Psalm 3:4-6

I was crying to the Lord with my voice,

And He answered me from His holy mountain.

I lay down and slept;

I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.

I will not be afraid of ten thousdands of people

Who have set themselves agains me round about.

There is a difference between whining and despair. The crying that it is talking about here isn't the crying of someone who just didn't get their way. This is the cry of desperation. A cry for help because the opposition is overwhelming. You only cry like this when things are really bad. When faith has run dry and you are in the desert of despair and hope is fading. You cry out to God, who at times honestly you think may have abandonded you or is not around. Yet even in your cry of desperation is the thread of worship, for you realize that there is one higher who can help. This has always amazed me cause usually when something bad is about to happen to someone (a car wreck, they see something bad) their response is usually, "O, God". Some may say it is just a saying, however having lived in other countries, it happens there as well. I think it is the innate condition of a person realizing there limitations and appealing to the unlimited God. Although they may actively supress this belief in God, in a moment such as this, it comes rushing to the surface. Their usually defenses or issues quickly tossed aside when they realize the futility of their ability to control, save, or rescue.

And He answered me from His holy mountain - I think this is an interesting phrase. This verse was written before Jesus came. God's presence (the Holy Spirit) cannot dwell with sin. There is a seperation -the perfect God and the imperfect man. Yet even in this, you see God's desire for relationship. God does not abandon the despairing man. He answers from His holy place. His ultimate answer was when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us, making away for us to live in the presence of God. He heard our cries and He answered. We have the choice whether or not to accept that answer.

I lay down and slept - Ok this seems like a bit of a curve ball. Why does this guy let us know his nap or sleeping schedule? I have come to two conclusions or thoughts. Many times we use sleep as a form of escape. I have said during this past year, which was really hard, that often wished I was in a medically induced coma. When we sleep, we don't have to deal with things. The second part of this verse focuses on God sustaining us. You can also view this as God giving us the capacity through Him to quit trying to escape and actually to deal with issues. Not out of our own resources but out of His.

The second thought is that sleep is not possible without some level of peace. So in this you see God's provision for us to have peace and rest even in the midst of trial. All of this made possible because it is the Lord sustaining us. I often think about how God sustains us in ways we don't even realize. How the athiest denies the existence of God with the very breathe that, that God has provided. If you were to fully realize how God sustains you, in every moment, in every day, even when you sleep, worship would not be a hard thing to do.

I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about. - We have a choice. Fear or Faith. Faith is not denying the circumstances and pretending ignorance. Instead it is acknowledging them yet also acknowledging the supremecy of God. So proper perspective accompanies faith. If you focus on the people and how they are all around you, in opposition to what you hold true, then you will be overwhelmed. Yet remember that in those moments, when you utter the phrase "O, God!", your soul still cries out for you to acknowledge the supremecy of God over this situation and over these people.

I pray that you would have perspective and faith. That though you may be surrounded, you realize that there is a God who has heard from His holy mountain and provided a deliverer for you.

May God bless you and keep you, may God cause His face to shine upon you.

Thanks for reading,

Britton