Skip to main content

A reality check!


O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God.  (‭Psalm‬ ‭3‬:‭1-2)
We all have a tendency to deceive ourselves about our true circumstances. The behavioural science school calls these “cognitive biases”. We tend to underestimate our problems. Whether it a struggle with sin, emotional pain or physical suffering! This is why I find reading Psalm 3 so refreshing.

David wrote the psalm when he was going through a leadership crisis and was on the run from his son Absolom who had taken over his kingdom. Indeed, it was not just David's throne that was stolen, Absolom also took away his women. Fear and shame had knocked on the front door of David's life. How will David react?

David owns up to the problem. He admits three things in the few opening verses of the the psalm. First, he admits that he has many problems. He cries out to God, "Lord, how many are my foes!". Secondly, he admits that his  problems are getting worse. In his own words, "many rise up against me". Finally, he gives us a hint that his problems are getting to him. He says, many are talking about him. They are saying God wont save him. David, a man after God's own heart, is now regarded by his peers as a stranger to God. This hurts him badly!

Coming out like this is very hard for David given his kingly position and cultural conventions. It is  like a national president coming out and admitting that he can't manage his home and that his children are now in charge. Or may be its like a pastor in a church holding up his hand and saying he is struggling with serious sin and has nowhere to turn. Such things are very rare indeed, and often done under duress. But here we see David approaching God and admitting his problem!

Where in your life are you allowing your reputation to stop you from seeking help from God? Perhaps you are struggling with some addiction. You fear the shame associated with sharing it with someone. Perhaps you are in an abuseful relationship and you are afraid what admitting may mean! David teaches us that looking to God for help starts with being honest about our true circumstances!

We know that that having a grip on reality is good for us. So why then don’t we do it?  The Bible points out that our sinful nature is the problem! Having a grip on reality starts by first accepting that we are sinful people living in a sinful world! The world is not as it should be! The world and our lives are broken by sin!

Accepting our brokeness is a necessary but insufficient response. We need to go futher. We need to accept that God has sent Jesus to be broken for us on the Cross!  Only by looking at our broken Saviour who died for us at Calvary can we accept our own brokenness! Are you broken by your situation?  Struggling with sin, loneliness or perhaps the challenges of parenting? Jesus is beckoning your to accept your brokenness and bring them to him right now because he has already been broken for you on Golgotha!

Copyright © Chola Mukanga 2015
Labels:

Comments

Post a comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jesus Never Fails

Many a times in my life, the words of this childhood hymn has been a tremendous encouragement. I pray this may encourage you too. Keep looking to Jesus!
Jesus never fails, Jesus never fails The man of the world will let you down, but Jesus never fails.
Your mother will let you down Your father will let you down The man of the world will let you down, but Jesus never fails.
Your husband will let you down Your wife will let you down The man of the world will let you down, but Jesus never fails
Your brothers will let you down Your sisters-will let you down The man of the world will let you down, but Jesus never fails
Your church will let you down Your work will let you down The man of the world will let you down, but Jesus never fails
Your friends will let you down Your country will let you down The man of the world will let you down, but Jesus never fails
Your wealth will let you down Your health will let you down The man of the world will let you down, but Jesus never fails
Copyri…
5 comments
KEEP READING →

Pornography as Occultism

There is a kind of helplessness that a man engaged in pornography exhibits. He often speaks of it in terms of a “struggle” or an “addiction.” Now both of those terms are accurate, I believe, but they distance a person from his sin in a soul-decaying manner. Pornography is not just an addiction; it is occultism. The man who sits upstairs viewing pornography while his wife chauffeurs the kids to soccer practice is not some unusual “pervert”; he is (like his forefather Adam) seeking the mystery of the universe apart from Christ. That’s the reason the one picture, stored in his memory, of that naked woman will never be enough for him. He will never be able to be satisfied because he will never be able to get an image naked enough. I say pornography is occultism because I believe the draw toward it is more than biological (though that is strong). The satanic powers understand that “the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18). They understand that the pornographic …
Post a comment
KEEP READING →

7 fascinating facts about Bexleyheath

I just finished reading Bexleyheath : A History by John Mercer as part of my effort to know a little about the history of our new local area. We have been living here for the last four months and it is a wonderful area indeed. Here are seven fascinating things about Bexleyheath mentioned in the book.

1. Two hundred years ago much of Bexley Heath was an area of wide-open land largely uncultivated. It was not until 1894, that the two words were put together.

2. On 5 June 1739, George Whitfield, a prominent preacher associated with John Wesley, came to the highway and preached by the pond opposite the Golden Lion. He was welcomed to the district by Henry Piers, Vicar of St Mary's (Bexley), who was a supporter of the new evangelical movement which was to become later known as the Methodist Church. Over 300 gathered to hear Whitfield preach from his horse: travellers, labourers, gypsies and villagers from Bexley village.
3. One of the early inhabitants of Bexlyheath was the polish emigre …
Post a comment
KEEP READING →