This one's a little late, I had to spend some time thinking about the chapter from Romans. Still don't think I got everything out of it that I could.
Psalm 54
This is a short one, only seven verses long, and I’m not getting a whole lot out of it, which probably means I’m not looking hard enough. I don’t really feel attacked or slandered at the moment. To be honest, my troubles have always felt self inflicted, I’ve never really felt “attacked” by evil men in my life. Well, except for Jr. High.
Perhaps this in itself is a testament to God’s glory. Perhaps he knows better than I do how I would’ve handled it, and he’s deemed it best just to keep them away from me. Or perhaps this Psalm is gearing me up, laying the groundwork for some future struggle. In either case, it’s comforting to know that God will deliver me from those troubles.
On second thought now, earlier in life I struggled with social anxiety from time to time. I think this Psalm can be just as useful when one fears the slander of men just as it is when one is actually being attacked. I can calm those fears, knowing that God will deliver me, should they arrive.
Psalm 55
The Psalm starts as one in fear of danger, and goes deeper to speak of betrayal. Again, I can’t really say that I relate here, betrayal is something I’ve never truly experienced, and I thank God for that. While the Psalm doesn’t speak to me specifically, I do find it a solid reminder that whatever sorrows I may be contending with right now, it’s not that bad.
Psalm 56
Once more, a prayer of one in serious trouble. It’s a staunch reminder of a conclusion I came to a while back that every now and then I need reminding of: being a Christian doesn’t mean bad things will never happen to me, it means I have someone to turn to when they do. I pray that when, not if, trouble arrives, I will remember these Psalms that they might remind me of God’s protection.
Romans 3
The first part of this chapter seems to be an admonition against using circular logic to justify sin and claiming exemption for punishment for it. I don’t think I’ve ever tried to justify sin, per se, but I know my thought process has contained the phrase “I’m going to give in and sin eventually anyways, might as well get it over with” far too often for my liking.
The next part basically tells me that no one is without sin, which obviously includes myself. It seems to say that the old laws were not necessarily a set of rules to be obeyed rigidly and punished when infractions occur, but rather so that we might know sin, and identify it in ourselves.
The last part ties in to what my Sunday School class discussed today in Ephesians, that God is God of all who believe in Him. Though the passage is referring to Jewish converts and Gentiles, I think it also applies today. Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, etc., we’re all Christians. We all worship the same God.
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