I was reading Psalms 74 this morning. I started noticing that God’s character was displayed as the writer complained about what they thought God was doing and what He was “not” doing. He demonstrated that He is genuinely patient, loving, long-suffering, kind, good, and more. Let me show you below.
HIS WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN OUR WAYS:
74 You walked off and left us, and never looked back.
God, how could you do that?
We’re your very own sheep;
how can you stomp off in anger?
2-3 Refresh your memory of us—you bought us a long time ago.
Your most precious tribe—you paid a good price for us!
Your very own Mount Zion—you actually lived here once!
Come and visit the site of disaster,
see how they’ve wrecked the sanctuary.
PATIENT and LONG-SUFFERING:
4-8 While your people were at worship, your enemies barged in,
brawling and scrawling graffiti.
They set fire to the porch;
axes swinging, they chopped up the woodwork,
Beat down the doors with sledgehammers,
then split them into kindling.
They burned your holy place to the ground,
violated the place of worship.
They said to themselves, “We’ll wipe them all out,”
and burned down all the places of worship.
9-17 There’s not a sign or symbol of God in sight,
nor anyone to speak in his name,
no one who knows what’s going on.
How long, God, will barbarians blaspheme,
enemies curse and get by with it?
KIND:
Why don’t you do something? How long are you going
to sit there with your hands folded in your lap?
God is my King from the very start;
he works salvation in the womb of the earth.
MIGHTY:
With one blow you split the sea in two,
you made mincemeat of the dragon Tannin.
You lopped off the heads of Leviathan,
then served them up in a stew for the animals.
With your finger you opened up springs and creeks,
and dried up the wild floodwaters.
OMNIPOTENT:
You own the day, you own the night;
you put stars and sun in place.
You laid out the four corners of earth,
shaped the seasons of summer and winter.
18-21 Mark and remember, God, all the enemy
taunts, each idiot desecration.
LOVING:
Don’t throw your lambs to the wolves;
after all we’ve been through, don’t forget us.
Remember your promises;
the city is in darkness, the countryside violent.
Don’t leave the victims to rot in the street;
make them a choir that sings your praises.
MERCIFUL:
22-23 On your feet, O God—
stand up for yourself!
Do you hear what they’re saying about you,
all the vile obscenities?
Don’t tune out their malicious filth,
the brawling invective that never lets up. Ps. 74 (MSG)
The Filipinos have a phrase, “You have shown me your face.” Usually, this is said after a difficult situation or conversation. When there is a strain in the relationship. The phrase indicates that someone’s true self is displayed at the moment. Their honest character is portrayed. Their strengths and weaknesses.
I am writing this post while sitting in a McDonald’s. Yeah, April is attending her Saturday morning women’s Bible study. In the booth in front of me is a young man. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but he obviously wanted me to know all about him and his attitude toward life.
Apparently, he came across Arkansaw, and as he entered Oklahoma, he got into a car wreck. He was waiting on someone to pick him up. He seemed to be okay. I was seeking direction from God if I should start a conversation with him. I didn’t receive any prompting to. But as he was leaving, I felt I should pray for him. I said something like this: “God, be with that young man. May he know you. May he become like you.”
Then it hit me, we all should become like God. That is the whole point of this post. After all, Jesus professed that He only did what He saw His Father in Heaven do. Why would we think we should do anything differently?
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19 (NIV)
So go ahead. Show your face to people. Show the face of God in all situations.
Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.
Last week I mentioned how my new life with my Filipino wife wasn’t easy in the beginning. There were obvious things to overcome. Cultural differences being a big one, and even though she can speak English, our language has enough quirks to rattle anyone. I’m glad I don’t have to learn English. A friend once told me she had ESL and I asked her if it was terminal. (English, Second Language)
brady, mark a. 