He Touched Me

Truthfully, this wasn’t the first time, but was a very good time. Reading today’s Bible-in-a-Year passages, the following one struck me as my true prayer:

Psalms 13:1-6 MKJV
(1) To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. How long will You forget me, O Jehovah? Forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?
(2) How long shall I take counsel in my heart having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall my enemy be lifted up over me?
(3) Look! Answer me, O Jehovah my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
(4) lest my enemy say, I have overcome him, and my foes rejoice when I am shaken.
(5) But I have trusted in Your mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
(6) I will sing to Jehovah, because He has rewarded me.

King David had “How Long?” and “Why Me?” moments, just as I have. Here he expresses his peeve, his plea, and his passionate profession. (I’m sure a sermon is in there somewhere.) Bible passages such as this convince me more than anything else that God’s Word is true. If the scribes who wrote out the Word had really entertained sinister intentions of controlling the unwashed masses with a clever religion, they certainly wouldn’t have painted the heroes of faith as thieves, murderers, idolaters, liars, adulterers, doubters or gripers, shaking their puny fists at the Almighty.

The Shepherd King’s life is so entertaining that “Hollywood” has invested their tight funds in more than one movie about him—but of course they couldn’t leave his story as God’s Word revealed it. Without realizing, they affirmed a Biblical truth:

1 Corinthians 2:12-16 ESV
(12)  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
(13)  And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
(14)  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
(15)  The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.
(16)  "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

God’s word is not to be understood casually; it is God’s infinite mind, condensed, but not abridged, finite words conveying infinite depth. How can the fact that it’s truths evade understanding surprise, amaze, or astound anyone? Yet, His Holy Spirit deftly uses it to perform spiritual surgery on even the densest intellect, if we will simply “sign the permission form.”

Though the universe’s eternal, omnipotent Creator has shown His judgmental,  harsh side on occasion, He has always behaved the gentleman toward His people. Can’t you see that side of Him? Take another look, and observe how He never intruded on their personal autonomy, taking over their will to make them toe the line. They were always able to disobey, and to “enjoy” the bitter fruit of it.

Yes, God touched me with the thirteenth Psalm. I hope He keeps touching me with His gentle conviction, rather than painfully, with the broad side of His Sword.