If you don’t ask, you might miss out on some surprising answers and ultimately short-circuit some growth that God wants to accomplish in your life.
After declaring your questions to God, the next step is to describe your complaint. Friend, when you’re talking to God, don’t worry about repeating what you’ve already said. Spell it out. Describe your concerns in detail. After declaring his heartfelt questions, the psalmist next lists a litany of problems that he sees. Specifically, he can’t understand why the poor are persecuted by the proud. In verses 2-11, we find a cluster of words used to describe people in need: the weak, the innocent, the victim, and the helpless. God has always had a special place in his heart for the oppressed and the writer wants to know why He’s not coming to the aid of the afflicted by wiping out the wicked.
As I read this list, I can’t help but think of the terrorists on September 11th who ambushed the innocent and crushed the helpless. This tragedy caused many people to echo the psalmist’s cry: “Where was God in all this? Why didn’t He stop this?” Over half of all Americans believe that another terrorist attack is coming. Our country breathed a collective sigh of relief when nothing happened on July 4th. Verse 9 describes the image many of us have of the terrorist: “He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless…”
God, are you there? Are you paying attention? Why are you hiding when we need you the most? God, why do you stand so far away? Why haven’t you done something to turn this around? How can you let all these innocent lives be snuffed out?
Friend, if you are going through a tough time right now, declare your questions to God and then describe your complaint. What is it exactly that’s bothering you? What makes you mad? Tell God about it. Write it down. Get it out. Put it into a prayer.
I love the faith progression that takes place in this psalm. The hurting follower begins with two bold “why” questions and then spells out his complaints in specific detail. When we come to verse 12, we see that, as a result of being honest with God, his commitment to the Lord now goes to the next level. We can learn from this same process. If you have questions and complaints, don’t stop there. Express them and then turn again to the Lord. The psalmist boldly calls for intervention: “Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.”
The psalmist specifically remembers two things about God. First, he calls to mind God’s personality in verse 14: “But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand.” The Almighty is not distant and He’s not hiding. He’s a personal God, who knows our trouble and sees our tears. The phrase “take it in hand” refers to God’s personal involvement and capacity to judge people according to what they have done.
Because of God’s personality, according to the last half of this verse, we can “commit” ourselves to Him. He is the helper of the fatherless. He takes special interest in those who are in deep need according to Psalm 34:15-16: “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.”
This is very similar to the process Jeremiah went through in the Book of Lamentations. He was filled with “why” questions and he listed his grievances to God. When he got through, it’s as if he forced himself to think about what is true. Listen to what he wrote in Lamentations 3:19-23:“I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Jeremiah was down but he determined to deepen his commitment to God.
Secondly, the psalmist focuses on God’s power in verse 16: “The Lord is King for ever and ever.” When we’re whacked out by our “why” questions and swimming in a sea of concerns, we need to come back to God’s perspective. Yet this I call to mind: God sees what I’m going through and because He is King, He can choose to do something about it, if it’s in accord with his sweet purposes for my life. Psalm 93:1: “The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength.”
Because of His personality and His power, verses 17-18 tell us that God not only sees, He also acts: “You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed…” The word, “hear” means to give “diligent attention” to someone. God is leaning His ear toward us, eagerly anticipating what we’re going to say. The word “desire” can also refer to our longings. God understands our deep desires and the agonizing aches of our hearts.
Whatever life tragedy we are facing right now, we are called, to come back to the personality and power of God and commit ourselves to His ways. Psalm 112:7: “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”
In His Grace and Marcy,
Brown



Resume Blunders
I demand a salary commiserate with my extensive experience."

"I have lurnt Word Perfect 6.0 computor and spreadsheet progroms."

"Received a plague for Salesperson of the Year."

"Reason for leaving last job: maturity leave."

"Wholly responsible for two (2) failed financial institutions."

"Failed bar exam with relatively high grades."

"It's best for employers that I not work with people."

"Let's meet, so you can 'ooh' and 'aah' over my experience."

"You will want me to be Head Honcho in no time."

"Am a perfectionist and rarely if if ever forget details."

"I was working for my mom until she decided to move."

"Marital status: single. Unmarried. Unengaged. Uninvolved. No commitments."

"I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse."

"I am loyal to my employer at all costs...Please feel free to respond to my resume on my office voice mail."

"I have become completely paranoid, trusting completely no one and absolutely nothing."

"My goal is to be a meteorologist. But since I possess no training in meterology, I suppose I should try stock brokerage."

"I procrastinate, especially when the task is unpleasant."

"As indicted, I have over five years of analyzing investments."

"Personal interests: donating blood. Fourteen gallons so far."

"Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain store."

"Note: Please don't miscontrue my 14 jobs as 'job-hopping'. I have never quit a job."

"Marital status: often. Children: various."

"Reason for leaving last job: They insisted that all employees get to work by 8:45 a.m. every morning. Could not work under those conditions."

"The company made me a scapegoat, just like my three previous employers."

"Finished eighth in my class of ten."

"References: None. I've left a path of destruction behind me."