Everyday Frustrations

Yesterday we had some friends over and we decided to meditate and pray for a while in the morning. Nothing in particular, we decided to meditate on Psalm 64:1-10 (full chapter).
I thought i will put down some of the thoughts we reflected upon from these verses.

As usual, the Psalmist (David on this occasion), begins with him raising his voice in complaint regarding the conspiracy of the wicked, which he had to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
Though the first 2 verses summarizes his view of wickedness, we see that it takes him further into details of what they do.

One of the things I notice about the Psalms we read in the Scriptures, is the fact that it is very relevant to what we go through today.
It captures our emotional struggles, it accentuates our miseries, it exposes our vulnerabilities, sees our mental tortures and more importantly, connects with our day-to-day frustrations.

However, the good news is that the Psalm doesn't finish there.
Though most of the Psalms, starts off with some sort of a negativity and looking at ourselves and how weak we are in the face of oppositions .. there is always a brighter side to it, when the Psalm concludes. And this Psalm (64) is no exception.

vs.3-6 focus in detail the things which the evildoers are inclined to doing.

And out of the blue, in vs.7 - there is a ray of hope, as it starts off with a huge contrast - B..U..T
It's huge in the context, because from dwelling in a place of 'no hope', there suddenly seems to be a greater sense of purpose to life.
And it's not because he experienced something out of nothing, but he chose to put his focus on the right things / the right place / the right person.

Look at the change in perspective in vs.7-9 in response to the negative thought displayed in vs.3-6 - there is a counter for every negative thing spoken.
(the negative thoughts in RED COLOUR; and
the positive thoughts in GREEN COLOUR)

vs.4a - "They shoot from ambush" (in other words, they wait in ambush to attack the innocent)
vs.7 - "God will shoot them with arrows suddenly ..." (God will suddenly strike them)

vs.3a - "They sharpen their tongues like swords" (to cut & injure others)
vs.8a - "God will turn their own tongues against them & bring them to ruin" (but they are destroyed by themselves)

vs.5b - "They say, 'Who will see them?'" (they want to do in hiding, so no one watches what they do to the innocent)
vs.8b - "All who see them will scorn" (but God does it in the open for all to see)

vs.4b - They go about without fear of anyone
vs.9a - When God acts, all mankind will fear His Name - the Lord God Almighty

vs.6 - They devise their own plans and call it perfect
vs.9b - God's people will ponder on the works of God and proclaim His works

The more we dwell on things which are threatening to us; or looming large in front of us, the more we tend to give in-to such troublesome thoughts & are weighed down.

Let's focus on the positive things .. that God is with us and all the schemes of the evil ones will not prosper.
Whatever they planned will befall them - "... the evil scheme they had devised ... should come back onto their own head" (cf. Esther 9:25)

Let's rise up to the occasion and rather than looking at the evil around us and talking about it, let's praise the Lord as the Psalmist ends his Psalm in vs.10 - "Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him; let all the upright in heart praise Him!"