DON’T BE A CRY BABY –

David was on the mountain top of popularity. This young lad from Bethlehem had just brought down a menacing Philistine giant named Goliath, causing all Israel to rejoice. King Saul invited him to come live in the royal confines at Gibeah. He became best friends with Saul’s son Jonathan. He was adored by all as a hero. But when Saul heard the crowds singing and cheering David as a champion, he became jealous and began plotting David’s demise. The sudden change was a shock to David, so he went to God for an answer and guidance on how to cope with this unexpected change in his life.

“O my One True God, I can’t survive without You; You’ve got to protect me from those attacking me. These evil people are out for blood and I need You to defend me. I didn’t offend or harm these people, so I can’t see why they attack me without warning, and for no reason in order to ruin my life. They came up with this idea on their own; I didn’t do anything to provoke it. You’ve got to do something quick; I need for You to get involved. That’s why O LORD Eternal, O One True God of Heaven’s Armies, yes, the One True God of true believers, I’m leaving it up to You to hold them accountable; don’t let them get by with this when they pretend to be innocent. They remind me of stray dogs who roam around the city at night snarling and foaming at the mouth as cutting words drip from their lips because they don’t think anyone is paying attention to them. As for You, O LORD Eternal, their actions make You shake Your head because You have no time for such nonsense. And because You are my Champion I’ll just wait for You to intervene; yes, my One True God is my only need for protection. For as my faithful One True God, You won’t let me down; in fact, You will make it possible for me to have the last laugh at my opponents. As for me, I will begin each day singing about Your power and love; how You came to my aid in times of trouble. And because You are my Champion I will sing about You; I will sing about my One True God who was there when I needed Him; yes, my One True God who never fails.” Psalm 59:1-10, 16-17

Reflection: A young pastor was chatting before service with one of the members in his new church in an effort to get better acquainted. Suddenly the man lowered his voice and in a let-me-tell-you-something-you-really-ought-to-know tone, and trying not to be too obvious he whispered discreetly into the pastor’s ear, “You see that member over there? He had too much to drink one day, drove his tractor through my fence, into my garden, and destroyed all my vegetables that were almost ready for harvesting! You need to watch out for him.” Later that week the pastor paid a visit to that “terrible farmer,” to find out what really happened. It turns out that the event mentioned took place over twelve years ago! But to hear the other man tell it you would think it took place just last week. The farmer who drove the tractor explained how he admitted his fault and apologized over and over to his neighbor, but to no avail. His neighbor didn’t want to give up the grudge he used over and over. Finally he just quit trying to reconcile with him. How many of us have had a similar experience. Perhaps we too have taken someone aside and told them to be careful with that man; or don’t trust that woman. Whatever the reason, our selfish intent is to point that other person out so they can be somehow kept in check and not attain too high a standing. Unfortunately, when people do this sort of thing they are saying more about themselves than the other person? In his prayer David was not trying to make King Saul look bad, just to get back at him. He was simply being open and honest with God about his feelings for being picked on for no reason. But in the end, he trusted His God to deal with King Saul; all David wanted was for God to give him the strength and grace he needed to put it all aside so he could get on with the mission the LORD had given to him. He knew if he didn’t get this out of the way, it would become a stumbling block. This can serve as an example for all of us in similar situations.