Sunday Psalms: Chapters 28 & 30

Today is the fifteenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and I'd just to take a moment to remember the tragedy and its victims, to say that I am praying for those affected, and to remind us that God is still God. September 11, 2001 was one of the worst days in American history, in which thousands of people died and our country was irrevocably changed. I'll be talking more about 9/11 on Friday, but I think it's important that we remember the tragedy and the victims on this anniversary.

The Psalms are, in my mind, particularly applicable to a day like this, because they remind us that, even in tragedy, our God is faithful. He's still present. He's still working. And we can trust in that.

Psalm 28:1 “To You I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if You remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.”

Separation from God is death. It is anguish and torment. It’s trying to breathe when there’s no air at all. We were made for a relationship with our Creator, and without that relationship we have no purpose. David recognized this, knowing that God’s Word is life. Without those words, we might as well be dead in the pit.

How would my life be different if I lived in accordance with how desperately I need God? I cannot live without Him. I want to live seeking constantly after Him. I want to thirst for Him. I want to live in relationship with Him, the way I was created to be. Nothing matters more than God. May my life radiate with that truth.

Psalm 30:5 “For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

It’s always interesting to try considering time from God’s perspective. I mean, I fail completely, for who can comprehend the mind of God? Still, it’s fascinating to think about how God, the Creator of time (that concept alone blows my mind!) views time. It constrains us humans, but not God. He exists outside time.

Thus, those things that seem to last forever are really just a vapor. Those seasons of pain, waiting, loneliness, fear – each is just a season, and seasons change. It doesn’t feel that way to us, but we have to shift our perspective. Sure, I’m tired of being lonely, tired of waiting. Sometimes I think this season will never end.

Scripture proves that it will, though. Our Father’s love lasts forever. Our sorrow is just a moment. Moments end. Seasons change. Our God reigns through it all. I just have to endure and know that He is bringing something incredible.