Sometimes timing makes all the difference. I have missed being in a car accident by only a few feet. If I had been just a split second sooner or later it would have been me. If I hadn’t taken that phone call as I was leaving the house, or made an unplanned stop at the store, I would have been right in the middle of a mess. I would like to see a four dimensional map of my life and be able to track all the near misses I have had over time. I bet there were many near misses that I don’t even know about.
There were of course moments where I was hit by life, or life hit me. Just because I am a Jesus-follower doesn’t mean my life has been bump free. There have been some bumps, and even some collisions with circumstances that have left me with some dents and in need of repair. There have been some emotional collisions that have left their mark. There have been some mountaintop and deep valley spiritual moments which have shaped my spiritual journey. Life happens to us all.
Our psalm today has a known origin in a moment in time and under known circumstances in the life of David. We know the details because it is also recorded in 2 Samuel 22. He was being chased by King Saul, a king who was a little bit over the edge crazy. Saul had been trying to kill David for years. David was on the run and had finally been vindicated by the LORD. Saul finally realized the David was not trying to usurp his authority and take over the kingdom. His jealousy had gotten the best of him and warped his thinking about David.
After all the anxiety and struggle David had been through in that time in his life, the pain and sorrow, disappointments and discouragements, he still pulled in close to the LORD. He still had a life of worship. He still knew and proclaimed the truth about the LORD. He expressed his real feelings and brought those into His presence.
For David, the LORD was a place of absolute safety. He had known relative safety as he had hidden in caves repeatedly during those years of being chased. He came to know the LORD as a rock, a fortress, a shield, and a stronghold. These all speak to the safety against the weapons of that day. The LORD had preserved his life.
There had been moments in those years when David thought his life was over. The circumstances had become so stacked against him that he couldn’t see any way out. He had felt the tightening noose of Saul’s army chasing him repeatedly. There was no place for him to hide. And yet, right in the middle of all that, he called out to the LORD and the LORD answered. He heard David’s cry for help.
And then David describes the LORD’s intervention in terms of an earthquake, a volcano, a thunderstorm, and hail and lightning. Whatever way the LORD intervened, the enemy didn’t like it. They were routed and they knew it was the LORD who had done it on David’s behalf. The LORD’s intervention was violent and intimidating to those people. And they experienced those things as an intervention by the LORD. They knew their fight was over, and they had lost.
Do you see justice happening in your life? If not, don’t get too discouraged. Perhaps the LORD has a storm coming right in the path of those who oppose your just cause.
The Arnold Journey 