Singing Psalm 94 for courage in the space between
Where can you go, to whom can you cry out when the hurt you feel is raw? Who can you turn to when you have become the target of those who have chosen ways that are against God?
Singing Psalm 94, you sing of the promise that God’s help in the worst of times leads to the best of times. Who else but God brings love out of the mouth of hate, life out of the jaws of death?
The expanse of time from the worst of circumstances to the best of circumstances requires courage. You need courage to trust the Lord in the space between. Ask that you would trust him who made your eyes and ears to see and hear. Ask that you would trust the one who warns to strike, the one who teaches to know.
The space between is time. You can stand or sit still for a time while the Lord is working because you trust that he is working though you don’t perceive it. You wait patiently with hopeful expectation to be carried from harm’s way to safety, from trouble to joy, from conflict to peace. You are being carried in the arms of your King, your Savior, your Lord.
He protects you from the wicked who oppose him by turning them to himself – to goodness – or by bringing them to an end. Ask that they would be wise, no longer thinking that the Lord is blind to their evil.
Singing Psalm 94, the folly of thinking that God does not see is made plain. This applies to being an eye pleaser as well.
They kill the widow and the sojourner,
and murder the fatherless;
and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.
”Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see? ~ Psalm 94:6-9
Do they really think that the one who formed their eyes cannot see just because there isn’t a human in sight?
How do you reconcile the space between your good desires and the unpleasant and sometimes even horrific realities you might be facing?
You want peace not war.
You want vindication not false accusations.
You want connection instead of gaps.
You want closeness but what you have is distance.
You want to give yet what you have to give is unwanted.
You want what God wants and for that you are, at times, met with opposition.
Though you cannot see him (though you see his effects everywhere you look) he always sees you. That makes him more real than anything you can see.
Think on the space between Joseph’s slavery and his rule in Egypt.
Think on the space between Saul’s and David’s kingship.
Think on the space between the threat to Mordecai and Haman’s demise.
Think on the space between Jesus on the cross and his ascension to the right hand of the Father.
Ask and the Lord will give you strength and courage as you wait in the space between: O Lord, would you please give me courage in the space between?
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. ~ 2 Timothy 2:24-26
“All the thoughts of men the LORD knows;
Knows that but a breath are they.” ~ Psalm 94:11
Singing Psalm 94 for comfort in the space between
There is the space between times with family, times with friends.
There is the space between school and work.
There is the space between being on your own and being with others.
There is the space between the death of a loved one and being reunited again.
There is the space between good works and the acknowledgement of it.
There is the space between evil deeds and either the remuneration or the redemption of it.
Ask and the Lord will give you comfort and joy as you wait in the space between: O Lord, would you please give me comfort in the space between?
“When my anxious thoughts are many,
How Your comforts cheer my soul!” ~ Ps. 94:19
Singing Psalm 94 for quiet in the space between
Jesus leads you through the storms of life enough times such that when a difficult circumstance confronts you, it no longer triggers you to anxiety but to quiet. No longer do you wait for the other shoe to drop but rather you calmly and confidently look for how his resolution of the matter will surface.
God gives you the grace to quiet your heart to listen for how he will bring about redeeming the thing. This is faith in action. This is trusting him that he not only exists but that he rewards you for seeking him as your help, your refuge, your strength and for seeking those things from no other source but him.
In the wilderness, waiting in exile, in the desert, waiting for a train, or waiting in line – you are shored up in his presence in the space between as if settled at your table before a feast.
Then your soul will not be silent. Your soul will cry out for help and sing praises to the Lord for the help he provides. As you follow Jesus, you can see a progression of goodness in the overall continuum of your life.
You might think, I can do good on my own without following Jesus, can’t I?
You can’t because any attempt at goodness apart from his ways will be tainted with evil because he is goodness. Apart from him, there is no goodness. He is good, the very definition of it. There is no other way to the Father because he is the way, the truth, the life.
There is no side door. There is no back door. There is no other door. Jesus is the door. His sheep know his voice and follow him in the space between each destination. There is no alternative. Making this point plain is the most important point ever to be made.
Jesus came to set you free from wondering who saw the good you attempted, hoping to get some credit for it, and the resulting frustration when it never comes, or it’s never enough. By his grace and mercy, you can deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow him. In a sense, you die daily as you deny yourself. And when the moment of your death comes, it is not an end but a doorway.
“If we have died with him, we will also live with him.” ~ 2 Timothy 2:11
Ask and the Lord will give you quiet and peace as you wait in the space between because he is enough: O Lord, would you please give me quiet in the space between?
Uncertainties, insecurities, threats, and losses loom over me. Without your help, I would be undone. O Lord, would you please be my strength, my shelter, my refuge, my comfort, my peace? Would you please quiet me on the inside with your love?
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” ~ Zephaniah 3:17
“For the LORD stays with His people,
He will not forsake His own.
If I say, ‘My foot is slipping!’
LORD, Your mercy will uphold.” ~ Psalm 94:14,18
November 26-December 2, 2022
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