1 I have taken refuge in the Lord.
So how can you say to me,
“Flee to the hills like a bird
2 because the wicked
have already bent their bows;
they’ve already strung their arrows;
they are ready to secretly shoot
those whose heart is right”?
3 When the very bottom of things falls out,
what can a righteous person possibly accomplish?
4 But the Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord! His throne is in heaven.
His eyes see—
his vision examines all of humanity.
5 The Lord examines
both the righteous and the wicked;
his very being hates anyone who loves violence.
6 God will rain fiery coals and sulfur on the wicked;
their cups will be filled
with nothing but a scorching hot wind
7 because the Lord is righteous!
He loves righteous deeds.
Those whose heart is right will see God’s face.
Reflection
The word that really stuck out to me when reading this Psalm was “but” in verse 4. How many times do we say “but” to ourselves when we are thinking about doing something new or doing something hard or even doing something fun? It seems that we use “but” typically in a negative connotation such as I was going to, I should have, I wanted to… but… I ran out of time, I ran out of money, I ran out of patience, I was afraid, I was tired, I was hungry. The list is really endless.
Now, don’t get me wrong – all of those things can be legitimate reasons for us not to do something. How many times is it just our go to when we answer something off the cuff, or we wanted to/ should have done something and just didn’t get to it because we made something else a priority and we need a quick story to tell ourselves or others?
The writer of these verses was either discussing their options with themselves, a confidant or God. We read that this person had enemies and possibly made some bad decisions or possibly just went against the establishment. The initial answer to their dilemma was to get out of Dodge and hide because people were coming after them. The question is “what can you possibly do at this point?” How often do we feel like we just need to get out of a situation by just going to bed or getting out of town for a few days to just clear our heads and come up with solutions? Again – not always a bad idea, however this is where the BUT from God comes in.
The Lord is in God’s holy temple. The Lord sees everything that we are going through and is there to help us. The verses continue with holy fire, and some days we think that might not be a bad idea for God to come down with some holy fire on some people, but we have seen too much devastation lately from war and fire, so I don’t necessarily think that is a great thing right now. The point is we usually use our BUT for an excuse, BUT God’s BUT is the way we should be – relying on God, knowing that the Lord is in control of all situations even if we are not aware of it. We need to do what we can to have faith that God will help us, and we need to show up for others when we can as well.
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
When have we used ‘but’ to justify an action or an inaction? How can we be more aware of those situations that we could be taking advantage of to further the kin-dom, to help others in need, or to just have some fun in our lives?
Prayer: God who knows and sees everything we do, BUT loves us anyway, help us to always
look to you and to know that whatever our situation is we can always say, BUT God is on the throne and will guide me through. Thank you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, for your work with us
in these situations as well. Lead us in the way you would want us to go. Amen.
