God who gives power and strength to us (1)
[Psalms 68:19-35]
Now in the US state of Huntington, Utah, many people are trying to rescue six miners trapped in 1,500 feet of a mine. 4 out of 10 people escaped and survived, but the remaining 6 people are still unknown. But the rescue mission is still ongoing to save these miners who may be alive. It is said that if these six miners are alive and if the mission to rescue them from the outside isn’t going well and thus save them, then there are in a situation where they cannot get out of there by themselves at all. I wonder how much they are in the unimaginable fear and the fear of death. How long are they waiting for someone to save them as soon as possible. I remember Prophet Jonah in the Bible. If we go to the book of Jonah chapter 2, we see Jonah in the belly of a great fish, praying to God deep in the sea. I remember a Jonah's confession in such an extreme crisis: “… Salvation is from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9).
We need to thoroughly realize our own helplessness and incompetence in order to make our spiritual life right. Then we become more and more completely dependent on God who is our strength. Personally, I feel a lot of helplessness and incompetence in my fights with myself. Looking at myself not doing what I know I suppose to do, I realize a little bit of my helplessness and incompetence that cannot be changed without God's help. Therefore, I cannot help but rely on the power of God. That’s why I have no choice but to pray to God. In prayer, I experience God’s strength and power in my helplessness and incompetence.
In Psalms 68:35, the psalmist David says, “You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!” I pray that we can enjoy the grace of God that He gives us while meditating on what kind of God who gives us strength and power under the heading “God who gives power and strength to us” based on Psalms 68:19-35.
First, God who gives power and strength to us daily bears our burdens.
Look at Psalms 68:19 – “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah” What is the “our burden” referred to by the psalmist David here? We can think of it in four ways:
(1) Our burden refers to the burden given to God's people because of “enemies” (v. 1) or “the wicked” (v. 2).
Of course, there must have been pain and suffering from persecution. The specific description of that pain and suffering refers to imprisonment (v. 6). I think we have this kind of burden too. In other words, there are many times when our hearts are heavy due to affliction and weary in the midst of attacks and temptations that are caused by our enemy, Satan. How many times has Satan attacked our hearts, causing us to be imprisoned in our hearts, especially as the enemies of the Israelites imprisoned them? For example, Satan is putting us into prison by making us to disobey the Lord’s command, forgive each other. So how heavy is this to us?
(2) Our burden refers to the loneliness of God’s people (v. 6).
When the Israelites were persecuted by their enemies or by the wicked, the Israelites felt lonely in suffering and pain. That was why David said that God is “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows” (v. 5). I think there were actually many orphans and widows among the Israelites. This was because certain number of Israeli men died in the wilderness and especially in conquering the land of Canaan. However, in addition to the actual meaning, I think the use of the expressions “fatherless” and “widows” for the Israelites also has a spiritual meaning. That means feeling lonely in suffering because of the enemies (the wicked) of the Israelites. Like the Israelites, we too feel lonely. Especially when we are in pain, when we feel that God is too far away, we often feel lonely even in the midst of many people.
(3) Our burden refers to the weary inheritance of God’s people (v. 9).
This refers to the poverty of the land of Canaan where the Israelites entered from the wilderness in Exodus. In other words, it refers to a time when the land of Canaan was dry and the grains and fruits were in drought (Park). This industrial poverty was a heavy burden on the Israelites. Especially if they were in sinful thoughts of longing for life in Egypt due to poverty in the land of Canaan, which they believed to be an affluent land, the burden would have been even more heavy. We, Korean-Americans living in this affluent country, America, will be able to relate to the Israelites. How much would it be heavy burden in our hearts if we left Korea, our home country, and came to the United States, a country of prosperity, and were in poverty like the Israelites? As if the land of Canaan is poor and farming is not possible, how much will it be heavy burden on our hearts if we come to United States to try to do our business but it isn’t doing well?
(4) Our burden is the poverty of God’s people (v. 10).
Look at Psalms 68:10 – “… O God, you provided for the poor.” Even after entering the land of Canaan, it seems that there were times when the Israelites became poor when the land was droughty and the grains and fruits were unable to live. How ironic is this to see poverty in a land of plenty? But this can be our reality, that is poverty in America that is like affluent Canaan. Of course, we are thinking about poverty materially here. But if we think more deeply, how many spirits are becoming spiritually poor in this land of abundance? I wonder how many Christians become spiritually poor by being tempted by Satan as they become economically rich. This is heavy burden.
God took the burdens of the Israelites instead of them. How did He take their burdens? There are four things we can think of:
(1) God took the Israelites’ burdens by giving prosperity the Israelites who were imprisoned by their enemies or the wicked (v. 6).
(2) God took the Israelites’ burden of loneliness by leading them to the warm family like place as the father to the fatherless and the defender of widows (vv. 5-6, Park).
(3) God took the Israelites’ burden by refreshing the weary land of Canaan by giving abundant showers (v. 9, Park).
(4) God took the Israelites’ burden by providing for the poor (v. 10).
The Bible exhorts us like this: “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken” (55:22). Whatever heavy burdens we may have, let us cast all of them to God through prayer. God will give us the strength and ability to carry those burdens.
Thanking God for carrying my burden every day,
James Kim
(As I long for God’s grace that lightens my heavy burden)