Psalm 90 – Retreat

The majority of today’s passage discusses things that honestly, should scare us. It covers everything from God’s power, anger, and indignation, to His wrath. It speaks of our secret sins being revealed, being turned to dust, and being swept away in death. Not really happy times.

Yet it starts by saying,

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.” – Ps 90:1

The phrase “dwelling place” is translated from the Hebrew “maown” and is from the same as “ownah” which means an abode or retreat, hence an asylum.

So Moses found retreat in Him… the one who’s wrath can turn him to dust.

In light of all else that is said by Moses in this passage, how in the world can He come to this conclusion? If his case is packed with the realities found in verse 2-17, how can this make sense? The answer is something we tend to neglect… a lot. There are two critical verses sandwiched in between the seemingly “scary” characteristics that tell us how. First by telling us how God looks at the temporal, and by implication how He looks at us, our circumstances, and our journey:

For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” – Psalm 90:4

Eight verses later we see the acknowledgement of Moses, our need to do the same, and the perspective changing wisdom that results.

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12

I’ve heard that perspective is everything… it really is. It’s not a twist on words in Psalm 90 to find comfort in God’s wrath, it’s a twist of perspective. Truly changing our focus from the eternal not the temporal. Not just in our minds, but in our hearts (vs.12).  And it changes everything… especially how we perceive our God. Then, His power becomes comfort to us as children of God, not condemnation. He becomes our retreat.

Psalm 84 – Good

It was good to be at Austin New Church yesterday. Actually, it was beyond good. But somehow the words great, awesome, incredible come with more of a frenzied flavor. There’s just an “easy like Sunday morning” feeling that accompanies the word “good”. Good feels more like how it feels to take a deep breath and relax. Good feels like rest. Good feels refreshing. That being said, I also think last night felt great, awesome, and incredible.

(1) How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! (2) My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” – Psalm 84:1-2

The last three weeks have been pretty “busy” for ANC. We’ve been making the move from a multi-million dollar fine arts facility to a simple room in the back of a private school that seats half the amount of people. There were many reasons we could have stayed put… it’s an amazing facility, there’s room for growth with children, even with summer crowds we were finally reaching critical mass in the theater, and it was incredibly inexpensive, just to name a few (and all are valid points).

Honestly, the most tempting reason to stay put was my pride and the perception that we might have moved because “we couldn’t” instead of “we shouldn’t”. That’s lame of me.

But as we considered our long-term vision, it just didn’t feel right, it felt temporary. From the very beginning, I knew ANC’s calling was unique. Where we meet communicates what we value and what our priorities are. While I believe with all my heart that in order to reach our city we need churches of all personalities, styles, and sizes… God is calling us to lead in ways and towards things that are new to many of us. (There were some pretty practical reasons as well. click HERE to read the announcement).

Among all the clutter of thoughts that went into the decision to make the move to our new location, I’ve been praying for continued affirmation. Not just physical affirmation, but something of the Spirit.

My point? I felt it yesterday. Not just last night during our worship gathering. Not just as we began and we were seeing a diverse crowd of families visiting from just around the corner, but earlier in the day around 1pm.

What happened at 1pm? My favorite part about our move is that I was able to come to the auditorium in the middle of the day, with no one else there, kneel at the front, and pray. I found myself praying for the community, praying for the school, praying for those who might find refreshment and encouragement at ANC. I prayed for our leaders, our people, and I prayed for God’s Spirit and His favor. I found my soul craving what I believe the Psalmist felt in verse 2… “My soul yearned, my heart and even my flesh cried out”.

Not only do we have the flexibility to meet anytime we want on a Sunday at our new location (good thing since now we’ll have to go to multiple services this fall) but we have a place to come and pray, and it’s the same place that we will come and worship. I know that the “Courts of the Lord” (vs.1) are not bound by geography, but it’s awfully nice to have the two line up.

So maybe it was just me. Maybe I just felt the Spirit more last evening because my heart and soul was seeking more earnestly… but whatever it was. It was good.

Psalm 83 – Favor

There is a ton of bad in this world. I’ve heard others say and found myself at times wondering why God would allow it to continue. At times it seems like injustice is tolerated and God remains silent. But God is anything but silent, quiet, and still. More than that, God is anything but unaware.

O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still.” – Psalm 83:1

We are in an amazing season of favor. Most of History occurred before Jesus incarnate. We live just this side of the cross and under grace, and on the flip side, just this side of judgment. Scripture tells us that there is a coming day when “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess”. That’s not a threat, that’s a promise.

So what should our attitude be during this season of Grace?

First we need to see with bigger eyes than our own and know God’s timing is perfect. So we can stop being confused and frustrated. God is not unaware of the injustice and the oppression in the world.

With that in mind, we need to be aware of our own thoughts and tendencies. Recently, a friend of mine wrote about a thing called, “Schadenfreude”, here’s what he said:

There are lots of motivations for winning.  On the other side, there are many reasons we like to see people lose.  Sometimes, we enjoy seeing a rival football team lose, just because we always like them to lose.  Other times, a player has been getting cocky and it’s good to see him get “put in his place.”  In either case, I think there’s a different part of our brain and personality that kicks in and drives these feelings, a bit of maliciousness, even if it is in the name of sport.  Bad things happening to someone else makes us feel good.  Psychologists use the German word “Schadenfreude” to describe this and it is a combination of the words “harm” and “joy”.

The Psalmist in chapter 83 is pleading with God to obliterate His enemies… as I read, I find myself cheering for the same… and they aren’t just standing against God, they also happen to be Israel’s oppressors. So are we seeing a little “schadenfreude” here? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe he’s being a little self serving. And maybe his heart is truly for God’s justice not just his own benefit.  Either way, WE have the responsibility to take these thoughts and put them in New Testament form:

Christ did not teach a doctrine of retribution. He taught reconciliation, both for the oppressed and the oppressor. We have a hard time with that. But once again, we’d be better off to realize that at times we are both as well.

Oh, and one other thought that hit me today in reading Psalm 83.  Often in the OT, God judged nations. Think about that for a moment. I’m so thankful that through the cross He made it personal.

Psalm 80 – The Rebuke

It’s interesting to me the psalmist’s perspective in chapter 80. Through his words it’s obvious that He understands that God has withheld His hand for a reason… and it’s obvious he doesn’t blame God or accuse him of being unjust. Instead, he acknowledges Israel’s current state of oppression to be a correction of sorts and most certainly a type of rebuke:

Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at your rebuke your people perish.

Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.

Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.” – Psalm 80:16-18

What’s interesting to me is how contrasting this attitude is to most of our attitudes. When something goes wrong, we cry foul, and wonder where God went. We instantly default into wondering about his obvious neglect of our needs as if we had nothing to do with it. We wonder where God went in a relationship that goes bad although we never invited Him to be a part of it in the first place. We accuse God of abandoning us financially when we can’t pay our bills, yet we never consulted him when we bought the new house, car, or furniture that we couldn’t afford.

It’s interesting how we blame God when times are rough and take the credit when times are good.

I wonder what it would take for us to realize that we are being corrected not punished? And that we are not always the innocent “victim” we so often feel we are. I wonder what it would take for us to realize that in the same way a parent disciplines a child, our Heavenly Father, might actually do the same.  Why? The same reason the psalmist gave in verse 18, so that “we will not turn away” and “we will call on His name”.

Something tells me that might be the goal in the first place.