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At present, I am beginning as a member of a wonderful Bible study with some dear ladies from my church. It’s a Beth Moore study of the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120 – 135) and the study itself is entitled “Stepping Up: a Journey through the Psalms of Ascent”.
Today I read and meditated on Psalm 120.
Here’s the text:
“I call on the LORD in my distress,
and he answers me.
Save me, O LORD, from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.”
What will he do to you,
and what more besides, O deceitful tongue?
He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,
with burning coals of the broom tree.
Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech,
that I live among the tents of Kedar!
Too long have I lived
among those who hate peace.
I am a man of peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.
Beth characterizes this psalm as a distress call. The psalmist is obviously having some “issues” with the people with whom he lives. (Those naughty, naughty people from Meshech and Kedar.) And what the psalmist does, where he totally gets it right, is that in his distress, he pours out his complaint before the Lord. Talk about taking your problem to the right source! He has his “Woe is me” moment in the throne room of the King. He’s not calling up his friends and “venting” – although there may be a time and a place for that, too. He’s going straight to the top! To the One who is eternally interested in being as close to us as the air we breathe. To the One who cares so much for us, He’d gladly die for us. (And, by the way, He did just that.)
So, then, after we’ve worked our way through the psalm, Beth asks study members to write their own parallel version of that particular psalm.
Now, I’ve got to tell you first that I love my children more than life. More than life. Each day they delight my heart. They crack me up with their sense of humor. They make me proud of the things they are learning and the insights they are having. I’m not bragging when I say that I get told all the time what great kids I have (because it ain’t bragging if it’s true). And that has nothing to do with me and my mothering ability: but it does have everything to do with the totally undeserved grace and mercy of God.
NEVERTHELESS: some days, it just ain’t all hearts and flowers around here. Sometimes, they have gotten on my last NERVE, and I do mean my very. last. nerve. And some moments, I am longing for Calgon to take me AWAY from these little hooligans.
Can I get an “Amen”? Can somebody say, “Preach”?
So, for those moments, here’s the cry of my heart, directed toward the One who can help. A beleaguered Mom’s version of Psalm 120:
In my frustration and exasperation
I called to my faithful Covenant Keeper
and He answered me.
LORD – Faithful One – deliver me from whining lips
and rebellious retorts.
What will He give you, rebellious whiners?
Lost jobs and poverty will be your reward.
What a pain, that I have dealt with this at school time
and dealt with this at chore time!
I am living in the midst of sibling rivalry
and those who long for anarchy.
I am for peace, but they can pick a fight
over a piece of dirt.
A little “Woe is me” can be good for the soul, for mothers everywhere. 😉
Just be sure to take your complaint straight to the Top, to the desk where the celestial sign reads:
The Buck (or the Shekel) Stops Here.
He is eternally interested in hearing your heart.
And completely capable of endowing you with the encouragement to endure.
Birthblessed
Tuesday 27th of January 2009
Love it, Susan.
Kristi in the Country
Monday 26th of January 2009
Amen, Sistah! Aren't you glad not every day is like that?
Theresa in WV
Monday 26th of January 2009
Love your version of the psalm!