The older I get the more I just want peace. As a young man I
was a fighter. Point me to a conflict and I was happy to jump in. Insult me and
I was ready to drop the gloves and go at it. But something happens as we age
and now I long for peace. Psalm 120 reminds us that peace can and will only
come from God and whatever may happen, my only hope is to call on Jesus.
Psalm 120:1
A SONG OF ASCENTS. In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.
A SONG OF ASCENTS. In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me.
The psalmist wants revenge. As Christians we live in the
season of grace and though sometimes we want to call down fire on our enemies
this is not to be our prayer.
Psalm 120:2-5
Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? A warrior's sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree! Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue? A warrior's sharp arrows, with glowing coals of the broom tree! Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
I am weary of the violence of the world I live in. I am
tired of the never ending conflicts and the drama of those who surround me.
Psalm 120:6-7
Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!
Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!
The answer to this lies in where I choose to dwell. I can dwell
in the world and its war or I can dwell in the peace of Jesus. I don’t always
reside there. Sometimes I get caught up in the world. I like to think of Joshua
when I find myself drifting away from Jesus. I remember these words from Joshua
24:14-15,
"Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity
and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the
River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve
the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers
served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose
land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Serve the Lord. He has not called us to war but to peace. He
has not called us to vengeance but to forgiveness. He has not called us to hate
but to love. God will handle those who reject His peace. Until then we must
preach the Gospel. Sometimes it’s hard. So I do this. In my distress I called
to the LORD, and he answered me.
Amen
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