That patch is sort of a badge that says nothing has got you licked.”
–Luke Short (Desert Crossing)
“And I will wait on the LORD, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope in Him.”
–Isaiah 8:17 (NKJV)
——————————————
Look around you–tell me where is God? In these troublesome times doesn’t God care, doesn’t He know how serious the situation is? This is what Asaph is writing about in Psalm 83. “He was perplexed, Israel was in danger, but God was silent and inactive” (Wiersbe). He seemed to be doing nothing, and there was an enemy ready to destroy. God! “We need you!” becomes the cry.
1 — Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God!
2 — For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head.
3 — They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
4 — They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
5 — For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You:
6 — The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites;
7 — Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 — Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah (NKJV)
The NLT translates verse 1 like this, “O God, don’t sit idly by, silent and inactive!” God are you sleeping? I’m in despair, where are You? Asaph is making a prayer of despair. Help was desperately needed. He sent his pleas out for God to intervene. It reminds me of the story of Jesus sleeping in the boat. The storm rose and the disciples were scared to death. How could He be sleeping, doesn’t He care for us? Doesn’t He know there is a storm raging?
There are a few things I have learned through life and one of them is that God doesn’t always intervene. There are times when He allows us to go through the storm. There are times when we have to climb over the obstacles ourselves. When it seems that all is lost and God seems to have forsaken us, take heart–He is there. Who were the three young men who went through the fiery furnace? Why do you remember their names? If they had not gone into the heat of the furnace they would have been forgotten, lost to history. Because they faced the ordeal, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego are names familiar to us. Daniel went into the lions’ den. The Israelites crossed through the Red Sea.
Notice the “Selah.” We are to think on this. We are to contemplate and relate to what is being said. God has not left us. He is there with us through whatever trial or trouble or tribulation we may be facing. Yes, we may have to take a step of faith–but He is with us. Yes, we may have to struggle to climb–but He is with us. Yes, the storms may bear down upon us and while we hunker down–He is with us.
“Fear Him, ye saints, and you will then
Have nothing else to fear;
Make you His service your delight,
Your wants shall be His care.”
–Nahum Tate
“And I will wait on the LORD, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope in Him.”
–Isaiah 8:17 (NKJV)
——————————————
Look around you–tell me where is God? In these troublesome times doesn’t God care, doesn’t He know how serious the situation is? This is what Asaph is writing about in Psalm 83. “He was perplexed, Israel was in danger, but God was silent and inactive” (Wiersbe). He seemed to be doing nothing, and there was an enemy ready to destroy. God! “We need you!” becomes the cry.
1 — Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God!
2 — For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head.
3 — They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
4 — They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
5 — For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You:
6 — The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites;
7 — Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 — Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah (NKJV)
The NLT translates verse 1 like this, “O God, don’t sit idly by, silent and inactive!” God are you sleeping? I’m in despair, where are You? Asaph is making a prayer of despair. Help was desperately needed. He sent his pleas out for God to intervene. It reminds me of the story of Jesus sleeping in the boat. The storm rose and the disciples were scared to death. How could He be sleeping, doesn’t He care for us? Doesn’t He know there is a storm raging?
There are a few things I have learned through life and one of them is that God doesn’t always intervene. There are times when He allows us to go through the storm. There are times when we have to climb over the obstacles ourselves. When it seems that all is lost and God seems to have forsaken us, take heart–He is there. Who were the three young men who went through the fiery furnace? Why do you remember their names? If they had not gone into the heat of the furnace they would have been forgotten, lost to history. Because they faced the ordeal, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego are names familiar to us. Daniel went into the lions’ den. The Israelites crossed through the Red Sea.
Notice the “Selah.” We are to think on this. We are to contemplate and relate to what is being said. God has not left us. He is there with us through whatever trial or trouble or tribulation we may be facing. Yes, we may have to take a step of faith–but He is with us. Yes, we may have to struggle to climb–but He is with us. Yes, the storms may bear down upon us and while we hunker down–He is with us.
“Fear Him, ye saints, and you will then
Have nothing else to fear;
Make you His service your delight,
Your wants shall be His care.”
–Nahum Tate