It’s the same story for us all.  The candle burns strongly, but the candle burns fast.”
              –Ernest Haycox (Free Grass)

    “You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.”
              –James 4:4 (HCSB)
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Have you ever felt as if the world is against you?  Everywhere you turn there is another person wanting and ready to take you down.  Even members of your own family conspire against you and there seems there is no way out; no way to be safe.  David wrote Psalm 3 when he was in this situation.  He was fleeing for his life from his son Absalom.  It’s hard to fathom how greed, fame, or lust for power can bring a son to seek to destroy his own father.  David had but one recourse, the Lord.

         “LORD, how my foes increase!  There are many who attack me.
          Many say about me, ‘There is no help for him in God.’  Selah.” (3:1-2, HCSB)

Imagine the wound to David’s heart.  Imagine all of the ramifications of his son rebelling and David’s emotions.  There would not be a quick cure to this; deep wounds normally require a long period of healing.
There were even some who ridicule him saying that even God would not help him.  
    This is where we see the faith of David.  He would not let the mockers scorn the power of God.  I like what George O. Wood said of David during this time, “He whistles his faith while walking through the dark forest of the soul where unseen monsters lurk.”  David was bold enough, and believed God’s truth enough to walk even when it went contrary to his feelings.

         “But You, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.
          I cry aloud to the LORD and He answers me from His holy mountain.” (3:3-4, HCSB–see Psalm 121)

    David understood that there is always protection around God’s people.  Scorners and persecutors may arise, but God places a shield about them.  Ask yourself, what is the purpose of a shield?  A shield is for protection.  A shield wards off the fiery darts of the enemy, and in some cases God, Himself places the shield.  Mockery is not uncommon to the people of God.  More and more we see mockers and scorners of the Holy One.  How long does God allow the mocking to continue?  
    In times when we feel all is against us; in times when even members of our family turn against us, we still have our heavenly Father who cares for us.  Luther wrote, “Though David had many enemies, the Lord was his shield.  Though his enemies were putting him to shame, the Lord was his glory.  And though they had publicly humiliated him, the Lord lifted his head high.”

         “I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the LORD sustains me.
          I am not afraid of the thousands of people who have taken their stand against me on every side.
          Rise up, LORD!  Save me, my God!  You strike all my enemies on the cheek; You break the teeth of the wicked.
          Salvation belongs to the LORD; may Your blessing be on Your people. Selah.” (3:5-8, HCSB)

    David understood that God was with him, and that God would take up the fight.  Because of the Lord’s protection David was able to sleep at night knowing he was secure in God’s hands.  Another version of verse 7 states, “…Slap all my enemies in the face!  Shatter the teeth of the wicked!” (NLT)  Friend, in the midst of the turmoil in your life, when things seem to be going all wrong, remember that the Lord is there to protect you and let you have peace in your soul.

                       “I cried and from his holy hill
                        He bowed a listening ear.
                        I called my Father and my God
                        And he subdued my fear.”
                              –Isaac Watts

You’re old enough to know what happens when a little sound advice is disregarded.”
              –Ernest Haycox  (The Feudists)

    “Listen to instruction and be wise; don’t ignore it.”
              –Proverbs 8:33 (HCSB)
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I want to give a point of clarification that was brought to my attention.  Sin does not, never did, and never will bring happiness to God.  However, it was sin that put Jesus on the cross.  He endured the pain, the shame, and the sin of the cross because of the joy of the end result.  That result:  He defeated sin, He defeated the grave, He defeated hell.  Because of that mankind could be redeemed and that made God happy.
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    Have you ever felt that you were in a sacred place; someplace that was very special?  I think there could be several instances where that occurs.  Moses had some experiences with a sacred place and was told to remove his shoes for where he was standing was holy ground.  I’ve been in church services where the presence of the Lord would make you tremble–sacred.  I’ve stood on the ridge of a mountain and looked over the grandeur of God’s creation–sacred.
    Think of Adam for a moment.  He lived in a sacred place.  When you think of Eden, what comes to mind?  Lushness, peace, paradise, fulfillment, walking with God.   Truly Adam walked in the grandeur of God’s creation.
    There may be other special spots in our life; places that become “sacred.”  Jesus often went out early to meet with His Father.  He surely went to the same spots when he was in the same area.  I think of the words of one of my favorite quotations, “Go to the mountains or the desert, they will smooth out the wrinkles in your mind.” (Louis L’Amour)  We need those special times, those special moments.  Or think of the words of the song, “I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked,” and what happened?  “I felt His presence new.”  Or that grand hymn, “I come to the Garden alone…and the joy we share as we tarry there…”.
    But there is another sacred place, or at least there should be.  Beloved, we are the “Temple of the Holy Spirit.”  Therefore, wherever we go it should be sacred.  We should be treading upon holy ground as we are supposed to be holy ourselves.  Shame of shames, when we bring the temple into question and profane it.  You cannot serve God and the things of the world.  Separate ye from such things and realize that you are to be holy as He is holy.

The sun, the rain, the wind let nothing alone, but they worry at it, smooth it and rough it again until it is their own.  I was like that, myself.  A man shaped by storms and hot suns, but most of all by the storms I kept buried inside…”
              –Louis L’Amour  (The First Fast Draw)

    “You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it; You scatter me in the storm.”
              –Job 30:22 (HCSB)
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There is so much noise out there.  People are shouting, “Listen to me,” but none of them really have anything to say.  They riot, destroy, hurt and maim others.  People shout and clamor, but they are trying to silence or drown out the voice of disturbance.  What they are really looking for is a quiet heart.  The media, politicians, entertainers vie for our attention and want us to hop on the bandwagon of their agenda.  But do they really know what it is?  For many of them it is power, fame, money, prestige, any or all of them.  “Anyone who is truly Christian will never take people merely as they appear to be, but will feel a great sense of sorrow for men and women who are trying vainly to find the quiet heart by refusing to think.” (Lloyd-Jones)
    The Millennials and Generation Z have fallen headlong for the Postmodernist claims.  But don’t be too harsh on them, for even us old Boomers tend to compromise and become complacent.  They do not accept the authority of Scripture, and my generation has become complacent about the authority of God’s Word.  “We canot mix the Gospel of Jesus Christ with anything else, it is either this or nothing.  No compromise, no coalition is possible.” (Lloyd-Jones)  To have a truly calm, quiet heart you must grasp totally to God.  He wants total allegiance.
    What can be expected when a person tends to get immersed in the world, especially someone who claims to be a Christian?  The peace will be gone, the anxiety will start to set in, and then they will begin to question God.  It is vital that we realize that we cannot become as the world and be immersed in it; we are in the world, but not part of it.  People who get absorbed with themselves and their wants will not obtain a quiet heart.  This comes when we look to God and recognize that life should be about Him.
    At times we might battle with faith.  Faith seems to be a simplicity that is complex.  People struggle for faith and yet God has already given each of us a measure of faith and wants it to grow.  I think of Thomas, and how he is so maligned by us.  

             “Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and observe My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Don’t be an unbeliever, but a believer.’
             Thomas responded to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!'”
                         –John 20:27-28 (HCSB)

Once Thomas did that the storm that raged in his soul calmed.  Peace came along with faith.  We need to believe that into the midst of the turmoil and the chaos and the unhappiness and the misery of this sinful world, Jesus Christ has come.  We need to realize that in the midst of the hurt, toil, pain, and suffering of our hearts the Lord has come to calm our soul.  Jesus came to give us a quiet heart!  
    The talk is about having a relationship.  But much of the time that relationship is like a person might have with a stuffed animal that sits on the bed.  A person hugs it for comfort, but the heart is still in turmoil.  Jesus brings God into a living relationship, not just a “Linus’ blanket.”  Yes, the world is in turmoil because they fight against the One who could give them peace.  I can never truly be at peace until I am in the right relationship to God, and the only one who can put me in right relationship is the Lord Jesus Christ.  With that and the storms we either carry or find ourselves in, we will find that Jesus always has the time to take our troubles.