- araratchurch
- May 12, 2022
- 4 min read
“They reward me evil for good, To the sorrow of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, My clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting; And my prayer would return to my own heart. I paced about as though he were my friend or brother; I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother. But in my adversity they rejoiced And gathered together; Attackers gathered against me, And I did not know it; They tore at me and did not cease; With ungodly mockers at feasts They gnashed at me with their teeth. Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, My precious life from the lions.”
Psalms 35:12-17 NKJV
You really, really, want to do it; the words are a battering ram, pounding against your teeth; just open your mouth and say it. Wait, maybe we should back up just a little.
There are times when you have done good for a person—listened to all of their woes, put salve on their wounds, covered for some lack—trying to somehow lighten the load of life on their shoulders; yet, they turn around and try to do you in when it serves their purposes.
Case in point, there have been times when there were people who were speaking complete lies against me or someone else, and having the truth on my side—not only of my own innocence but of the accuser’s actual bad deeds—the thought comes to mind, “I’m going to defend myself, and in the process, shed a little light on their life.” I haven’t done it and I won’t do it. But why?
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12:19-21 NKJV
As much as such vitriol and betrayal hurts, the child of God must not allow that hurt to cause us to do the devil’s work.
To make my point I could parade a whole host of Biblical examples of good people of God being done wrong, having their good returned with evil, yet continuing to walk in righteousness, trusting God to be their vindicator and avenger. But, there is no greater example of this than our Lord.
The good works Jesus did were finally rewarded with betrayal, torture, and crucifixion. Think about it: at one point, earlier on, the religious leaders took up stones to kill Him where He stood:
“Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?””
John 10:31-32 NKJV
Yesterday, we looked at a scripture Jesus read in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:18-19). It’s interesting to note that just after His reading of that scripture, a dialogue ensued between He and the religious leaders, ending in their trying to throw Jesus off a cliff:
“So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.”
Luke 4:28-30 NKJV
Talk about being able to take vengeance against such evil-returned-for-good, Jesus could have seen them vaporized; yet, He forgave them.
In our portion from Psalms today we see David seeking his Heavenly Father to bring vengeance on people (he had once cared for) who were trying to destroy him. He was leaving vengeance and vindication to the Lord. This type of prayer is often found throughout the psalms. Here are a couple more examples:
“Those also who render evil for good, They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good. Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”
Psalms 38:20-22 NKJV
“In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love.”
Psalms 109:4-5 NKJV
When Saul was pursuing David to kill him, David came upon Saul sleeping and had the opportunity to do him in. He didn’t, but rather cut off a corner of Saul’s garment. He even regretted that small act:
“Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.””
I Samuel 24:4-6 NKJV
When people for whom you have done good, turn around and try to do you in, it’s a terrible, terrible feeling. But, we must leave our vindication and vengeance to the Lord.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
You must leave vengeance to God when people return evil for your good.
- araratchurch
- May 11, 2022
- 3 min read
“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
Psalms 34:18 NKJV
When I was in high school, a popular song came out entitled, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? I remember hearing it and identifying with it as so many other young girls did at the time (making it a very popular song).
It’s interesting, the things over which our heart is broken. When we are young, generally a broken heart is connected to unrequited love or being rejected by someone you “love.” But, we don’t develop immunity to broken hearts by the end of our teenage years although the cause may vary.
Being broken hearted is something you really don’t have to describe to anyone; we all know how that feels. Whether the broken heart resulted from a lost love, shattered dreams, or the myriad of heart breaking opportunities we face, it basically feels the same: awful.
Another phenomenon I have noted is that being brokenhearted—in the terms we have been discussing—general leads to self-pity: why did this happen to me? I Have found that self-pity never lifts you out of the hole of despair. Now, don’t misunderstand me, God will also help with the broken heart that comes from personal loss if—instead of resorting to self-pity—we present it to Him, asking for healing.
The Apostle Paul, in dealing with a situation within a church where they were allowing things they should not, had given them apparently some very harsh disciplinary words. Later, he comes back and says that, although he was sorry at first for the way they had received it, he wasn’t sorry anymore. Their godly sorrow led to their salvation!
“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
II Corinthians 7:10 NKJV
Having our hearts broken over the things separating us from our Lord, is a very good thing. As a matter fact, Jesus came to heal the hearts broken over our fallen state. In quoting from the book of Isaiah, Jesus stood in the midst of The synagogue in Nazareth, making this proclamation:
““The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.””
Luke 4:18-19 NKJV
The devil wants to keep us wallowing in self-pity concerning things in our life that really are not going to have any eternal consequence. Yes, those things hurt terribly now; you may wonder how you can go on living. But, it’s not going to affect your eternal destiny. On the other hand, unresolved sin separates us from God, leading to an eternity separated from Him.
I praise God that He made a way where there was no way for us to be have our sins forgiven and be connected to His never-ending life. But, the repentance that leads to the access of what He his already done for us, cannot be a step that is skipped. We must allow our own sin to break our hearts to the point of extracting true repentance before the Lord. Then we can receive His forgiveness, never again to revisit our sins.
In our portion from Psalms today we see David recognizing that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted. Yesterday, we discussed the fact that David knew what it was like to have a load of sin lifted through forgiveness. But, what had gotten him to the point of repenting before the Lord, was a heart broken because of sin. And, instead of allowing that brokenness to turn into condemnation, he took that broken heart and placed it at the Lord’s feet. Additionally, as we see him asserting in another Psalm, he knew the Lord would never reject a broken heart laid at His feet.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.”
Psalms 51:17 NKJV
So, whatever broke your heart, whether your own sin or some personal loss or disappointment. The Lord will not turn you away if you present that broken heart to Him. As my father sang so many times over his years of ministry, “He’s the healer of broken hearts.”
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
The Lord is near to the broken hearted.
- araratchurch
- May 10, 2022
- 5 min read
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
Psalms 32:1-2 NKJV
I opened up a video, sent to my phone, to see a face—very much made in my own image. The face I saw showed great distress, eyes swollen from tears. The only sound coming forth was that of snubbing as she tried to release her words. Finally the words came: “Ginny, I did something bad; I ate all the chocolate.” The words were spoken from a mouth still carrying the mark of shame. Suddenly, a flood of memories swept over my soul of all of the times I felt the same emotion when faced with my own failings.
I remember when I was about nine years old, going down a tall slide at school, and ripping the hem of my new dress. Now, to understand the seriousness of this situation, you need to understand that I had been forbidden (by my mother) to get on the slide (basically any of the schoolyard equipment). She feared that I would be injured. Probably rightly so. But this one day, as the children were lining up to go down this tall slide (a slide that would not be allowed on any schoolyard in this day and time), I “found myself” in that line. About three rungs from the top, I regretted the decision. But other children occupied the rungs below me and I was embarrassed to ask them to let me go back down; I didn’t want them to think I was afraid. Fact is, I was afraid—not of the sliding experience—but of disobeying the command of my mother. So, my turn came and I positioned myself on the top of the slide and let go. Very near the bottom there was a rusted place, causing a very sharp open hole (as I said, it was a different day and time). As you might have guessed, the sharp edge caught the hem of my dress, ripping quite a large hole. I spent the rest of the day dreading having to face my mother with what I had done. I actually wrote a note (I still have), explaining to my mother what had happened and expressing my deepest regrets. To be honest with you, I don’t remember what her exact response was. But, I don’t remember that she was harsh or severe. You see, it didn’t much matter whether she was harsh or not; I was already so disappointed in myself that there could be no punishment worse than what I was already experiencing. Maybe she knew that.
Shame feels awful. More so (to me) than the fear of punishment.
I remember a time when my mother faced her own moment of shame. I was riding in the backseat of the car she was driving. This car was a gold Buick Electra 225, a beautiful vehicle. A man (connected to someone in our church) restored totaled cars and offered this to my father at a price he couldn’t refuse. It was beautiful. He was proud of it. And, my mother was driving it. Well, we pulled into the old Sears on Ponce de Leon; into the very tight parking deck. My mother, in attempting to turn into the next row without swinging out far enough, wrapped the car around a large concrete support column, totally crushing the passenger door beside me. She, hearing the crunching of metal, knew this was not going to be good; and it wasn’t. She got out of the car and saw the awful result of trying to turn a car at a 90° angle. I remember all of us praying that the Lord would heal the car before we got home; she was inconsolable. Upon returning home, she presented the terrible deed to my father. He looked at the car and then looked at her and said, “It’s just a car, why would you be so distraught?” I remember the relief she experienced. But, I wasn’t surprised at his response; that’s the way he lived.
Failure feels horrible. Combining that with disappointing someone you love and/or fear, compounds the impact of your shame.
At the beginning of “The Pilgrim’s Progress” (John Bunyan), we see the main character, Christian, looking for a way to get the heavy load off his shoulders—the load of sin. He goes on to find out that the only thing that lifted that load, was identifying with the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul knew all too well the terrible load sin brings. But, he also had a revelation of the forgiving power of the work of Jesus Christ:
“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”
Romans 7:23-25 NKJV
“The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I Corinthians 15:56-57 NKJV
In our portion from Psalms today we see David expressing the wonderful feeling of relief in finding forgiveness of our faults and failings, forgiveness of our sins. Being familiar with the life of David, knowing how much he wanted to do the will of his Good Shepherd, we can imagine the shame he felt when he knew he had failed. We also know because we’ve been there. But, David never made the mistake of continuing to try to hide his sin from the Lord. He was quick to repent when feeling the Lord’s displeasure. He knew how it felt to be forgiven.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Psalms 103:2-5 NKJV
No matter what you are feeling today in terms of your own faults and failings, no matter the heaviness of the load of shame, guilt, or fear, look at Jesus. See His suffering, His sacrifice. Repent before Him, recognizing that His blood has covered a multitude of sins.
For today let us know and understand what David knew:
There is no heavier load than the load of sin, no greater gift than that of forgiveness.