Vindicate Me, My God

July 8, 2020

Psalm 43 is really a continuation of Psalm 42, which we read yesterday. Taken together they speak to real, historical situations of struggle and crisis, and to the personal experience of weariness, depression, and desperation for God. What truths about God do you see the Psalmist clinging to in this time of difficulty? As you study and pray today, reflect on those truths. 

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

Click here to access the reading from Psalm 43

For more help use this Bible Study method

REFLECTION

Trouble?

by Judy Webb

Vindicate me, my God...

At first glance, 2020 has been a year of discouragement and disappointment. I doubt any of us expected our world and our lives to be turned upside down like it has. The pandemic was bad enough – isolation and major life-change stunned and sometimes jolted us out of our comfortable life.

Rescue me…

David, the Psalmist, was also jarred from his safe world, was forced to run for his life. The Golden Age of Israel, as this era has been dubbed, wasn’t always so golden for David. We may be feeling some of the same emotions he felt. Our lives were moving along nicely. The economy was booming and many of us had a nice comfortable little world built around us. Then, boom; we were forced to shut down. Now, just as we are emerging from this situation, civil unrest surfaced and the life we knew was gone. Doubt, fear and confusion took over.

Send me your light.

Violence and hatred surround us. Our nation is caught in a period in history we will not soon forget. But (and this is a good but), God is still in control. As Christians, we can count on it. David turned to his God whenever he found himself in deep trouble. We can too.

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. 

(Psalm 43:5)

This is the time we turn to God for comfort and for His peace. His Presence offers both. We may think the obstacles we are now facing, are insurmountable. But with God at our side it is far from it. Let us just wait, watch, and expect God to show up. He will. He has a plan.

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER 

WEDNESDAY - Pray for wisdom in these times as we all work toward protecting lives and consider the livelihoods of millions hurt by the economic impact.

Misplaced hope

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”  Psalm 43:5

Let’s face it: we’re nervous, aren't we?  Fearful, even.  Petrified, anyone?

Ebola, a horrific disease, is no longer merely someone else’s concern.  It’s here.  It’s our problem now.

ISIS gains strength, numbers, financing and territory while the respective “leaders” of the world wait for someone else to lead the opposition.

A cyber attack from Russia nets 1.2 billion internet credentials, including usernames and passwords of businesses and individuals, while China relentlessly chips away at our national security, hacking into not only the US government but also the private companies on which it relies for support.

Freedom-suppressing nations expand their oppressive reach, unchecked by democracies that proclaim liberty as a human right.

We’ve seen a whole lot of change, but not the kind we want.  And as for hope ...

... maybe that’s our problem.  Maybe our hope has drifted.  Better yet, maybe our misplaced hope has been exposed!

Maybe we’ve taken all the credit for our country’s past successes, instead of thanking and glorifying God for his protection and provision.  Maybe we’ve venerated “the human spirit” to the point of decoupling “In God” from “we trust.”  Maybe “how we feel” isn’t the final arbiter of truth, after all!  Maybe we’re seeing what happens when we chase God out of our classrooms and our courtrooms.  It’s not pretty.  Not pretty at all.

God is faithful.  He loves us.  But when his people reject him – or worse, purge him – from every vestige of public life, he leaves us to our choice.  Moreover, he is right when he judges us.

God will emerge from our rebellion unchanged.  And he will be glorified, both in his judgments and in our repentance.  We see glimpses of his judgment now, and we will see more than we want to see.  But God will return us to a point at which we have no choice but to trust him.  For with his judgment comes a merciful clarity that brings us to our senses ... and from our senses to our knees.

As one people in Christ, let us stand together, kneel together, intercede together.  Let us praise his name, for he is good.  And let us put our hope in God.

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”  Psalm 43:5

[To see the daily reading, Psalm 43, click here.]

Psalm 43 - I will yet praise Him

Again today I am using the Message translation to communicate my observations.  How many times have I considered myself in deep trouble?  As a child it happened often.  I can hear my mother's threats still, "Wait until your father gets home."  Undoubtedly, I did something I wasn't suppose to do, or did not do something I was instructed to do.  I always wondered why she couldn't just take care of it herself, but that's another story.

Now, as an adult I might think of myself in big trouble if the rent is due and I don't have to money to pay it on time.  Trouble will also appear like a cloud over my head when I glance in the rear view mirror to see the flashing lights of a patrol car approaching from behind. Then, there are those times when trouble is defined as a runaway child or a terminal diagnosis. 

Psalm 43:1-2 MSG
Clear my name, God; stick up for me
against these loveless, immoral people.
Get me out of here, away
from these lying degenerates.
I counted on you, God.
Why did you walk out on me?
Why am I pacing the floor, wringing my hands
over these outrageous people?

What troubles you today?  What has you pacing the floor at night instead of peacefully sleeping?  Is there something you could be taking to God?  Call out to Him as the Psalmist did. "Clear my name, God."  Is it time to cry out for a defender, pleading, "stick up for me." Have you asked Him for help, for an escape route from your predicament? "Get me out of here!"  He is waiting to hear from us.

Read Psalm 43 here

Listen to Psalm 43 here

Psalm 43

Psalm 43:3 (MSG)
"Give me your lantern and compass, give me a map, So I can find my way to the sacred mountain, to the place of your presence,"

Memorizing scripture is a challenge for me, and I know many of you struggle with this too.  There is nothing I find more comforting than to be able to bring to mind a Word from God when things get hairy.  Psalm 27 was my first attempt at memorization of God's Word.  For me, it is one of the most beautiful and meaningful Psalms.  Given the trouble and life changes I found myself facing this past couple years, much peace and strength was drawn from these words.

I have to admit that all the verses speak to me on a different plane, at different junctions of life and to various troubles, so I do not have them memorized in order, but individually.  When reading verse 3 of the Psalm 43 for today, I was reminded of the first verse in Psalm 27, "The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?"

The next time I am wandering this life in pain, or simply seeking a friendly word, I will call to memory Psalm 43:3 above.  A short story could be written on this verse. There is intrigue and uncertainty, plot and plan, antagonist and solution.  God provides these elements to us each day of our life.  We can choose to develop this story-line and learn and grow as we plod through the days, or we can allow our lives to fall apart, to live life in disarray.

Don't you love to read these words? "Give me your lantern and compass, give me a map, So I can find my way to the sacred mountain, to the place of your presence," Psalm 43:3 (MSG)

Read Psalm 43 here

Listen to Psalm 43 here