The following is from “How Long, Lord?”, available on Amazon.

 

…and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
Psalm 13:4

 

“…My enemy will say, ‘I have overcome him,’ and my foes will rejoice when I fall.”

David is using definitive language here; he has already decided what will happen, and thus what God needs to do to stop it.

When we shackle our minds to assumptions they cripple the creative power God has given us to stand when we can stand no more.  Perhaps David was right, and all those things were going to happen; that does not mean his solution is the right one, nor that it is a problem that needs to be solved.  All David knows is the shame and pain that would come from his enemies celebrating his downfall, and that must not happen.

If this were true, then Jesus was not a good model.  When his enemies overcame him and rejoiced at his death, he declined calling down an angel army; he did not even defend himself against lies!  Jesus knew what David did not: even if we can predict the worst, God intends good. (Genesis 50:20)  Scripture is filled with bad situations leading to miraculous displays of God; why should our “worst” be the exception?

Of course, this is assuming David is right; he could be wrong.  When his people said, “Goliath will overcome us!” David knew the unbelievable, miraculous truth, and stepped into it.  Your daunting forecasts may be right, in which case you have to decide if God is still loving and powerful in that scenario; and, they may be wrong, in which case you have to choose faith in what is unseen.  Either way, don’t let your assumptions lead.

Find the week-long devotional here.