PS 56:4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
PS 56:11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
("What can man do to me?" is repeated in verses 4 & 11 of this psalm)"If we do not seek men's praise, then we'll not be bothered by their criticism." - I read this quote a few days ago. Yet as I scanned the world around me, it was apparent that how many come into power is to play to the opinions of others.
From pleasing voters in election campaigns to pleasing boy friends (by dressing a certain way), it's clear that approval and acceptance by others is a powerful drive.
But yet that often contradicts a holy fear for God. Because God's standards are frequently different from popular opinion.
My own exercise in standing up for convictions started from learning to pray before meal times (
while others stared at me) to skipping basketball matches (because of cell group responsibilities). From
weathering taunting (for refusing to watch pornography) to being
ostracised in a group (for refusing to participate in lying with them). I even had to
weather enmity when I refused a demand to allow someone to copy from my test paper (cheating).
But even with all these "training", I realise that I am still so prone to try to look good before people. My own reflection this weekend centered on whether I could be true to myself, true to God, and true to people around me. It's tough - I've failed often.
PS 56:3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
***
My thoughts:
Context of this psalm should be 1 Samuel 21:10, when King David is running away from Saul and decided to seek refuge with Achish king of Gath.
11 But the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances: " 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?"Thus giving away his identity such that David feared for his life and pretended to be insane.
As illustrated from pastor's thoughts, even David was weak and "feared man vs fearing God".
Twice, he had to remind himself that
"in God he trust, what can man do to me."I felt this words speak to me:
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
There are people who ran to God when they fear.... their faith is a REACTIVE faith.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?
There are people who choose to trust God first, and as they start to experience more and more of God's faithfulness, and realised they need not fear... their faith is a PROACTIVE faith.These manifest themselves in 2 ways for us youths:
1) REACTIVE faith - when they are near exams, and realised they cant do it on their own and start to panic, they start to ask for prayer requests, when before this, they seldom pray or seek God.
2) PROACTIVE faith - in everyday life, learned to trust God for studies, when major exams come, it's just another "normal" thing, as they have learned to always pray and ask God for help.
Is your faith REACTIVE or PROACTIVE?Labels: Journey Through Psalms
