PSALMS OF ASCENT!

PSALM 124:4-5

Engulfed
THE FLOOD WOULD HAVE ENGULFED US, THE TORRENT WOULD HAVE SWEPT OVER US, THE RAGING WATERS WOULD HAVE SWEPT US AWAY. (PSALMS 124:45 NIV)
FLOOD
among His people at the right time,
I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overow your hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through. The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror. (Isaiah 28:1719 NIV) The Psalmist is not fearing the ood, because he is sober about his powerlessness. His weakness humbles him and draws him to rely on God as his protection. We may nd it challenging to rely on God in this healthy way when life threatens to engulf us. What do we do when our nancial difculties lead us to work more hours than is helpful to our devotion to the fellowship? What about when overtime compromises our ability to spend time with people who are seeking God? We are fooled into thinking that once this crisis is over everything will return to normal, but fail to recognise that this is our third crisis in a row - and they never seem to end. Or at least as soon as one ends another ies along close to its tail. It reminds me of what God said to the Rich Fool in Jesus parable of Luke 12:16-21,
You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself ?

Flash oods are common in the part of the world where the author wrote this Psalm. One moment life is continuing as normal and the next, with no warning, the river is spilling onto the elds, the wadi is overowing, and people are caught up in a torrent with no hope of escape. There was no chance of a Tsunami warning in those days. The scenes we have witnessed this year on our televisions of the tornados in Joplin and the devastation in Japan were similar to events in Palestine all those years ago. After Noah, God promised never to sweep humankind away with a ood in the same way, Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a ood to destroy all life (Genesis 9:1416 NIV)

SOBER

RAINBOW

However, He is a God of purity. Therefore He promised to sweep away unholiness

Instead of giving in to fear or taking matters into our own hands, what can we do when we a re t h re at e n e d w i t h b e i n g engulfed? What did Jesus do when he felt overwhelmed? In Matthew 26:38 we see his inspiring example. He took his friends with him, went to a special place of prayer and prayed - for hours. At a time of great stress, when death was about to overwhelm him, Jesus found peace and strength in prayer. A great lesson for us all. Find a friend and pray until peace overwhelms you.

PEACE

Malcolm Cox, email: malcolm.cox@iccmissions.org | ICC Missions on facebook | www.nwlcc.org