“O Lord my God, if I have done wrong or am guilty of injustice, if I have betrayed a friend or plundered my enemy without cause, then let my enemies capture me. Let them trample me into the ground and drag my honour in the dust.”
Psalm 7:3-5 NLT
Psalm 7 continues with David apparently still in a hard place, bothered with his conscience, persecuted by those around him, and desperately seeking God for rescue and His protection. But he started to do what we all do at times – he looked for a cause for his distress. Have we ever been in a place where the Heavens seem like brass and we feel that our prayers never reach God? Have we ever been in a place riven by troubles and wondered where God has gone. Perhaps we are in a place like the Psalmist when he wrote, “Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?”” (Psalms 42:3). A place that perhaps feels like David’s “darkest valley”.
David wondered if there was something that he had done that had made God withdraw from him, and so he asked God if he had done anything wrong. Had he treated someone unjustly? Had he betrayed a friend? Had he behaved in a way to his enemies that wasn’t right? If he had done any of these things, then David invited God to let things happen to him that would count as punishment for his misdemeanours, justice for his crimes.
But thanks to Jesus, we know that God doesn’t treat us in that way. Paul wrote, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. … But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:6, 8). In Romans 8 we read, “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? … And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love” (Romans 8:35, 38).
So when we find ourselves in a dark place, seemingly a long way away from God, is it God who has withdrawn from us? Of course not. He is always there for us, His loving kindness, grace and mercy beyond measure. And so once again we seek Calvary’s cross, where we look into the face of our wonderful Saviour, Jesus. There, as we cast off our burdens of sin before Him, we find once again a right relationship with God and comfort in our times of trouble. Refreshed and restored, we can prayerfully face into the issues troubling us, with God providing the care and support that we need.
Dear Lord God. Nothing can separate us from Your love. Please help us to live in the light of that every day of our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 