It's Not That Difficult?
Posted on May 19, 2017 by Graeme Wilson in Freedom Fighters
“Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.”
– Psalm 54:4 (NKJV)
There are no problems quite like “difficult people” problems, are there? Sometimes I would rather shove a broken plastic fork into my right eye than deal with difficult people, but when one claims to be a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the fork idea can only remain as a comical footnote in a Freedom Fighter. I also have a regular job that is full of difficult people who assure me that it is better for me to clean the sludge from the bottom of a waste water evaporator unit that handles 350 gallons of dirty shop water than to give them audience. So, when it comes to the daily grind of my every day, difficult people can be the road bumps that really didn’t need to installed…ever.
Scholars say it may have been anywhere from 18 months to 20 years that King Saul pursued David. Maybe it began with 5 stones that were picked up to slay The Giant instead of wearing that over-sized armor that set the guy off. I know Saul wasn’t too cool with hearing “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands!” (1 Sam 18:7). This king even hurled a spear at David while he was trying to ease his unsettled spirit with a harp…toys in the attic don’t even describe how difficult it was for David to deal with King Saul. The history of this pursuit can be found in 1 Samuel and you should go check it out yourself, but what I would like to focus in on is a little song that David wrote called Psalm 54.
David gives us a perfect example of what we should do when we are faced with difficult people—pray!! “Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your strength. Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen up against me, and oppressors have sought after my life; They have not set God before them” (Psalm 54:1-3). David acknowledges that YHVH was not in the minds of his enemies before they all sought to destroy him. It just may his way of saying to YHVH “Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do.” Coolness!
“Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life. He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth” (Psalm 54:4-5). In these verses, David not only acknowledges that YHVH is his defender but he reinforces what is written in the first verse of Psalm 46, “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” David also points out that the wrong that is being done will backfire on those who are against him, and that his integrity would win the day… like when the coyote tries to catch the road-runner in those cartoons of old!! Beep-beep!!
“I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good. For He has delivered me out of all trouble; And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies” (Psalm 54:6-7). And then David concludes this Psalm with praises to his One true Defender!! If you turn to 1 Samuel 23:26-29, read it then see that the enemies of David actually left the mountain that he and his men were hiding out in. Saul and his men were surrounding David, but a Philistine raid turned the table and David gave the praise due to his Defender. David was even afforded the chance to watch as Saul and his men got smaller and smaller as they went off into the distance.
If we were to think about it, difficult people take up a big slice of everyone’s life and if we allow it to happen, they can dominate our thinking and drain our energy. This is why we need to pray—for them. Pray that the constant hostility turn to friendly relationship (easy to type on paper, hard to get the rubber to the road).
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) is married (Kathy) with two adult children (Kevin and Karen) and has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.
The Daily Bible Reading: Jeremiah 32-36| You can download our 2017 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here
Daily Quote:“It seems strange to me that we all talk of the glory and delight of heaven where we will be surrounded by the very saints we couldn’t look at or get along with on earth!” — Charles R. Swindoll
This Week’s Verse to Memorize:
“holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” Philippians 2:16