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Psalm 3:1-4 Has God abandoned you?

July 19, 2021 | by: Gregg Hunter | 1 comments

Posted in: Psalm 3

Please read Psalm 3.

Even though this is a short Psalm, there is a lot of substance in it, so we will break it up into two parts: today we will study verses 1-4 (so you may want to reread them now) and tomorrow we will study verses 5-8.

The title of this Psalm is very important because it sets the context for the Psalmists emotions and intent. This is “a Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.” You’ll remember that Absalom led a coup to take over the kingdom, and “the conspiracy grew strong, for the people with Absalom continually increased in number (2 Sam. 15:12). This is why David declares, “O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me.” His enemies seem to be coming from all sides.

These enemies are not silent as they attack, either. They are slinging verbal assaults as well as physical ones, saying, “There is no salvation for him in God.”

For the person who has nothing of which he needs to be ashamed, such an assault would have no effect. But David is not that person. He remembers his flagrant sin with Bathsheba. He is deeply convicted of his murder of Uriah the Hittite. He knows that he deserves to be judged… and his enemies know this too. They remind him that he has forsaken his God by giving in to temptation and he doesn’t deserve God’s favor.

David must have felt all alone. To have trusted in God, but then knowingly sinned against Him wrecks our relationship. Doing so causes us to run from God and isolate ourselves, and then accuse Him of being distant and lifting His hand of providence from us. Charles Spurgeon writes, “It is the most bitter of all afflictions to fear that there is no help in God.”

But we don’t have a God who is distant from us. We have a Lord who can relate to us, even in our isolation. Jesus Himself cried out to the Father, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46). He bore our place on that cross and experienced that same distance from God for the first time in the history of creation. He knows what it is like to feel isolated from God.

So He pursues us! Jesus will not leave you in the dark. David’s enemies are crying out that God has abandoned him, but David confidently responds that God is his shield, his glory, and the lifter of his head. God provides defense for the defenseless, glory for the humble, and joy for the joyless. What a great God we serve!

So, if you are feeling like God has abandoned you; if you are convicted that you too have sinned against God, and worry that you have permanently severed your relationship with God, then you are not alone. David felt these same emotions. So did Jesus.

Remind yourself that, no matter how far you have fallen, no matter how loud your enemies may be, God is still with you. He is still your shield, your glory, and the lifter of your head. Trust in Him; call out to Him, and He will answer.

1 COMMENTS

Jenny Balzano

Nov 25, 2020

This passage is relatable. For a few years in my early 20’s, I decided I could do life on my own. I stopped going to church, had a new crowd of new “friends”, became distant from my family and church. Life was good- or so I thought. God drew me back to him through my divorce. Those “friends” weren’t happy when I no longer chose to hang out in the wrong places or be the one who casts stones and makes waves. Satan is in your ear and head even more when you are serving God- especially when you have been dabbling in sin and cut him lose cold turkey. The psalmist is right on point when he reminds us to reflect on all of God’s blessings and his faithfulness: hold tight to his word- stand strong on the Word when all else fails. “Get behind me Satan”. Again, A song on my heart -Micah Tyler “I’ve been hard on myself lately, every morning I feel the weight....Your mercies are new today! ...I can rest on your shoulder, there is grace to start over...your Mercies are new today”!

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