February 24, 2009

• ADONAI, don’t rebuke me when you are angry or discipline me when you are enraged

  Psalms 38:1-22  A psalm of David, serving as a reminder: ADONAI, don’t rebuke me when you are angry or discipline me when you are enraged,  (2)  for your arrows penetrate me deeply, and your hand is pressing me down.  (3)  Your indignation left no part of me intact; my sin made my whole body sick;  (4)  for my iniquities loom high over my head as a heavy burden, too heavy for me.  (5)  I have stinking, festering wounds because of my foolishness.  (6)  I am bent down, prostrate completely; I go about mourning all day long.  (7)  For my insides burn with fever, and my whole body is sick.  (8)  I am numb, completely crushed; my anguished heart makes me groan aloud.  (9)  Adonai, all my longing is known to you; my sighing is not hidden from you.  (10)  My heart is throbbing, my strength is gone, and the light in my eyes has left me.  (11)  My friends and companions shun my disease; even the closest keep their distance.  (12)  Those seeking my life lay snares for me, those seeking to harm me speak of disaster and think up deceptions all day long.  (13)  But I’m like a deaf man – I don’t hear it; and, like a mute, I don’t say a word.  (14)  Yes, I’ve become like a man who doesn’t hear and in whose mouth are no defenses.  (15)  For it is in you, ADONAI, that I hope. You will answer, Adonai my God.  (16)  I said, “Don’t let them gloat over me or boast against me when my foot slips.”  (17)  For I am about to fall, and my pain is always with me.  (18)  I acknowledge my guilt, I am anxious because of my sin.  (19)  But my enemies are alive and well, those who wrongfully hate me increase their numbers;  (20)  and, since they repay good with evil, they oppose me because I pursue good.  (21)  Don’t abandon me, ADONAI! My God, don’t be far from me!  (22)  Come quickly to help me, Adonai, my salvation!

  Adonai is in control and He chastens us out of love. His desire is to draw us back to Him and away from sin.

  David apparently had some sort of disease. He was miserable. What’s worse is that he sees some connection between his sin and his disease.  David is weak, broken and it seems that it took all this to come upon him for him to awaken from his spiritual sleep, to show him his sin.

  As his friends and family saw what he was going through, they stood their distance. They were afraid of him, that they may catch what he has. Some of the toughest times can be when people step back from you. Especially people that normally care about you. Be careful about abandoning people when they are going through tough times. Be careful about letting people come between you and your family.

  AIDS has caused great fear among people. It is a deadly disease. That does not mean we are to ignore these people or isolate ourselves from them and sharing Yeshua with them. Yeshua reached out to a leper, who had an incurable disease. We are not to reach out only to the good people, the high society people, the healthy people, but we are to reach out to all people. We are to share Yeshua with those around us. It is not always easy, but Yeshua never asks us to walk where he has not walked.

  Everything was going wrong for David, but he was counting on One person to help, Adonai.

  There are two kinds of sorrow. One that is sorry that they got caught doing wrong, which is worldly and meaningless. The other is one that leads to repentance, which is godly and draws us back to Adonai.

  2 Corinthians 7:9-10  now I rejoice not because you were pained, but because the pain led you to turn back to God. For you handled the pain in God’s way, so that you were not harmed by us at all.  (10)  Pain handled in God’s way produces a turning from sin to God which leads to salvation, and there is nothing to regret in that! But pain handled in the world’s way produces only death.

  David has some sort of illness. He has people out to get him. He also realizes that he has sin in his life. Sometimes we can just dig in our heels and get stubborn about our sin. We know we’re wrong but we aren’t about to admit it in front of others. Not until they at least treat us nicely. Stop running from Adonai and admit your sin.

  Don’t think that just because you are doing good people are going to rejoice. Yeshua went around doing good and what did they do to Him? They killed Him! If you do things to be recognized by men, you will be disappointed. But if you do the things for Adonai, it won’t matter how they respond.

  Shalom

  • 12:27 pm
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