This is the October writing challenge from Five Minute Friday. The plan is to successfully post everyday. We write for five minutes (unedited and that’s a challenge) and stop. Visit FMF to see more posts.
Before we get started, let me just say — I am not a bible scholar. I read Psalm 69 this morning and something in my own story just clicked.
Start –
Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
In my bible this Psalm carries the title A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries. That word imprecation means curse or spoken curse, so in this psalm David is cursing his adversaries before God.
In verse 28, David even goes so far as to pray for them to be blotted out of the book of life. That’s some tough stuff! To actually pray a curse on an adversary , asking God to keep them out of heaven. I thought we were supposed to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44), not for their demise. I admit the psalms sometimes confuse me.
This month of writing has been tough, yes, as a change in direction often is. I’ve been working through lingering unforgiveness. I thought it was done months ago. I wanted it to be done. But, it wasn’t done. I felt progress, and then I read this psalm and momentarily went back to that ugly place. Painting scenarios in my mind, fretting about what should have been.
Reading further to verse 29 David explains that he is in pain, no doubt from the ravages of war and constant distress from his adversaries. For me it was betrayal and rejection that with it carried a deep sadness.
Even in that dark place, in verse 30 David chooses to praise God and magnify Him with thanksgiving. In verse 32-33 he offers guidance in humility and encouragement for those who seek God; that their hearts will be revived. By the end of the psalm David is revived, he is sustained by faith in the lovingkindness of God, despite his circumstances. He chooses to believe God’s promises and praises Him.
As this month draws to a close I am encouraged. I know that I’ve made progress in so many ways. I choose forgiveness and I’m learning to handle any residual effects. I, too, am sustained by faith. it is with a much clearer vision that I proceed with confidence on this new road. I choose to lift my voice and thanksgiving, all to the glory of God.
– End
My Concrete Dove 