A miktam of David.
I
Keep me safe, O God;
in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord,
you are my Lord,
you are my only good.
As for the holy ones who are in the land,
they are noble,
in whom is all my delight.
They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.
Lord, my allotted portion and my cup,
you have made my destiny secure.
Pleasant places were measured out for me;
fair to me indeed is my inheritance.
II
I bless the Lord who counsels me;
even at night my heart exhorts me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
with him at my right hand, I shall never be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices;
my body also dwells secure,
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
nor let your devout one see the pit.
You will show me the path to life,
abounding joy in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
Psalms 16:1-11
It sounds like we are starting this week on a positive note. This psalm begins by asking God to keep us safe, which is a comforting way to think about God, as protector. Clearly, this psalmist believes in that protection.
Do you ever have trouble really trusting in God’s protection? I think that is one of my biggest faith struggles, to surrender my fear to the Lord and fully trust God to keep me safe. After all, that is not exactly what God promises us.
Let’s face it, a lot of the holy men and women that we admire as saints reached that designation, officially, because they were martyred. So these people, who were some of the most faithful people on earth and possibly as close to God as any earthly human can ever be, faced terrible physical torture and death at the hands of evil forces in the world.
I have to be honest, I have a hard time even reading about those accounts because, as I alluded earlier, I don’t handle fear very well. In fact, I don’t even watch movies or television in the horror or suspense genres because I don’t like to feel fear. That’s just not entertaining to me.
So if some of God’s holiest people on earth had to endure such terrible physical trials, who am I to ask for such protection? What does God really promise us?
I found an article by Becky Roach at Catholic Link where she lists “6 Promises of God Every Christian Should Know.” I will share her list:
1. “God will never leave you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
2. “God will always protect you.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3
3. “God will give you strength for every battle.” Isaiah 40:31
4. “God will give you the graces necessary to endure all suffering. 2 Corinthians 12:9
5. “God will forgive you even when you have sinned against Him.” 1 John 1:9
6. “God will never stop loving you.” Ephesians 3:17-19
(found here)
Again, this is a comforting list of assurances to help us deal with fear. But taken as a whole, it doesn’t mean we’ll never suffer. How could it? In that light, I think we need to focus on #3 and #4. When I force myself to read about the martyrs, as much as I am horrified by the way they suffered, I also notice their strength and ability to endure.
I believe that is what we can really ask from God. He doesn’t promise that his followers will avoid all pain and suffering in this life. After all, to get to our beautiful reward in heaven, we all have to face an end to our lives on earth, in one way or another. So it doesn’t even make sense to think about avoiding death.
He does promise to get us through it. This, I suppose, is another example of the need to accept that God answers our prayers in God’s way, which we may or may not understand, at the time. So my struggle is to be able to surrender completely, knowing that God will give me the strength to endure whatever I face in this life.
For me, this is still a little foreboding and scary, so I try to refocus just a bit. I prefer to think about the last verse of our psalm today: “You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.” Let’s live every day with the intention of finding God’s path for us, knowing that by following it we have the hope of enduring joy. Amen!