Thoughts for the Day

Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;
all day long foes oppress me;
my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many fight against me.
O Most High, when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid;
what can flesh do to me?...

You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your record?
Then my enemies will retreat
on the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

How often have you felt as thought you were being trampled into the earth, as though calamities were coming at you from all directions? Or perhaps there is an impending sense of doom, as though challenges were being heaped upon your head. Or is it that there is no escape from the situation you find yourself in? All of us have felt like this at some time or other, and I know personally and from emails I receive that many reading these 'Thoughts' can identify with this feeling. But if you're feeling upbeat today it's worth thinking about such times so that you're ready when they do occur. When we're really stressed out it's easy to panic and take the wrong action. In trying to escape we can make the situation very much worse.

David wrote Psalm 56 at a time he had been captured by his enemies the Philistines, in Gath. He was alone and completely desperate. King Saul has been seeking to take his life, and now in escaping him he has fallen into the hands of the Philistines. This is the young man who has already killed a lion and a bear, and then defeated Goliath with a sling-shot. Yet here we see him admit to fear, and it's that fear that makes him turn to God. All too often when we're afraid we turn to worldly solutions, instead of trusting in God. But David gives us a magnificent example of his faith in God. He says "in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can flesh do to me?" Then there is a lovely image of his tears in God's bottle.

But David doesn't just appeal to God, although we know it's the first thing he does. Having asked God's help he now acts, for we know from the First Book of Samuel that he acted. Indeed he found an ingenious solution - he feigned madness and was thrown out of his enemy's camp (1 Samuel 21.10-15). It's not enough to have faith in God, we can't just leave things to Him, we have to use our God-given talents to deal with the problem if we can!

Lord God,
protector of Your people,
and Father of us all,
grant us we pray sufficient faith
to trust in You -
that You will find a solution
for what troubles us.
Then give us the courage
to try and solve the problem
for ourself.
Amen.