Have you ever felt like you were at the end of your rope in life? Did it feel like the world was against you and you had absolutely nowhere to turn? I'm sure that most of those reading this will respond with a resounding yes! If that's you, you're in good company! Of all those people talked about in the bible, I want to concentrate on one: David, King of Israel. I ,personally, really like King David for reasons that will be discussed later. For now, lets look at some background about how this came to me.
The other day I was at work and someone had the radio on to a secular radio station that goes out of its way to avoid the subject of God. However this day was different. One of the hosts had been having a rough time because of some life situation. A fan of his left him some words of encouragement on one of his social media pages and one of the Psalms to go with it. He read a good bit of it on the air which is awesome because millions of people heard it. Then he got to the point of the reason why he was reading it. David was praying to God for his enemies' destruction. The staff of the show was dumbfounded as to why stuff like that was in Scripture.
At this point they started asking "Hey what about forgiveness and all that?" That is when the Lord spoke. "Follow his example" For this instance, I want you to ask yourselves a question: How did David treat his enemies outside of his prayer life? Yes, he was a fighter and warrior and all that, but when his own son betrayed him and tried to take over his kingdom what happened? David left and would let no man touch him. Saul was chasing David around everywhere and he never laid a finger on him to harm him.
If you read David's psalms you will notice a couple of things. First, he gave God praise in everything. Second, he knew that he was insignificant without the blessing of God on his life. Third and finally, he repeatedly asked God to wipe his enemies off the face of the planet. I dont want you to always pray for the death of those that annoy, harm, show disrespect to you. If that's all you hear then you're missing the point. If I remember correctly, there was this Jewish Rabbi named Jesus that said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:43-45). He also said "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33).
If you are wondering what I am getting at, it is simply this. We (myself included) put way too much emphasis on what we can do and what other people do in the world around us. David was very honest in his petitions before God. God wants the same from us. He already knows what we think about certain situations. How about lets just be honest with Him so that we can be free from holding that stuff in. The more we try to chain that stuff up, the more likely we are to be entrapped by those very same chains in the form of guilt and self condemnation. Let me say it this way: Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Trust Him to handle whatever situation you are dealing, whatever jerk you run across during the course of your day. It is our job to be a kingdom of priests and show the world what God looks like. We are supposed to let Him deal with the problems that this world throws at us. That way we can continue on the way that He has set up for us to bring healing and wholeness to the world around us.
I hope that you have found some freedom in this and that you can put it to use immediately. Grace and Peace of God be with you ALWAYS!!!
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