February 27, 2006

Christian Living/Situational

Psalm 62

I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him (Psalm 62:5, NLT).

All of us deal with stress on a regular basis. So, how do you cope? Do you buckle under and hope tomorrow will be better? Do you try to deal with it at the cost of sleep, a social life and a few grey hairs? There were people in the Bible who dealt with stress too. Let's look at how King David handled his.

"So many enemies against one man--all of them trying to kill me" (Psalm 62:3). Can you relate with what David writes in this verse? Hopefully not! Not literally anyway.

In today's world these "enemies" may take the form of busy schedules monopolizing our time, families who demand our attention and general peer pressure from friends. All of them together add up to a very stressful life. The next verse is a little easier to apply.

"They plan to topple me from my high position. They delight in telling lies about me. They are friendly to my face, but they curse me in their hearts" (62:4).

Nearly everyone has had to deal with backstabbing "friends" at one time or another. And many people in the professional world are constantly looking over their shoulder, afraid of young "up-and-comers" scaling the corporate ladder who step on whomever gets in their way.

So, now we see the problem, what's the answer?

"I wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me" (Psalm 62:5-7).

OK, it's not an easy answer. Time to spend quietly with anyone, let alone God, is a precious commodity. But if we can believe the rest of the passage, finding time for this one action is critical.

We may not be facing literal enemies like David did, but God can handle the enemies we do have. If you feel like you're in the middle of a raging ocean, grab hold of God, your rock and refuge.