Digging Deep

⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my salvation ⁶and my God.    

   My soul is cast down within me;
   therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
   from Mount Mizar.
⁷Deep calls to deep                                                                  
   at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
   have gone over me.
⁸By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
   and at night his song is with me,
   a prayer to the God of my life.
⁹I say to God, my rock:
   ”Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
   because of the oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰As with a deadly wound in my bones,
   my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
   ”Where is your God?”

 ¹¹ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my salvation and my God.

Sometimes life can be tough. Real tough. From families losing loved ones, people losing jobs or facing the possibility, or those facing life threatening physical conditions. These can be hard situations to deal with. Sometimes the unknown of what is going to happen can leave people feeling very lost and alone. Maybe there are those who are reading this right now, and you don’t know what you are going to do and the circumstances present a “no-win scenerio”.

David went through more than one of these situations as well as many of you out there. The words of David hold many keys to dealing with hard times and suffering. In my own life, I am facing some pretty steep odds that are not in my favor. I am a pretty smart guy, but even with all the intellect and intelligence I have,  my ability to reason, and plan, and figure out things is of no use. It is when we are at the end of ourselves is where we find God. It is where we must trust Him, completely, cause there is no other way or option.

I look at David  and I see a guy who isn’t afraid of a fight. I see a real man, a man’s man. A guy who overcame overwhelming odds who in the end made it to where he was destined. once you start reading the Psalms, that perception quickly fades. You see a guy who faced despair, depression, times of lack, and times when he was corrected. You see a guy who learned that his strength was not in his fighting prowess and skill, but it was in the art of surrender.

  I’m not going to lie to you. It’s not the place where I want to be, nor I’m sure, most of you. Having to trust God goes against everything we are taught growing up. It goes against logic to simply wait on the Lord. If you are a go-getter and an achievement oriented type person, surrender is never an option. ”There’s always a way” you think, but sometimes there really isn’t and our own lack of surrender is what is holding back our greatest victory.   

I was watching an episode of “Band of Brothers” not too long ago. These soldiers were in the woods, and they had dug foxholes. The commander in charge was constantly telling them to stay in or near their foxholes. All of a sudden, the German troops would open fire on these woods with artillery and the soldiers would jump into their foxholes, and most of the time they were safe. There were guys who wandered around to talk to guys in other foxholes, but didn’t stay in their own, and when the shelling started, most of those guys met their deaths.

Sometimes you have to dig deep and stay where you are. Sometimes there is no comfort in the mouths of others. Surrender requires absolute submission. When to go and when to stay are no longer your choice. It is the choice of the One you are submitted to. The desire to run is not an option. This option will lead to greater hurt, greater pain, and even death. Surrender is not a option, it is the only option.

David talks about how God’s love is steadfast and His song is with him in the night. While those who would destroy him ask “where is his God?”, he tells God what they are saying and allows God to answer in His might and power. God did not fail Him, and he was delivered from his enemies. How much more, we His children, heirs of salvation and eternal life will we overcome? It will come when we surrender. When, like Jesus, we stand in our garden of Gethsemane declare “not my will, but Yours be done. It was after this we see the angel of the Lord came to Jesus and ministered to Him. He was completely surrendered to the will of the Father. There at the point of complete surrender. There at the place of death to our self, He will meet us there. He will deliver. He will heal. He will be our strength and our salvation, but not until then.

Kevin