Don’t kick yourself for, or be surprised at, your battle scars…

If you read the history of God’s people, especially as, say, recorded in many of the Psalms, you will see contrasting periods of blessings and barrenness, advance and retreat.

The writer of Psalm 44 describes how God helped His people in the past, “But now you have tossed us aside in dishonor.” (vs 9).

My physics professor friend thinks we often tend to read things like this and say, “Oh, these people may be suffering because they’ve sinned.” But no, says the writer of this psalm.  That’s not correct at all.  In verse 17, we read: “All this has happened despite our loyalty to You.”

Then verse 22 says “for our sake we are killed every day.” This is the verse repeated by the Apostle Paul in the famous Romans 8 passage where Paul says, “Hang in there, friends!!  Nothing, I mean nothing, can separate you from Jesus!!” 

Theologian Derek Kidner says of verse 22 in Psalm 44: “The psalm does not develop it, but implies the revolutionary thought that suffering may be a battle-scar rather than a punishment; the price of loyalty in a world which is at war with God.”

You can blame myself for difficulties, as I sometimes tend to do, or you can blame others.  Either way the accuser — (the enemy, satan) — is the one trying to separate us from resting in our loving God — our comforter and protector. 

Action point?  1. Resist the accuser, who only lies.  2.  Rest in God, who is ready to give only comfort on this Monday morning!