Some of you may feel like David, declaring:
“But “they” are glad now that I am in trouble (they are cheering my demise); they gleefully join together against me (they never wanted me to succeed). I am attacked by people . . . (nobody ever does right by me) they slander me constantly (I am embarrassed). They mock me and call me names; they snarl at me.” (Psalm 35:15-16)
Maybe you feel taken advantage of, sad, lied about, mocked, persecuted, slandered, battered, misunderstood or bruised. You’re saying, “I didn’t do wrong. I’ve sought to handle things rightly. I’ve been faithful.”
If that’s you, God highlighted Psalm 35; I believe there is relief for you today. . .
. . because there was a man who understood your plight. David. David admitted truth, his hardship. But, he didn’t sulk in it, He lifted it up to meet the mightiness of God.
How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing?
“Rescue me from their fierce attacks….
O Lord, you know all about this.
Do not stay silent.
Do not abandon me now, O Lord.
Wake up! Rise to my defense!
Take up my case, my God and my Lord.” (Psalm 35:17, 22-23)
Take up my case, David said.
Only God owns – your case. If God owns you, He most certainly owns your case. (1 Pet. 2:9). God fights and wins. If the battle belongs to the Lord (2 Chron. 20:15), the methods through it certainly belong to Him. God brings victory through Christ Jesus. In light of His wonder and grace, Jesus WAS and IS and IS to COME, victorious.
What if you were to let Jesus reign in full in the center of your issue? What would fresh surrender look like? The enemy has no grounds to fight you when you’ve already given up.
Then, the King of Glory comes to fight your case. Sure, He may change your view along the way and shuffle you around a bit on the inside, but it is all about beauty. You’re growing in it. You’re learning. You’re discovering the joy of real love.
With this, may I encourage you? It’s less about your words, what you did, how you are seen, what people say about you, how “they” should have approached things differently. . .
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” (Ro. 10:11)
Let it go — to let God fight your cause. And He will. And when God fights for you, He wins — even if you have to fight to unclench your hand a little along the way.
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At the beginning of the year I prayed the following prayer to God; Lord, please help me to have a deeper relationship with you, and come into all areas of my life.
Over the past few months, there have been times that I have felt “shaken,” and with the many joys, there have been tears and at times even anguish. But it was not until I read your post that I realized that through this myriad of experiences my roots of faith have gone deeper and my faith and trust in the Lord have grown.
I find that I am slowly eschewing my reliance on the ephemeral things of this world, and resting more and more in the Lord’s love and promises.
It is not easy to surrender, but surrender we must for in our weakness is His strength and in our trust in Him is our joy and peace.
Thank you for your post and for enabling me to see what is the first of many joyous milestones in this pilgrim’s journey.
God Bless!