The bigger the hat the smaller the herd. Do all yore braggin’ with yore actions.”
–William MacLeod Raine (The Fighting Edge)
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I hate those television commercials where they show the photos of abandoned dogs. They pick the most wretched cases to show so that you can have pity on them. Possibly one of the most terrible feelings is that of abandonment. One thing for sure–God will never abandon us. If there is anyone doing the abandoning, it is us of God. God is near; we need to learn how to seek Him and for Him to teach us how to live.
“Nearer, still nearer, nothing I bring,
Naught as an offering to Jesus my King;
Only my sinful, now contrite hear,
Grant me the cleansing Thy blood doth impart.”
–Lelia N. Norris
This Monday morning let us take a look at the rest of Psalm 27 (HCSB) and look what David wants from the Lord.
7 – Lord, hear my voice when I call; be gracious to me and answer me.
8 – My heart says this about You, “You are to seek My face.” Lord, I will seek Your face.
9 – Do not hide Your face from me; do not turn Your servant away in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or abandon me, God of my salvation.
10 – Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me.
11 – Because of my adversaries, show me Your way, Lord, and lead me on a level path.
12 – Do not give me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing violence.
13 – I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
14 – Wait for the Lord; be strong and courageous. Wait for the Lord.
We live in a time of abandonment. Parents have abandoned their children to a large degree. They have abandoned them to video games, to television, to their phones. Instead of being with them they turn them over to a phone or videos for babysitting chores while they go on with their life. Deadbeat Dads, they may live at home, but they are not really there–they have abandoned their children. Probably the greatest abandonment we hear from much of the population is that of abandoning the child in the womb.
David is feeling abandoned in this Psalm by the Lord. He cries out to the Lord. When he begins to seek Him, he finds that the Lord is there, waiting, wanting to help. David wants to be taught by the Lord, he wants to be directed by the Lord, he wants God to teach him how to live. God wants us to talk with Him–to seek Him–to be personal with Him.
Ahh, but look at the last two verses. David is certain! He is certain that the Lord is good. He is certain that the Lord will be there beside him. Then there seems to be something strange thrown in; something that we all too often are not very good at–waiting. Sometimes it takes courage to wait, in fact, patience and courage often go hand-in-hand.
Would that we would adhere to the advice of A.B. Davison, “Man’s best plea is always an echo of God’s promise. He who has bidden his servants to seek will not hide his face when they obey him.” The problem for us is two-fold: first we often don’t truly seek, and second, we don’t wait.