“That’s when God spoke in holy splendor, ‘Bursting with joy I make a present of’…” Psalm 60.6
David and his army are in the middle of battle, victory illusive, and God walks off and leaves them standing. David expresses anger, frustration, and lays a guilt trip on God. God responds by ignoring David’s comments and expressing all the ways he is going to act in winning the war.
There does not appear to be a connection between David’s remarks and God response. What are there links between our prayers and God voice and actions? Is there a correlation? Do our requests land on deaf ears? When will justice and rightness prevail?
David prays and then realizes God is talking. David stops his petition to listen, discovering in the process how God is working grace in his life. Perhaps we can learn from David’s experience. Implicit in the model is two distinct actions: David petition, God’s statement. There does not appear to be any correlation between the two, however I would suggest this is an ongoing example of two distinct behaviors. Man focused on the immediate problems at hand; God focused on sharing love, acceptance, and grace. Man wanting the issues to go away so that he can discover peace, God spending his time trying to share the ultimate source of peace. Men caught in the web of the immediate, God quietly waiting for us to slow-down so we can accept his gift.
If there is any doubt about this paradox stop and look around. Count the amazing blessings in and around your life. A friend who makes living more worthwhile, an unexpected act of kindness that comes into one’s life, love shared by a family member, and the promise of hope shared in a meal. There are many incidents of “nice things” coming in each of our lives that we often label as “just luck”. Is it luck or gifts from God?
The problems of yesterday always appear smaller with the dawn. Acceptance and love are energy pills lasting into the future. God gifts for us.
