Nature has set it apart for the wanderers of the wastelands, men like you, unquenchable souls who endure, to fight, to strive, to seek, to find…. I’ve faced my soul here, in the black, lonely watches of the desert nights.”
–Zane Grey (Wanderer of the Wasteland)
“So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while punishing the wicked right up until the day of judgment.”
–2 Peter 2:9 (NLT)
———————————-
Does your life ever seem like a roller-coaster? Up, down, and around, then up some more, then flying downward again. Just when the job seems to be going right, a new person is hired and your personalities clash. Just when you pay off the car loan, there is a storm and it wipes off your roof. The good and the bad, ah, such is life. Even though Asaph wrote Psalm 80, it is often referred to as Joseph’s psalm. Perhaps you can relate, maybe somewhat, to his life. Happy-go-lucky kid, who was thrown in the pit, then sold to slavers, then worked in luxury as a slave, then lied about and thrown into prison . . . on it goes.
1 — Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!
2 — Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up Your strength, and come and save us!
3 — Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine and we shall be saved!
4 — O LORD God of hosts, how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people?
5 — You have fed them tears to drink in great measure.
6 — You have made us a strife to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 — Restore us, O God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved! (NKJV)
You do realize that in life, if you are a Christian, that you go through the same storms, battles, droughts, floods, and other disasters that your heathen neighbor does. When God chastises a nation or brings judgment upon a nation, most often everyone suffers. Oh there may be times when He protects in a miraculous way His people like He did the Israelites at Goshen, but most often we go through the fire. The difference between us and our neighbors is that the Lord goes with us.
When anyone, heathen or believer, nations or individuals turn against God and go in a different direction there will be unpleasant consequences, and sometimes they are dire. They are meant to get our attention and bring us to repentance. People think they can do as they please, revel in pleasure, but in the end the consequence is pain, frustration, and can be death.
There is no hope except in God and that is what He wants to remind you when the hard times come. Turn to Him in times of sorrow. Turn to Him when you have forsaken the way that He has told you to take. Rebellion brings a price and can only be remedied by repentance. Ah, but verse 7 offers us a ray of hope. We turn to Him; we look for His deliverance with hope and faith. We know that with true repentance He will save us. It is a wonderful thing when the face of the Lord shines upon His people in restoration.
“Since all that I meet
Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet,
The medicine food;
Though painful at present,
‘Twill cease before long;
And then, O how pleasant
The Conqueror’s song.”
–John Newton
“So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while punishing the wicked right up until the day of judgment.”
–2 Peter 2:9 (NLT)
———————————-
Does your life ever seem like a roller-coaster? Up, down, and around, then up some more, then flying downward again. Just when the job seems to be going right, a new person is hired and your personalities clash. Just when you pay off the car loan, there is a storm and it wipes off your roof. The good and the bad, ah, such is life. Even though Asaph wrote Psalm 80, it is often referred to as Joseph’s psalm. Perhaps you can relate, maybe somewhat, to his life. Happy-go-lucky kid, who was thrown in the pit, then sold to slavers, then worked in luxury as a slave, then lied about and thrown into prison . . . on it goes.
1 — Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!
2 — Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up Your strength, and come and save us!
3 — Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine and we shall be saved!
4 — O LORD God of hosts, how long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people?
5 — You have fed them tears to drink in great measure.
6 — You have made us a strife to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 — Restore us, O God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved! (NKJV)
You do realize that in life, if you are a Christian, that you go through the same storms, battles, droughts, floods, and other disasters that your heathen neighbor does. When God chastises a nation or brings judgment upon a nation, most often everyone suffers. Oh there may be times when He protects in a miraculous way His people like He did the Israelites at Goshen, but most often we go through the fire. The difference between us and our neighbors is that the Lord goes with us.
When anyone, heathen or believer, nations or individuals turn against God and go in a different direction there will be unpleasant consequences, and sometimes they are dire. They are meant to get our attention and bring us to repentance. People think they can do as they please, revel in pleasure, but in the end the consequence is pain, frustration, and can be death.
There is no hope except in God and that is what He wants to remind you when the hard times come. Turn to Him in times of sorrow. Turn to Him when you have forsaken the way that He has told you to take. Rebellion brings a price and can only be remedied by repentance. Ah, but verse 7 offers us a ray of hope. We turn to Him; we look for His deliverance with hope and faith. We know that with true repentance He will save us. It is a wonderful thing when the face of the Lord shines upon His people in restoration.
“Since all that I meet
Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet,
The medicine food;
Though painful at present,
‘Twill cease before long;
And then, O how pleasant
The Conqueror’s song.”
–John Newton