Today, Wednesday January 04
The Silence of God
Psalm 28:1-5
A Psalm of David
“To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock: Do not be silent to me, Lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications When I cry to You, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. Do not take me away with the wicked And with the workers of iniquity, Who speak peace to their neighbors, But evil is in their hearts. Give them according to their deeds, And according to the wickedness of their endeavors; Give them according to the work of their hands; Render to them what they deserve. Because they do not regard the works of the LORD, Nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them And not build them up.”
Today we will begin looking at Psalm 28. From the title we know that David wrote this Psalm, and it appears that once again, David found himself in difficulty and cried out to the Lord for help. We don't know what caused the problem, but it involved wicked people and workers of iniquity, and deceptive people who pretended to be David's friends but were working for his ruin. The period leading up to Absalom's rebellion would fit this description. But regardless of the background, this psalm teaches us some important lessons about prayer, praise and patience.
Remember we said that there is a connection between Psalms 26, 27, and 28. In all three of the Psalms we see how David desired to worship the Lord in His sanctuary. David had a heart to worship despite the problems and trials that he was facing. He desired to know and sense the presence of the LORD. But sometimes it must have felt to David that God was silent! Where was God when he needed Him the most? Do you ever feel that way?
David had prayed fervently about his dangerous situation, but the Lord hadn't answered him. (See Psalms 13:1; 35:22; 39:12; 40:17; 69:3; 83:1; 109:1; 119:82.) It has often been said that "God's delays are not God's denials," and David was learning that important lesson. In verse 1, he "called" on the Lord, and in verse 2, he "cried out" to Him in desperation, but the Lord didn't answer.
Do you ever feel like you finally got through one mess and you no sooner went around the corner and there was even a bigger problem staring you in the face! I couldn’t help but remember the story of Job. Job was the wealthiest, most popular, most successful, and even called, the “man that was the greatest of all the people of the East” (Job 1:3).
But on a day, Job was given the news that all his wealth was lost. Even before he can begin to deal with that news, another servant comes with the news that a windstorm destroyed the house where all his children were having a feast and they all were tragically killed. Then, if that was not enough, he lost his health as painful boils covered his whole body.
Just when you need your family and friends the most, they seem to turn against you. Job’s wife comes with the advice, to “curse God and die”. His four best friends finally show up and begin telling him that he deserves all these calamities because he is a big hypocrite. At first Job seems to respond well as he falls to the ground to worship and says, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:20-21).
But later Job gets discouraged and says, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes" (Job 3:25-26). And later he says: "Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1).
Well, that is how David felt and maybe you are having the same experience in your life, and you wonder where God is. He appears to be silent and not answering your prayers. But David prayed anyway and “cried out” to the LORD and so should we! God has a reason for the silence in our lives! Life is definitely full of trouble but we should trust Him anyway!
God bless!
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