ZIP THE LIP? REALLY? (Psalm 39)

Part of an ongoing series on the 48 psalms recommended by pastor-counselor David Seamands for people struggling with depression.

When things don’t go our way, the natural reaction is to gripe to others about it. But David struggled with a “spiritual muzzle,” if you will. He didn’t want to sin by complaining about God.  He lived long before the advice of the apostle Paul: “In everything give thanks” (see Philippians 4:6-7). But the David who wrote Psalm 38 was miserable in every way—sick and tired of it. If we’d been in his sandals without reliable medical help, we’d probably also complain that God hadn’t vaccinated us from the world’s woes. 

David says he tried to tame his tongue and muzzle his mouth “as long as the wicked are in my presence” (v. 1). But without good news to share, his self-control burst. Some testimony his “woe is me” showed unbelievers!  But right away. David reflects on wisdom gleaned from saints who preceded him. He quotes Moses from Psalm 90 about the brevity of life, then brings up Job questioning why God was so heavy-handed with him (Job 13:21). In other words,  David implies that he’s not the first to experience how life is no bed of roses, even for those who love and follow God.

PERSPECTIVE

By this time, David’s getting to some essential truths: that we weren’t created for this world. “Faith” is not about getting what we want now. It’s “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1)—what ancients from Abel on through Abraham, the patriarchs, Moses, the judges and prophets, and martyrs of the faith lived for and died by. We’re in prep for that heavenly “city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10).

Must we “zip the lip” when we’re hurting? It’s not a “yes” or “no” answer.  We’re to watch out for complaining to others (especially unbelievers) about our jobs, money or personal situations when doing so causes these people to think God can’t take care of us. It’s wrong to gripe when it comes out as blaming God. Unbelievers will jump at anything to discredit the love and wisdom of God.  And marginal believers won’t be helped at all!  

Tell your woes privately to God?  Absolutely. Ask Him for perspective, strength and perseverance. He promises to supply. Seek God-honoring counsel from those equipped through life experience or training? Yes. You may need help in achieving “attitude correction.” As Moses affirmed in this psalm that David paraphrased:

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,

That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

For as many years as we have seen trouble. (Psalm 90:14-15)

Finally, in the “for what it’s worth department,” I wrote this note in the margin of my Bible beside Psalm 90:12: “Kum Ba Yah,” plus a music note. The old camp song (“come by here”) seemed to match David’s plea, “Hear my prayer, O Lord.” 

Heaven: The Greatest Home Makeover--Day 4

THE ARCHITECT AND BUILDER
“He [Abraham] was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”—Hebrews 11:10
Scott and Nicki had invited friends to an unusual gathering: a “Foundation Blessing” party for their own future home that Scott would build. After years of living in rentals, they could hardly wait for it. But it wouldn’t be easy. A builder by trade, Scott would have to build others’ homes during the day to pay the bills. Then, despite his weariness, he’d work on his family’s new home at night and on weekends. That is why they wanted friends to pray for this exhausting task. They also wanted this house to become a place of blessing.

On “party night,” boards balanced on wooden construction horses held snacks. Scott and Nicki’s two older children read Bible passages about homes and building. Then, friends held hands in a big circle around the freshly-poured foundation and prayed for Scott and his family and the house to rise here. Over the next half year, they saw God remove financial obstacles and send volunteer help. Many nights, friends dropped in to lend a hand at just the time Scott needed his faith and energy shored up. When move-in day finally came, they knew such incidents were part of how God helped build this home.

God’s been in the business of “building” since before the beginning of time. The Bible says He’s the builder of everything (Hebrews 3:4). He laid the earth’s foundation (Job 38:4, Proverbs 8:29). All creation shouts His touch: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1). Besides crafting spectacular beauty in the earth and sky and beyond, He works in the invisible places of human hearts. He can take rough raw materials like weak faith and stubborn doubt and reshape them into something glorious.

One such project involved a man named Abraham. He lived in bland obscurity in ancient Mesopotamia about 4,000 years ago. Then one day God spoke to his heart and told him to move far away, to a land where his descendants would prosper. Descendants? He had none. His wife was barren. Yet Abraham went to this land called Canaan, pitching his tents among foreigners and claiming God’s promise of “descendants.” Finally, two wrinkled parents, age 90 and 100, rocked their own miracle baby, named Isaac.

But the promise of “land” for his descendants seemed to elude him as he moved from place to place. Abraham even had to buy a cave to bury his wife. The Bible, however, notes that he had a vision of something greater: “the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). Far off in still-to-be-experienced times, he saw the model city without crime, slums, pollution, threat of flood or fire. The perfect place, built by God.

The Bible gives a quick glimpse of such a place: the jewel-studded, golden-street celestial New Jerusalem, which comes down out of Heaven as a dwelling place for eternity. Its size is staggering--1,500 miles on each of the four sides. Some think it’s a cube, others envision it as a pyramid. Its base, huge enough to stretch from Canada to Mexico, and from California to the Appalachian Mountains, would cover more than two million square miles. Allowing a generous 20 feet height for each floor, the city would be 396,000 floors high. Some have suggested that the city’s dimensions, if a cube, could comfortably accommodate more than eleven quadrillion residents.

The Bible also says the New Jerusalem comes down out of Heaven (Revelation 21). It’s not Heaven “now.” It’s a future delight, the perfect place we never had on earth. It’s God-built. “We have a building from God,” the apostle Paul told the church at Corinth, “an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Cor. 5:1).

Scott’s family could hardly wait to move into their new home, even when the yard was a pile of rocks and the interior not quite finished. But there will be no loose ends or unfinished business at our new Heavenly home. With God as the architect and builder, nothing less than “absolutely ready and perfect” will do.

Are you sensing a pull toward that still-to-be-discovered Heavenly home? Does imagining what it’s like put a smile on your face? The Bible talks about that, too. Our longing to be “finally home,” in a perfect place, comes from God’s Spirit in our hearts, “a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Cor. 5:5). Someday, God and His work crew will touch your shoulder and say, “It’s ready--everything you’d hoped for. Go have some fun exploring your new home!”

Prayer: Great God, my heart overflows with awe for Your creative skill. I know You have planned truly wonderful things for Heaven. Amen.