Random Thoughts

Jim:

Psalm 88
This lament is so desperate that it reminds me of a song they used to sing on the old TV show, Hee-Haw.
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren’t for bad luck I’d have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
There is a difference, though. The song from Hee-Haw expresses a complete lack of hope (and finds humor in the exaggerated level of misfortune). But the Psalmist, while showing no overt hope, is actually demonstrating confidence in what God can do, and is addressing God in an effort to find relief. “Every day I call on you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you.” (v. 9) “But I, O Lord, cry out to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.” (v. 13) The Psalmist is in desperate need of healing, but knows from where than healing comes and can envision a day when the healing will arrive.

2 Samuel 5:1-12
Verse 12 says, “David then perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his (God’s) people Israel.” A minister friend of ours says that his sense of call has always been seen best in hindsight, reflecting back on where he has been and seeing the hand of God at work. The same might be said of David who, in this passage, seems to have reflected on what had happened, his anointing by the people of Israel thus uniting Israel and Judah under his kingship, his successful conquest of Jerusalem, and the recognition he received from other kingdoms, and recognized the hand of God at work, not just for David’s sake, but for “the sake of his (God’s) people Israel.”

Acts 17:1-15
Verse 6 quotes the leaders of a mob in Thessalonica as saying, “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also…” Wow! When was the last time Christians were seen to be turning the world upside down? When was the last time we were known to be so revolutionary? Maybe it’s time that the church made a concerted effort to get back to what the Thessalonians accused us of! Maybe its time to let go of the way the world does things and began to live in accordance with God’s claim on our lives.