Psalm 124:1-8 - If It Had Not Been For The Lord

Psalm 124:1-8
January 16th 2012
1:01 p.m.

         There is much to be said about the Lord. But if I were asked to talk about my most favorite thing it would be that His grace is not a one time deal. When God chose to send His son for me,a worthless and wretched sinner, there was no lecture as to this being the only time that I would ever see His grace. As painful as it was to give up the only thing He loved the most for me, and knowing that for some His gift would be hopeless, I am still assured that His sacrifice is not my only opportunity at receiving grace. But because I have accepted Jesus, His son, it gives Him room for His grace to abound in my life. Why? Because He knew that I would fall.....many times, and everyday.
         In Psalm 124, the writer says in verses 1 and 2 "if the Lord had not been on our side". My testimony is filled with that same line,"if it had not been for the Lord". And not just because of the the things that the Lord has allowed me to go through due to His own purposes in mind, but also because of His plan with the many mistakes I have made.
         It is said that David wrote this quite possibly right after his defeat of the Philistines. The Lord's involvement at that time in David's life was explained like a rush of water (2nd Samuel 5:20) overtaking the enemy. Then in Psalm 124, he gives the glory to the Lord and said"if it had not been for Him when we were attacked we would have been swallowed alive by their anger, engulfed and swept over like a flood, and swept away by raging waters.
         In my testimony, my professions of the wonders of the Lord, how difficult it is not to fall at his feet daily when I think about what He has done for me. Especially when it comes to the battles he has fought for me because of my own transgressions. In transitioning David's experiences to my own at times, I know the overwhelming and intimidating infliction of those who have been against me. I too have experienced that emotion of almost being swallowed up. I know the feeling of almost being engulfed,swept over and swept away. Yet i have also experienced the Lord as a rushing water,saving me from everything that has had a desire to have a handle on me.
          With David, he was almost overtaken my his enemies. To put it in perspective, I am almost overtaken by trying times in my own life. But the closer I get to the Lord between these times the stronger His power is with every occurrance over my situation. This is where sulking in sorrow only lasts for a short time and rejoicing in the Lord is almost immediate.
          As I look back on my life, most particularly the times I walked away from God, and compare it to what my relationship with God is now, I would have been in deep destitute and despair if some of the things I am going through now occurred then.Those who do not know the Lord, those who do not love the Lord, those who do not trust the Lord can in no way experience the peace and the power of the Lord in their life like one who;s self worth is found in the Lord. "If it were not for the Lord".
          If it were not for the Lord, what would my life be like now? How many personal relationship would I have destroyed? How merciless would I be? How miserable would I be? How much more sinful would I be? If it would not have been for the Lord, how many more babies would have been born because of out of wedlock relationships? How many abortions would I have committed against those innocent babies that I created because of my mistakes?
           What about you? If it had not been for the Lord how many times would you have been imprisoned for taking a life by drinking and driving? How many times would you have laid black and blue, degraded and misused because of residing in an abusive relationship? How many times should you have died because of your unshakable addiction to drugs? You might say "well I have never had any of these problems". Ok, fair enough. If it had not been for the Lord, how would you have survived any hardship, disaster or even worse....your natural eternal destiny?
            If it were not for the Lord i would be selfish and not selfless, merciless and not merciful, self loving and not self giving. I would only know what it is like to be happy and not joyful,hopeless and not hopeful, wallowing in sinfulness instead of striving for sinlessness. If it were not for the Lord I would be desperate for peace but never finding it and losing self control instead of giving it over.I would be lost and never found forever indebted to an eternity of loneliness.
            My problems are not overwhelming for Him. His strength is not made weakness in comparison to what is going on in my life. Some of God's best qualities come forth when my life is rendered to his capabilities. Sometimes I barely escape those things that wish to devour me, but I am not captivated because he has not "allowed" me to be held captive.
            David's final notes in this chapter end with great praise as if to say "Praise the Lord for saving me" (vs.6). And just when I wonder how he would ever pull through on my current problem, which seems to be the worst, I am reminded that if the Lord holds all of the Majestic talent in creating the heavens and the earth, how much more will he amaze me when he comes to my rescue?