Coffee With The Lord

2 Samuel 22:  Fifty-one verses of deep gratitude for God’s care and deliverance! 

Don’t know if you’ve ever had a determined adversary – someone who was insanely dedicated to your destruction – there are some believers in Afghanistan who are facing that today.  And David faced that reality in the Bible.  His name was Saul…  Saul hunted David like an animal.  Chased him like incessantly.  Plotted to kill him.  And that was the return David received for vowing that he would never “touch God’s anointed” and do Saul no harm! 

2 Samuel 22 is a song of incredible relief – of great gratitude – for God’s protection and deliverance from a human adversary like Saul!  It is filled with graphic imagery that begs for your imagination… believe me, it’s worth reading!  Here’s just a taste of its themes…

“And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.  He said, ‘The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior! You save me from violence.  I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies… In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I called.  From His temple He heard my voice and my cry came to His ears… He bowed the heavens and came down… He sent from on high, he took me; He drew me out of many waters.  He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me… He brought me out into a broad place; He rescued me, because he delighted in me! … This God – His way is perfect; the word of God proves true!  He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him! … The Lord lives!  Blessed by my Rock, and exalted be my God, the Rock of my salvation.’” (From 2 Samuel 22 ESV)

According to the Bible, we all have a determined “adversary” – the devil!  He is not imaginary!  His methods are devious, his objective is your eternal destruction, his home is hell… The Bible says, “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)  His goal, like a thief, is to “steal, kill and destroy”!  But the “Good Shepherd” – your Deliverer – “lays down His life for you” and his objective is “that you might have life and have it abundantly!” (from John 10:10-11) 

So here’s the deal… Those fifty-one verses of 2 Samuel 22 aren’t just David’s song of deliverance… They can be your as well!!  And to that I say, Praise the Lord!!!

Sooner or later it will happen to us all… God’s word will say something we don’t understand… Or the Lord will require something of us that offends our sensibilities… Or something will happen to us – something God allows – that we will have a terrible time processing!  And the issue will be, how are we going to respond – what are we going to do about it?  Will we continue to trust, follow, and love the Lord, or will we be offended, “abandon ship,” and drift away in disappointment, disillusionment…even anger?

It happened to some who had begun following Jesus in the New Testament – the fact is, some of the “apostles” were even at risk! 

Jesus had said some perplexing things – some things that challenged the sensibilities of His followers – some things they found it difficult to process… Here’s the account of it in the Bible: 

“When many of His disciples heard it, they said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in Himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, ‘Do you take offense at this?  Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life!  But there are some of you who do not believe… This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’  After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.  So Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’  Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God!’”(John 6:60–69 ESV)

Listen, I am certain that somewhere, sometime, something will happen, something will come my way in my walk with the Lord that I don’t understand, something I find difficult to process, something that even offends me.  What will I do in that situation and circumstance?  Will I allow what happens to become an insurmountable barrier to my trust in the Lord?  Will I in disillusionment draw back, distance myself from the Lord and cease to follow Him in faith and love?  Oh, I pray I won’t!  Instead, may my response echo and mirror that of Peter, “Lord, to whom shall I go!  You are the One who has the words that lead to eternal life!  I have believed, and have come to know [regardless of what life brings – or what God may allow] that you are the Holy One of God!”

During “coffee with the Lord” today I was very impressed with the voice, the call, the invitation of “wisdom” (I was reading Proverbs 8 at the time, but the theme is not limited to that chapter – it is scattered all the way and repeatedly throughout Proverbs 1-9).

I want to hear wisdom’s voice above the rabble of all the other voices in our world! I want my ear tuned and attentive to her.  I want to discern her sweet tone and wholesome message among all of the other  competing voices!  It is an invitation to truth, insight, righteousness, purity, wholeness, blessing, and “Shalom” (peace and security)!  It is a call to reject deception, temptation, self-will, sin and rebellion.

It is not a loud, strident voice (“the woman, ‘Folly,’ is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing” – vs. 13) – Wisdom is rather a quiet, persistent voice, in all the distracting noise and competing voices of life.  She is however, discernable – but you do have to listen for her!

Proverbs 8 reminds me of  James 3:14-18 in the New Testament: “If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere!”

I’m listening for “Wisdom’s” voice this morning!  I’ll be listening tomorrow too… and the next day, and the next, and the next, and…