The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
Be Exalted, O God
The past few weeks have been extraordinarily busy and stressful as we have been in the middle of selling our Susanville house and buying another in the Reno area at the same time. I now understand the wisdom exercised by friends who moved a couple of years ago and waited to buy in Reno until their house sold. They lived in an apartment for a while in order to do so. But they are also in their late twenties. At our age we couldn’t see ourselves moving twice like that. And besides, God provided the house on the other end as we processed through the selling side. But there have been set backs on both sides that I have allowed to derail my faith (as in train tracks).
At the same time we continue to deal with medical issues related to Dan’s immunotherapy side-effects so between the business of the home transition and doctor appointments, we still have to be in Reno at least once a week (or three times a week, like this week). Remember that collision we had last August? Sometimes we actually get past that part of the road without thinking about the accident, but not often.
Do I sound like I’m complaining? This has been my conversation with God for a few weeks…and He has silently listened. I finally realized that He was actually talking to me, but I was not looking for His answer…just complaining. For that reason I was missing it because I didn’t recognize the spiritual attack for what it was ‒ a diversion from peace in the center of God’s will (Phil 4:6-7). In the meantime, God kept taking me back to Psalm 57. I have been led to read that Psalm every day for two weeks, unsure why, but apparently not ready to hear God’s instruction. Last Friday He finally reached through my pain with the final verse, “Be thou exalted, O God, above the Heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth” (Ps.57:11). What peace flowed over me as I confessed my lack of faith and just repeated this verse in prayer back to God.
Then God took me step by step through the rest of Psalm 57 which was written by David when he fled from Saul and hid in the cave (1 Sam. 22:1-2):
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusts in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be past.
I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performs all things for me.
He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.
Basically God personalized the chapter for me like this:
- Praise based on prior knowledge of God’s mercy, truth, and lovingkindness from previous experience of those things (vss. 1-3).
- Prayer for specific difficulties – in my case the lions of fear and anxiety that shred my soul (vs. 4).
- But wait! Be exalted, God, above all that tries to usurp your place of preeminence in my life (vs. 5).
- Praise about the solution to the problem: The net set to entrap me in spiritual inefficacy has, in fact, entrapped the enemy of my soul. The trap has brought me closer to God and given me a better understanding of His character instead of the intended destruction of my walk with God (vs. 6).
- A renewed determination to praise God no matter what and no matter who is listening, “For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds” (vss. 7-10)
- Use me to exalt you, God, above the heavens and to glorify your name above all the earth (vs. 11).
