Psalm 43 – God of My Strength
By Bunni Pounds
*This blog is part of our weekly, virtual Bible Study through the book of Psalms. For information on how to participate, please visit this page.
Sometimes it feels like the world is against us. Many times – we feel the oppression and the pressure of a national crisis beating down on our hearts and minds. The Psalmist in Psalm 43 felt that too – so these five small verses were his way of dealing with the pressure.
This is one of the reasons I love the expressions in the Psalms so much. It is real life – not a fake religious façade. We can’t get any rawer than the first few verses.
“Vindicate me, O God,
And plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
Oh, deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!
For You are the God of my strength;
Why do You cast me off?” (verse 1-2)
I would guess that there are some of us out here who have never felt the disappointment of what is happening in our nation to the extent that we are feeling it now.
In less than a year we have seen millions rushing over our southern border in complete lawlessness and the federal government sanctioning it – we have to be concerned.
When we see vaccine mandates that are causing the loss of jobs and threatening the livelihood of families - all while employers are needing more workers – we have to scratch our heads.
Military personnel are now being threatened and will soon be “let go” from the military with “administrative discharges” because thousands of them won’t take a vaccine; but yet we are spending millions a year on recruiting for the armed services.
It doesn’t make any sense. It is unjust.
We need our national cause pleaded before an ungodly nation by a just God.
“Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me;
Let them bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your tabernacle.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And on the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.” (verse 3-4)
This picture of the light and the truth going out and pulling us into the tabernacle of God is such a stunning way to look at the truth in God’s Word.
Proverbs 4:18 says, “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.”
We also know the truth in Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path.
Joy and praise come in response to His light and truth through the Word lighting our path. This is how our days get brighter. It is not an accident that some people move from glory to glory in their lives – their light gets bigger, their influence gets stronger, and their joy gets more contagious while others sink back into complacency and fear.
The question comes to us – how much of the Word of God and its light are we allowing into our daily lives? Is it impacting our hearts and producing joy and praise in our souls?
We just need to let the LIGHT in. We don’t have to over complicate it. Light produces life. Darkness – absence of the Word of God – produces death.
Remember the story of King Jehoshaphat and how the Israelites were surrounded by Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. It was a grim reality, but the King sent out the worshippers to lead the army.
The King stood up before the new court and said boldly in 2 Chronicles 20:6-9, “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’”
The King understood that ultimately God’s presence through praise would save them.
The King led them in prayer – even bowing down with the priests on the ground, then he sent in the worshippers before the battle. He heard the Lord say to him – “the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
They worshipped and praised, and God destroyed the enemies around them. When the Israelites went out to see what had happened, the enemy's dead bodies were everywhere, and God had given them so much spoil that it took three days to gather it all.
When it looks like there is no way forward and through – God makes a way. He is the Way Maker.
“Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.” (verse 5)
When we are confronted with impossible situations – it is not the time to stop and give up. It is the time to believe God more. Don’t let your soul get discouraged. Like the Psalmist here – he said, “Hope in God: For I shall yet praise Him.”
When we feel surrounded by the enemies – God can send His angels to surround us.
Remember this story out of 2 Kings 6:15-17
“And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
When we feel like wickedness is being let loose on the earth and the enemy is destroying everything – we must remember:
God is more powerful than what we are seeing, and He is able to reverse everything in a moment by His power if He wants to.
We are in a spiritual war. It is one that we can’t see but it is very very real. Angels and demons are fighting with each other – as evil tries to take over regions, nations, and systems of influence.
Here is a promise we can cling to as we focus in on the Lord, “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” (Romans 16:20)
Though it may feel dark right now – ultimately the enemy is defeated, and he will be crushed under OUR feet because of the grace of God upon our lives.
We know the truth that the god of this world will learn for himself at some point - “For You are the God of my strength.” (verse 2a)
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