April 13, 2011

Psalm 80 (Click to see scripture)

Bible in One Year Passages:
Mark 4:35-41, 1 Corinthians 8, Judges 1-2

Journal Entry

Scripture

O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? (v. 4)

Observation

This psalm is lamentations of the people of God who clearly has been suffering. Beneath the verses, there seems to be an understanding that the suffering is a result of their own sin and God’s judgment is upon them. However, the verses read more like children complaining to their parents even though they are facing the consequences of their own actions. They know that God is their shepherd (v. 1), he saved them out of Egypt and caused them to be a nation to be reckoned with (v. 8-11), but somewhere along the way they fell out of God’s favor. They seem to know that they deserved his punishment. But for how long? (v. 4) Haven’t they been through enough? If he loves them, how can he allow them to be so completely decimated? (v. 12-13) There is a sense of urgency and desperation, even demanding: God, restore us to our former relationship with you! (v. 3, 7, 19).

The verses 14 through 18 foretell that Jesus, the son of man, is the way to our salvation. He is the vine and we are the branches. If we are not connected to him and not produce fruits, we will be cut down and burned. It’s yet another prophecy that is fulfilled in Jesus.

However, the verse that struck me this morning is v. 4: How can God be angry with his own people’s prayers? Is it because their prayers were nothing more than lip-services, a formality recited over and over but hollow in content and intent? Just empty words uttered as a matter of tradition and ritual, without coming from the hearts of people? Without real repentance and without real intention to act out what was uttered? Without faith? Perhaps, there was some of that. Somehow, though, I don’t that was all of it. Suffering people, contrite in heart, cried out to God for grace and mercy. Yet, God was angry and was lashing out! Was that it?

It seems to me that there is another side to this. God was indeed not pleased with people continually coming to him and begging for mercy, and when things are made right they forget and sin again, like a dog going back to its own vomit. We see this cycle happening over and over again in the Bible as well as in our own lives. God would be angry, indeed. However, the consequences of God’s anger are of two folds: judgment and mercy. We are often focused on the judgment of God so much that all we can see is his anger. But within his judgment lie his mercy and his plan for reconciliation. If he lets us continue on our destructive path, where do we end up at the end? I have heard that the suffering from God is mercy of God; it is because he loves us so much that he allows us to suffer. It is not that difficult of a concept to understand. We do that we our children. We punish them for their wrongdoings because we love them, to make them a better person, to learn a lesson.

So, it could be that God’s anger with our prayers could be our own perception based on the fact that God is not answering our prayers the way we want him to. It’s not to say that God could not be angry with our selfish and meaningless prayers. But when we pray earnestly and he doesn’t answer, it doesn’t mean that he is angry. It’s just not the right time and his purpose in allowing us the circumstances has not been fulfilled. At the end, we have to believe on the God’s promise: All things work together for good of those who love him.

Application

When I pray, I want to pray from my heart. Not ritualistic prayers that I do out of a habit, but prayers from the depth of my heart. A prayer that God would be please with.

When my prayers are not answered, I need to be faithful and cling onto his promise that he is looking out for me, no matter how much I dislike the outcome. That there is a purpose in why God is not answering me in the way I want him to. Even though things look bleak and I simply cannot understand that there is a lesson in all the terrible things that are going on, I must be faithful to God and remind myself that something good will come out of it. Even if the outcome is not what I expected at the end, I must have a faith that God knows better than I do. It is not just God’s judgment. It is also his mercy.

My wife and I prayed for a child and God did not answer us for over 12 years. I remember that it was an extremely painful experience for us, especially for my wife. There were many times that we were angry and bitter toward God. At times, it did seem like God was angry and was lashing out at us. But by his grace, we kept on praying and people around us kept affirming that God will answer us. Then one day, God granted us the most precious gift we could possibly imagine and, oh, the incredible joy we felt that day! Just like that our pain was erased and the decade of suffering seemed like few days. Of course the scar is still there somewhere deep within us, but we learned tremendous lessons from God, what it means to hold onto his promise and how he is faithful in answering it. When I see my first born, often she reminds of God’s grace and how faithful he is to us.

Prayer

Lord, please find my prayers pleasing to your ears. I can’t often articulate my true feelings and how much I love and appreciate you. I can’t often articulate my pains and feelings to you in a genuine way. Perhaps I am too concerned about how I am expected to pray. I want to be like a child before his father, expressing my feelings and sharing what is in my heart without inhibition, being raw before you. Please accept my grunts arising from the depth of my soul as my prayer. Be not angry with me, O lord, when I fail. I may not have any excuse, but I am really trying. I trust that you will do whatever that is necessary to make me holy and I pray that I will be courageous enough to receive what you give me with a glad heart. Amen.

--tchang