Psalm 3: Enemies, enemies, enemies!

EYC Weekly Devotion Psalm 3: 1-2God,! Look! Enemies past counting! Enemies sprouting like mushrooms, Mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery: "Hah! No help for him from God!" 3-4 But you, God, shield me on all sides;You ground my feet, you lift my head high; With all my might I shout up to God, His answers thunder from the holy mountain.5-6 I stretch myself out. I sleep. Then I’m up again—rested, tall and steady, Fearless before the enemy mobs Coming at me from all sides. 7 Up, God! My God, help me! Slap their faces, First this cheek, then the other, Your fist hard in their teeth! 8 Real help comes from God. Your blessing clothes your people! Have you ever been stressed? Have you ever felt like negative thing after negative thing after negative thing was happening in your world? Heard the expression "when it rains it pours!"? Had a bad day or two or three? Have you ever wanted to just give up? Well at the time David wrote this Psalm, he was having a pretty bad day ( life, actually ...)! His own son, Absalom, was attempting a coup to de-thrown David as King of Israel! David was forced to flee for his life from his kingdom and home (see the full story in 2 Kings 15 and 16). We know from verses 1 and 2 of this Psalm that things were pretty bad for David. Things were so bad that he was probably feeling like he was about to die at the hands of his enemies! I don't know about you, but I've certainly had days where I thought I was going to "die" at the hands of my "enemies." You know, our "enemies" don't necessarily have to be people running after us trying to snatch our crown! Our "enemies" can be more metaphorical ... but still VERY real. For teens today, some of these "enemies" may include: *the failing of a test or struggling through a class. *judgement from our peers about our clothes, lives, and abilities (or perceived lack of abilities). *gossip, hatred, or jealousy and struggling to find where and how we fit in adults in our lives who just don't understand or have expectations that are too high and we feel are overly harsh, strict, and critical. *being challenged for time for ourselves and God because of schedules that are too full. *money (too much or lack thereof). *peer pressure to do things one may or may not want to do and explore. Regardless of what your "enemy" might be, the bottom line is we all have these fleeing moments of struggle, just like David. No one is exempt! At this point, I think David knew has two choices: he could give up and let his enemies win or he could persevere with God's help. And let's be honest, we all know what David was likely to choose ... SUCCESS!! After all, he clearly had the secret for being successful! How else could one slay a giant and wild animals, become king, and handle extreme adversity? David's secret to success was simply that he trusted God. David knew, without a shadow of a doubt that God is in charge and that God can "knock the teeth out" of our enemies! To close, I think it is pretty easy to insert ourselves into this Psalm of David! It teaches us two brilliant lessons! First, we are reminded that bad things do happen to good, strong people! Life is not always easy and there will be times of pain and suffering. Second, it's okay to have and feel negative emotions. But we also have to remember they are indicators of what is taking place in our inner world! This is much like the dashboard of our car indicating to us a problem in the engine. After seeing the light on, what would we do? Of course, we would tell our parents and take the car to a mechanic and fix the issue! So, in life, why not go to The Mechanic of our Hearts (a.k.a. God) with our negative emotions and struggles?! That is the example David sets for us in this Psalms. Further, being able to go to God is part of trusting God! After all, there is something very therapeutic about just talking about our "enemies," even if it is just crying our in prayer as David does in Psalm 3! So ... try it! Next time you feel overwhelmed, follow the example of David and cry out to God!