Save me, O God, by your name, and vindicate me by your might. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
For the insolent have risen against me, the ruthless seek my life; they do not set God before them. Selah
But surely, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. He will repay my enemies for their evil. In your faithfulness, put an end to them.
With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies. ~ Psalm 54
Well, this Psalm has a lot in common with the Jeremiah passage from yesterday, doesn't it? More calling out enemies for their comeuppance.
Here the Psalmist writes that God is his helper. That reminds of a phrase my dad used to say when I was growing up: "God is my co-pilot." It was from the title of a 1940's film ..
In Seminary, I remember a conversation we had about that quote, and decided that the better phrase was "God is my pilot." I find that rephrasing to be a little more helpful when it comes to wanting pay-back for our enemies. God as pilot flies the plane, not us.
And that means that sometimes we don't get the choice as to who our enemies are or how they will be "repaid." Sometimes it even means that those we believe to have hurt us will seem to get away with it.
But God is our helper. And when we've been hurt, or betrayed, or victimized, God as helper - is still there. Is still present. Is still walking with us,
God as pilot has a big plane to fly and there will be turbulence along the way. But God's steadfast presence remains and upholds us even when it feels like the enemy is at the gate.
Dear Lord, help me, Lead me. Guide me. Stay by me even when my enemies rise against me. Amen
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