For those on the mat and wrestling, things can move very fast. Our own adversary is strong, and he knows us too well. He is quite aware of the sequence of moves needed to pin us to the floor, and crush us. He is spiritually dangerous. He is lethal.
I get bewildered and rattled by his attacks. He knows how to pressure me at just the right time, and he refuses to follow the rules. He is no gentleman, he is both a cheater and a liar.
Of course I am talking about Satan and his team of demons. I will not dispute their reality with you. There is almost as much scriptural support for his existence as there is for Jesus’. His hostility is toward God and His people, and his viciousness cannot be camouflaged. Evil is real, and believe this–
Satan has a terrible, and ugly plan for your life.
As a mentally ill Christian, my depression quickly morphs into despondency and despair. When I sink to that level I start to lose all hope. It’s like I’m in a lifeboat and decide that I should abandon it and tread water on my own. Despondency is not rational and just a little bit is deadly.
David intimately knew all about darkness and desperation.
He had been chased by his enemies, and maneuvered into the most difficult of situations. To observe him at a distance we would say that “there is no hope for him in God.” Even God can’t save him, for he is reprobate. We would be convinced that there is nothing for him in God’s thinking.
David fully understands how twisted he really is inside, and it’s at that point he composes Psalm 51. It shows us the way to freedom.
David was a moral failure; he was an adulterer and a brazen killer. You can debate this, but it seems that David had sinned deeper and more intensely than Saul ever had. Join with the logic of the crowd, “There is no hope for him in God!” No hope, none, nada, zero.
“Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.”
David defied the theology of his day. He embraced the Lord God with a desperate passion. It was not orthodox or logical. You could say it was disturbing for many who didn’t understand the infinite mercy of God. But David would not let go of God! He hung on, and continued to sing in faith, even though most wouldn’t agree he had the right to.
I encourage you besieged brother, and embattled sister. Hold on to Him, even if it baffles all logic or theology. Renounce your sin, but seek His promises with a fervency, open your heart to Him with a passion. Remember that sin can and will destroy you. It is part of Satan’s stratagem.
Sing in your cave, and never lose hope of God’s love for you.
“The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance.”
C.S. Lewis
Related articles
- The Swamp of Despondency (brokenbelievers.com)
- Autocorrect Theology (nwelford.wordpress.com)
- Theology Matters (daviddflowers.com)
Broken Believers 