Post 8 in Lifting up the Soul
“let not mine enemies triumph over me.
Yea, none that wait for thee shall be put to shame:”
Psalm 25:2-3ASV
David went home and returned to his shepherding after killing Goliath. His triumph over Goliath was the antithesis of what we expect to be the solution. God tells us He chooses to use the weak things of this world to overpower the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). In this case, a young man without armor slung a rock into a giant’s head, killing him instantly. He walked up to the giant’s body, pulled out the dead man’s own sword, and cut his head off. Then the Philistine armies ran. It was not at all the way a battle generally plays out.
That is the way God works. Movies today cause us to expect pyrotechnics and superhuman feats of strength or agility. God’s miracles are utilized in some cases, but the defeat of God’s enemies is often a natural course of events that brings great shame. God uses humble individuals to carry out His triumphs in which He pits them against great odds. These stories ring true because they are so incredible. Mark Twain once wrote, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.” Further, look at how the defeat of Goliath was a “one and done” approach. God’s outcomes are so much better and more complete in scope. This is why Christians wait on God and pray for His rescue. He has a way of triumphing over the enemy completely, that is, removed from our solutions and with finality.
When David stated, “Yea, none that wait for thee shall be put to shame,” he knew about undeserved shame and how God protects His people. There is shame that is deserved. David experienced both types of shame. Consider the time Nathan convicted David of his sin with Bathesheba by telling him the story of the ewe lamb (2 Samuel 12). Nathan shamed David, and rightly so. David had taken matters into his own hands by murdering Uriah, making a bad act worse and worse. He did not go to God and wait on Him for a solution. David sinned and sinned again to avoid consequences. But the shame David experienced when he was running from Saul was undeserved. Saul used it attempting to weaken David, but David depended on God.
While Satan uses oppressive shame to devour us and keep us from God, God uses corrective shame to draw us closer. He corrects us in His Word and through the words of His concerned saints. Wise counsel can be dressed in compliments and accolades because wise people are often kind in their desire to correct us. But wise counsel can be a direct rebuke, as well, bringing with it a challenge to improve. Shame that is well-deserved is shame that can sting enough to turn a tender heart away from the wrong path and bring her into a closer relationship with God. If one’s heart is trained to receive good counsel, she can accept the shame, move past the sting, and improve her relationship with God.
My gentle-hearted sister, people may cause you to feel ashamed. You may ask your Heavenly Father, “Why are You letting this happen to me when I’m trying my best to serve You? What have I done? Do You not care what happens to me?” He does care, and He wants you to wait on Him. Be patient and remember that shame is a fleeting feeling. It is not meant to be held onto. Hold onto wise counsel that brings you closer to God. Satan loves to make it look like you are the problem. He will make it seem like your enemy is going to celebrate your defeat. Satan tries to do this to make you start doubting God. Don’t allow the fear and the vulnerability and the shame to win. Instead, take heart that God has solutions that you haven’t even considered. He’ll take down that giant with a sling and a stone. The problem of today that seems so weighty and overpowering to deal with now will be nothing to worry about in the hereafter.
Does God care what happens to you, Christian sister? Let Him tell you.
“A man’s goings are established of Jehovah; And he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For Jehovah upholdeth him with his hand.”
Psalm 37:23-24
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7NKJV
“Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” Revelation 3:9-11ESV
This is the eighth post in the Lifting Up the Soul study from Psalm 25. Subscribe to WomEnCourage to be notified as this study continues.